E-Bikes on the Shimanami Kaido

My wife and I are looking to travel to Japan in April next year and cycle the Shimanami Kaido over two days.

My wife my be slightly pregnant and would like to rent some E-Bikes.

Looking at the guide here: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3478.html
It details the regular rental system and the Giant rental system
Both claim to have E-Bikes but when I look closer, it not that simple.

regular rental system 's bikes need to be returned to the same terminal in Onomichi.
And Giant rental system's system doesn't seem to have any E-Bikes at all. When searching any E-Bikes, on any dates. There are no bikes.

Is there something I'm missing? Or are we out of options?
Any help would be really appreciated.

It's too early to book.

Reservation is from two months ago.

As suggested, you cannot book Giant until 60 days prior to your date. Therefore, the website doesn't show availability for April.

That aside, I hope you are aware that bicycle riding is considered risky during pregnancy. At least in Japan, you are advised to walk rather than to ride. Additionally, if something should happen, I don't think you'd want to go through the trouble of finding a doctor in a foreign country as travelers. Perhaps you should either reschedule your trip or her pregnancy if she is not pregnant yet.

Happy parenting.

@Uco, it seems that that news hasn�ft reached NZ yet 🤓

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/28/ride-on-baby-nz-politici...

I'd also look into what is specifically required to ride this. It's 60 km's including large areas of elevation. I'd only ride it if you have a reasonable amount of fitness. There is also no way that an e-bike would have enough power to last the entire journey. And I can promise you from experience - those bikes are pretty heavy to ride when they have a flat battery.....

Well , the elevation isnt that much. Although all depends on perspective.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/day-48-shimanamikaido-p...

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/day-49-shimanami-kaido-...

I did it 5 years ago over 2 days (including a lot of sightseeing). On the last island I would recommend to not take the central road through the Islams but the one on the coast. The central road had a lot of traffic and the landscape wasn�ft specially nice either. Bit that adds more km.

mfedley wrote:
There is also no way that an e-bike would have enough power to last the entire journey. And I can promise you from experience

I thought the same thing, too, until I actually took a look at the website the OP was talking about. It says that their e-bikes can run at least 90km per battery charge.
https://bicyclerental.jp/en/lineup/

- those bikes are pretty heavy to ride when they have a flat battery.....

I still do agree to that part, though. You should know your risks.

Hey team,

Like I said in my post, no matter what dates I pick, no E-Bikes are available within the Giant system.
https://giant-store-rental.jp/en/rsv/

Regardless, I've now found many other services that will rent E-Bikes and I've found that Wakka have a rental bike return service.

I feel I've mapped out and understand the journey fairly well.
https://i.imgur.com/ZXH1rhN.jpeg

I would love some general feedback but my major outstanding question is...

1. How do we get our luggage from Onomichi > Imabari?
2. Or even all the way to Matsuyama?
3. And can they hold it for a day?

I know that the Japan guide talks about these services but doesn't point to any page detailing specific parties involved

I appreciate any help you can give me.

For your luggage the easiest is to use TaQBin, ie a service that picks up your luggage at your hotel (or elsewhere) and delivers it (generally next day) to your next hotel. They can also hold it for a few days.

An other possibility is a locker if you come back to the same point, but check if they allow more than 24h

Generally, the best way to send luggage around within Japan is takkyubin/TaQbin/Yamato Transport. I've used them many times in the past. I've never stayed at a hotel or ryokan that didn't offer the service. If you're staying somewhere else, I believe a lot of combini offer the service or if your Japanese is good enough they use to come into homes for pick up and drop off. (no idea since Covid, I had a JET friend do this with me in the mid 2000s.)

If you were to say send luggage on a Monday it usually doesn't arrive until Tuesday except from specific same day services. I believe you can request later delivery as well. Depending on the accommodation and how much space they have, some will hold bags longer than others. Last trip to Japan, February 2020, the Tokyo Station Hotel let me drop off my large suitcase there in person and held it while I spent 2 nights in Nagano-ken and 1 in Tokyo Disney, before checking in for my stay at the Tokyo Station Hotel. They even let me add some stuff when I passed through the Station from Nagano to Tokyo Disney. (I no longer needed my boots!)

In terms of pregnant people... back when I was in better shape and running, I knew someone who did a 1/2 marathon at Disney at 6 or so months pregnant. (aka vey visibly pregnant) She made sure to hydrate and walked a lot of it. She had also done 1/2s before so this was not her first race. There is also a huge difference with pregnancy at 3 months vs. pregnancy 6 vs 8 months. I traveled to a wedding across the US (a 5 hour flight) about a month before I gave birth. Different countries 100% have different recommendations. I was told (in the US) not to drink any tea, coffee, or alcohol when pregnant.

I've been to Japan 2x while pregnant. Once early in my pregnancy before I knew I was pregnant and the other time at around 5 months. If your partner wants, the various train and bus lines have little hang tags you can get saying you are pregnant so that if you need a seat on a bus or train you can have a priority seat. Narita also had a different family check in line. I've since misplaced them, but I loved my little tag, it was super cute. My advice would be... plan things so you can change them. I developed severe motion sickness during my first trimester. I was not prone to motion sickness before. I felt miserable on so many trains in Japan, it was actually a clue in that I might be pregnant, that and the nausea. Morning sickness isn't just in the morning and isn't always just in the first trimester. My second trip to Japan for 11 days was the longest I went without throwing up, just one time on the plane over. I am in no way trying to discourage you, I went to Japan 2x while pregnant and had a great time! I walked all over Kamakura and Enryakuji in the late June heat and humidity. But I do think you should allow some flexibility in plans within Japan if someone is going to be pregnant just because each pregnancy is different and you never know what your reactions will be.

Good luck!