Japan: Shimanami Kaido しまなみ海道, Honshū, and Shikoku
We haven't ridden this area of Japan. This ride was intended for Spring of 2020 but now its unknown because of Covid restrictions. We have heard about this area for years but have not had an opportunity to do the ride. It should be great. Here are some helpful links and Internet sites we will be using. An update and report of the ride will follow as soon as we return.
The Shimanami Kaido is a series of bridges and dedicated bike pathways that cross the Seto Inland Sea for 70 kilometers from Onomichi City through six islands to Imabari City on Shikoku. The route keeps cyclists away from the traffic and close to the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea. We intend to explore parts of Shikoku and Honshu islands which are at either end of the ride
Guides, Maps and Other Information
Shimanami Kaido Official site.
Cycling in the Kansai and other parts of Japan. An excellent resources for all cycling information about Japan.
Shimanami Kaido Official site for Hiroshima Prefecture.
Detailed information about riding the Shimanami Kaido in Spanish. Use Google Translate to select your language.
NHK Cycle Around Japan has a video series about bicycle riding in Japan. What makes this show interesting are the cultural interactions and not necessarily the bike riding. The Kochi video is closest to the Shimanami.
Here's a first hand account of what it is like to bike in Japan. All sorts of bicycle travel information can be found on the CyclingAbout site.
See the Maps and Guides page for more mapping information.
Location of Shimanami Kaido
There are many cycling apps with maps available for phone/ android. Here are a couple of the better off line apps.
Can be used to follow this route (and other routes) Click here for a KML file that can be loaded into the app. This version of EV1 has been edited between Lisbon and the border with Spain. Some routing has been improved to be faster and safer than the route published on the EV1 site.
Place the file in the maps.me bookmarks folder (MapsWithMe/bookmarks on your phone or tablet) or alternately, email/text it to your device and open the file with maps.me. Total Commander works great for managing and opening files.
Guru Maps can show map types other than OpenStreetMap, in particular it will display OpenCycleMap. KML files can be imported by "opening" the file with Guru. Place the file in a folder or email/text it to your device, press and hold and open with the app. The route will appear in "collections." A user manual is available.
What the ride is like
More information coming after we can complete the ride.