Day 1 of the Shimanami Kaido: Onomichi to Ikuchi Island

The Shimamani Kaido is a famous cycling route in Japan. It takes you from Imabari to Onomichi, across six islands in the Seto Inland Sea that are connected with a series of spectacular bridges. We decided to complete the route in three days, giving us plenty of time to explore the different islands.

We started our Shimamani Kaido cycling journey in Onomichi instead of Inabari, because we had read that completing the route in reverse leads to fewer crowds. This turned out to be great advice, as we had the cycling paths almost entirely to ourselves on all three days.

The bike rental system on the Shimamani Kaido is a dream. There are 10 terminals dotted along the route. You can pick up a bike at the beginning of the day at your nearest terminal, then drop it off at a different one at the end of the day. No need to reserve ahead (at least when we were there, there were tons of bikes for rent), and no need for a round-trip return. We picked up our bikes and took the ferry to Mukaishima Island to begin our cycling journey.

Then, it’s a smooth 10km ride to your first major bridge. “One hour, one island”, as the bicycle rental lady had explained to us.

The first bridge had a dedicated path for cyclists that actually goes underneath the main road – very cool.

Innoshima Island had an adorable library cafe.

After another smooth 10km ride, it was time for the second bridge that connects Innoshima to Ikuchi Island, with some magnificent cherry blossom displays on the incline.

Ikuchi Island was our final stop on Day 1. We dropped off our bicycles at the nearest bike terminal and continues to explore on foot.

Kosanji Temple was possibly my favorite temple we visited in Japan. Not only were the grounds absolutely gorgeous and not busy at all, but it they included some strange and fascinating bonus attractions. We enjoyed exploring the “Hill of Hope” – a garden constructed entirely of white marble – as well as “the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas”, which was literally a cave filled to the brim with Buddha statues.

Cherry blossom heaven.