I first heard of the Shimanami Kaido while staying in the town of Matsuyama on Japan’s Shikoku Island to update Frommer’s Japan. One of the locals assigned to assist me was pretty emphatic that I include a section on the Shimanami Kaido, a newly opened dedicated bike trail that hopscotched across six islands and offered a novel way to travel between Shikoku and the main island of Honshu.
It sounded like a great experience, but the only way I ever added new information to my guidebook was through first-hand experience. And so I set off from Matsuyama for just an hour’s ride (my self-imposed itinerary while updating Japan was grueling, despite giving myself three, one-month trips around Japan to do it). And so it took a few times for me to complete the entire Shimanami Kaido, which I did in stages. I still consider it one of my best biking experiences in Japan. Needless to say, it’s become very popular among both Japanese and international travelers.
Recently, a fellow journalist I’d met long ago in Tokyo and who is still at it like me, contacted me for a piece he was writing for CNN. His article, Samurai treasures, modern luxuries: Island-hopping through Japan’s stunning Seto Inland Sea has a couple quotes from me and covers the islands in more depth than I did.
Otherwise, you can read a short version of the bike ride itself on my blog, The Shimanami Kaido: Japan’s Most Glorious Ride.
