Osaka to Imabari?

hi there

I was hoping someone could assist me please. I would like to get from Osaka to Imabari to do the SHIMANAMI KAIDO. could someone please suggest the most time effective way to get there please. I know there is a big event once a year where cyclists ride, but to my understanding, anyone can ride at any time of year. my son and i will be looking to get there in early july. I am told you can just show up on the day and hire a bike and helmet etc. id feel more safe in pre booking. can anyone shed some light on this please? We are looking to traveling to hiroshima once we finish our ride - again..travel options best..train..bus. thankyou for any input. this sight is so very helpful. thankyou to all the very knowledgeable posters.

kind regards
ronnie

I did this in August last year.

The fastest way is Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama (~50mins), then limited express to Imabari (~2 hours). It's possible to use other trains to Okayama but no other option to Imabari. Because of this it's best to stay overnight and start early. I stayed in Matsuyama as it was ~30 mins further along the line.

There's no need to reserve a bike, there are plenty available but turn up early to get the best picks. I didn't get offered a helmet. You can get road bikes but these have to be reserved prior at the Giant store.

As for onwards to Hiroshima, will you have any of the rail passes?

thx so much for you fast and helpful response!
ive looked up your suggestion and it looks really good!
im not much of a morning person, especially riding. was looking to leave osaka in the morning and hopefully get on a bike by lunch. ride for a couple of hours and then turn around and come back (my son, although 19 and fit, has never riden before) we just want to cruise and enjoy the views. the path appears to be dedicated for cyclists? i.e not on road with cars. do u have any suggestions i.e places to stop, what to take etc do they give a puncture kit etc
hope fully we'll get back later afternoon amd was hoping to head to hiroshima for late dinner and sleep? thanks again for taking the time to respond :)
regards
ronnie
sydnetAUS

oh sorry...yes. we will be getting the 14 or 21 day rail passes :)

Early July still rainy season[”~‰J:Tsuyu] usual no good.
http://youtu.be/BbYmr7MHwdQ

Japanese rainy season not falling hard everyday
(some days will "break" rain front away)
and everytime/hour but falling time longer usual.
http://www.alc.co.jp/speaking/article/kihon/20.html

hi 700c,
thankyou for your reply. yes, i am aware it is rainy season. i cant do much about that :) as we are just going for leisure and not racing, i think if it rains, that would just add to the experience :D
regards
ronnie

It can be quite a ride, taking hours, but the view is something you will never forget.
But there are many places along the way that you should see as well.
Perhaps the best is the Kosanji Temple in Ikuchijima - a fantastic yet almost unknown place that is like a Buddhist Disneyland.
You can see one preview of it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Q5EjEOXI8

thx ken - i will take a look at the link. do u ride on a path all the way or with traffic? are there any places along the way to refresh / eat? how did you do the ride i.e did you go all the way and then back...halfway? etc. thx so much for your input :)
ronnie

I'll try to answer your other questions:

There are a number of places to get some kind of food along the way. I didn't look for any kind of meal so I can't speak for restaurants (there must be some) rather grabbed things from small stores when needed. I saw one larger supermarket about 2/3 through(?) and got decent food there.

There's a really nice beach a little over the halfway point (Sunset Beach). Easy to spend an hour here cooling off. There are shower/changing rooms here with coin showers and free tap water on the outside to rinse off salt/sand afterwards. Of note there's accommodation here that's recommended in many blogs if you wanted to cycle over two days (http://en.japantravel.com/view/setoda-hostel-on-shimanami-kaido)

Most of the way there are cycle lanes or shared cycle paths. I remember these being less common towards the northern end. There was not much traffic though.

Puncture kits aren't given. I was concerned about this initially as well. Go for a mountain bike. Worst case scenario you'll be walking to the next bike hire place along the route.

Take a minimum amount of gear and some food/water. It sucks cycling with a backpack for that distance. If you go during July I'd skip wet weather gear, since it will be warm, and take a change of clothes for the end instead. Some bikes have racks and/or baskets. Strapping a small bag to the rack will make the ride much more pleasurable.

thx starkerr u have been extremely helpful! im really getting excited. geez july is a long way off :)

I did this a couple of years ago, solo, though in April. What I did was go to Onomichi the night before. Then I caught a bus across to Imabari. It left just across from the station and somewhere along the way I had to change buses. I went right into Imabari and there was a bike hire place just opposite the bus stop. However there is another one at the interchange after the last bridge which would have saved a few kms.

You get a map and there are several places where you can return your bike and then catch a bus. I didn't ride the whole way as I had time constraints but it was an amazing experience. There is a site somewhere on the internet where you can get detailed information, including the various things you can see on the way but I don't seem to have saved it. Some of the ride is on cyclepaths and some on the roads but the roads were pretty quiet. The route is really well signposted.

From Onomichi you can get the JR Sanyo to Hiroshima or a quicker way might be to catch it back to Fukuyama and then get a shinkansen to Hiroshima.

thankyou very much eigasuki. im getting a much clearer picture of my options now. it seems less daunting :)