The Shimanami Kaido is a 60km toll road connecting Honshu to Shikoku, starting in Onomichi and ending in Imabari. The driving route is also known as the Nishiseto Expressway. It is also a paved cycling route designed for casual cyclists and experienced roadies, alike. Officially, the well-marked Shimanami Kaido is 70km long. There are other routes, also marked, across the islands. These are labeled as the Island Explorer route, and adds extra miles through more scenic areas. The Island Explorer version of the Shimanami Kaido is sort of a choose-your-own-adventure, and is lesser traveled. We saw very few people on the version we did. The majority of the cyclists we saw were when the Island Explorer route intersected with the official Shimanami Kaido, primarily at bridges and michi-no-eki.
Read on for all the details on bike touring the Shimanami Kaido.
