Shimanami Kaido

Dear all,
Got two questions regarding Shimanami Kaido:
1) Is it recommended to cross it by car not bicycle?
2) Which points on islands you will recommend to visit? I have found some mentions of viewing points on the top of the mountains, which are only assessable by car, but no actual names or directions.

Thank you all in advance.
Anton

I think it's actually often recommended by bike (at least by non-Japanese) but the experiences are different. By car, it will be very leisurely and you'll have lots of time to stop at many places. By bike, much of the experience is biking itself so there is not as much time for detours if you plan to finish in one day.

Which is better depends on you. If you want to see a lot of attractions and go to the observatories then the car will be better.

Some of the places that are interesting along the way:

Mukaijima Island:
-Mt. Takami Observatory

Innoshima Island:
-Suigun Castle

Ikuchijima Island:
-Kosanji Temple
-Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art

Oshima Island:
-Murakami Suigun Museum
-Kirosan Observation Park

Whether you go by car or bike is a matter of how much time you have, and how fit you are.

If you want to do it justice, doing the whole thing in a day is actually difficult whichever you choose because there's so much to see.

Oyamazumi shrine and its museum of weapons on Omishima is really good.

Try this link for some more information about the Shimanami Kaido
http://japantourist.jp/index/search?q=shimanami

Rod,
Very nice resource, thank you. Why did not I run into it before?

rabbityama,
Thank you very much for you list!
I afraid I can not find any info on Mt. Takami Observatory...

Thank you all,
Anton

There are booklets and pamphlets in Onomichi that you can get with maps and place names in English. I know that doesn't help so much in preparing now.

Here is a map of the island. The Takami Observatory is 国立公園高見山 in the southeast. It says it's a 15 minute drive from the Mukaijima IC:
http://www.go-shimanami.jp/shisetsu/mukaishima/index.html

Here is a panorama of the Takami Observatory:
http://ww4.tiki.ne.jp/~mmurakami/sima/takami.html

Thank you Rabbityama,
Now I think, I am prepared.

Anton