After Himeji, I went to Onomichi to try biking along the Shiminami Kaido for two days. It’s really a nice scenic route. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re already fit and into cycling. This is the route I think I took:
A couple friends recommended it a long time ago and I figured I’d give it a shot.
Personally, I don’t exercise much and it’s been years since I rode a bike. On top of that, I forgot how high my seat should be for my height. It was lower than it should have been. So for me it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be.
I rented an regular cross bike for this journey. I didn’t have any electric assist to help me out. I ended up not taking many pictures during the ride itself because I was more concerned about getting to my next destination. On the first day, I wanted to make sure I got to my hotel before the ferries stopped running. On the second day, I wanted to make sure I returned the bike before the store closed.
Along the way, you can see I made a detour up on Omishima. Where my route stops is where I took a ferry to Okunoshima.
I think I’d first learned of Okunoshima through this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54E07bG8lGc. When I realized it was nearby, I was determined to stop by after my trip. While I was trying to figure out logistics, I realized it was kinda along the route and I could take a ferry there. So I ended up booking a hotel on the island overnight.
Okunoshima is also called rabbit island. Many, many wild rabbits live there now. You can’t buy rabbit food on the island itself, but you can at the ports and on the ferry on the way there.
There’s other things there like a poison gas museum and old abandoned buildings. I would’ve liked to have explored more, but I was short on time. If you only want to see rabbits, you don’t need to spend more than an hour or two there. But I’d probably stay for a day next time to see the rest of the island.
Here’s a link to their bike touring guide map: https://www.city.imabari.ehime.jp/kanko/pamphlet/cycling/cycling_map_en.pdf