Shimanami kaido

Hello,

i am planning to try Shimanami kaido from Onomichi to Imabari by bike in two days. First day Onomichi to Setoda and then second day to Imabari.

I have three questions:

1- Can i rent a bike return it in Setoda and pick one at Setoda next morning and return it in Imabari?

2- Is the route very steep? I want to carry a backpack with a pajama and some little stuff and my DSLR reflex camera. Will I suffer a lot cycling?

3- Is Setoda a good place to see the sunset? I mean, will I find a nice sunset?

hi peter,

i couldnt gauge by your post whether you are a serious cyclist or more on a sight seeing level of rider. Not knowing this of course would cause confusion with describing relative difficulties.

Having said that, and making an assumption you were born in 1986 :) im guessing you are pretty fit, especially the fact that you're doing the 70km ride.

Yes, you can hire a bike and then drop it off and then hire again, but it does depend which company you do it from and what type of bike you get.

We hired from a little place underneath the car park near the onomichi wharf. We stayed next door in the Cycle Hotel but their prices were ridiculously high comparatively. Of course the bikes were a lot better though.

The bikes we got however were brand new. I wanted to get some road bikes as i love cycling, but as my son is not a cyclist and we wanted to make it more of a leisurely adventure, we actually hired 2 brand new battery assisted bikes. they were a little granny-ish but the basket on the front was quite handly so as not to carry back pack.

They were soooo cheap. I cant remember how much but i remember having to ask a few times for the price. U need to leave a deposit of course but they were very efficient.

Now the battery bikes need to be returned to the same place so that doesnt help you. But, all the other bikes can be dropped off at certain places along the kaido. designed for ppl who get tired. they drop them off and catch a bus back to one side. i am not sure if the island you want to stay on is affiliated with the other company but as the cost is sooo cheap, i would seriously consider keeping the bike overnight and returning when you get to the other side the next day. It would be a lot more convenient doing so and im sure you could do that as the people were very accommodating.

I would say over 80% of the ride is flat. You get the occasional hills in the rural areas but generally the roads are very flat. The only exceptions are; leading up to a bridge and coming off them. you need to climb quite a bit in some cases as the road gets to the height of the bridge. I think there are about 7 ish bridges? so over 2 days, that shouldnt be a problem. the climb in those cases is usually a few hundred metres with gradients not exceding 10 deg.

Dont worry about overstocking water, there are plenty of lil shops along the way :)

as for sunset, cant help u on that one.

hope you have a great time! i cant wait to go back

ronnie