Options for Shimanami kaido from Imabari

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to bike the Shimanami kaido in October, but a little bit struggling with what's the best way to do and would like to hear your feedback.

My initial plan was to go from Tokyo to Imabari and spend the night there. Then the next day I'll bike to Habu and take the ferry back to Imabari. The idea behind this was that I can just leave my luggage at the hotel/hostel and still be able to return to bike to the terminal to get my deposit back. I haven't bike 60-70 km recently, but I'm used to biking relatively long distance (I'm Dutch so we get on our bikes regularly haha!).
After a bit of research, I found several suggestions to take it easy and spend the night halfway on one of the islands. Yet another option would be to bike from Imabari but only go halfway and visit some of the temples there, then back to Imabari. I guess this is the cheapest option? Or should I just start from Onomichi towards Imabari and use a luggage transfer service?

Sorry for throwing out all these options, but I'm curious what you would do in my case. Another reason why I was keen on biking the thing in one day is to make the most of the 7-day JR pass. But of course, if that means rushing things, than it's a bit of a waste do it at all right? I plan on exploring Shikoku after the bike trip, probably visiting Kochi and Tokushima (but nothing is set in stone yet).

Please let me know if anything I said is unclear, or if you need additional information.
I appreciate all the help!

My first idea would be to explore Shikoku first and then do the Shimanami Kaido once your JR pass as expired. But not knowing more precisely your plans it is hard to know if that makes sense.

I have done the entire Shimanami Kaido last year November from Onomichi to Imabari in two days taking it easy. As I had my own bike I didnft need to worry about deposit and luggage (was traveling with the luggage).

While gloosing g the deposit might seem expensive you might also just consider it as a transport fee. Ie if you choose to do the ride from Onomichi to Imabari and your need to tak a bus/ferry back, what you pay for the bus/ferry will be probably similar (more?) than the deposit.

Regarding distance you can cycle in one day:
- while not mountainous, it isnft flat as The Netherlands. I can easily cycle 50 km in 3-4 h in The Netherlands in Japan it took me a day, including some sightseeing
- the type of bicycle you rent. I think there are racing cycles and @normalh ones. The normal ones are of the mamachari type. Like a normal Dutch citybike but in the size for a 13 year old. Youfll hit your own stomach with every turn of the pedals. Those are not made to cycle 60 or more km with them. But if you havenft cycled with a racing bike, itfs geometry can also be challenging. This habe a look if there are intermediate solutions.

For the part of the Shimanami Kaido to do , I would say that while the bridge from Imabari to the first island is the nicest, the cycle road out from Imabari isnft very nice not is the direct route on Oshima and Hakata. The ride on the remaining islands was definitely nicer. Probably the non direct ride on the two above is also nice.

Here links to my experience:
https://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/part-10-day-48-49-ridi...

In the planning section there are also some general information on the Shimanami Kaido.

Enjoy cycling in Japan !

Hi LikeBike,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and feedback! I enjoyed reading your blog too! I'm now more tempted to take two days for the ride. Hopefully the weather will be good!
Your suggestion to do the ride after the JR-pass expires makes complete sense. I'll probably do that. My original plan was to explore a week or so in Shikoku, take the ferry from Tokoshima to Wakayama, and explore that prefecture for 5 to 7 days. I'm flying out from KIX so I figured staying around Wakayama city for my last few days would be best. I'll have another look and see what route makes the most sense.

I am happy to hear that the blog is helpful.

The more flexible you stay also during your travel the better the weather will be while riding.