Biking Bridges Across the Sea - The Shimanami Kaido and a Morning in Matsuyama

There ain't no rest for the wicked. After returning from adventuring abroad in Sri Lanka (blog coming eventually) the very next weekend of May 14th I found myself in the coastal city of Onomichi, a seaside town and the beginning of the famous Shimanami Kaido. Translated as the "Sea Road", this 70km island hopping highway connects Japan's main island Honshu with the other major island Shikoku through a series of 6 different bridges. Apart from serving the functional purpose of connecting the land masses, the road has become a popular cycling route for it's spectacular views and refreshing sea breeze.



I met up with the Okayama JETs, a solid group of over 20 people, bright and early on the morning of May 13th at a bike rental shop. I managed to mount my knockoff GoPro to the handlebars, so I have some pretty fun footage for you in this blog! We took our bikes on a short ferry which dropped us off at the official start point. After an inspiring speech which included a Leeroy Jenkins reference, we all set off along the route. We started our trip through a quite nice seaside town, where the group quickly fragmented due to pacing and traffic lights. I stuck with the guys in front who were setting a brisk pace, following a blue line on the road which served as our trusty guide.

As we rounded the island's coast a colossal bridge cam into view. As we approached the blue line suddenly diverted off the road into a winding trail accessible only to bicycles and scooters. We rapidly gained elevation until the trail met up with the bridge. Unique to this bridge, the bike path was suspended underneath the road. We coasted across the bridge. The trail once again diverted away from the highway on the other side, this time winding down this next island back to sea level. I had a blast corning the switchbacks, and I began to look forward to more of these sections.

We stopped briefly at a dinosaur sculpture to take a quick break, before we kept on cycling around the islands. The route took us on a tour of quintessential idyllic Japanese inaka (countryside). As we rode along the coast we passed farms, small towns, and tranquil docks. The docks in particular were impressive, with massive cranes clustered along the coastline. We couldn't have asked for a better day to ride. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and a light ocean breeze kept us cool.

Our group had planned to meet up at a roadside ice cream shop. After taking a well deserved rest, I hung out for a bit longer and joined the lagging group for the next leg of the ride. I am glad I did because we detoured to Kosanji Temple, a rather unique complex. Built recently, in the mid 1900s by a successful businessman out of devotion to his mother, the whole temple had a different aesthetic from the usual Japanese temples. It was particularly ornate, and made use of the hillside geography. Each building in the complex is modeled after famous places elsewhere in Japan. It had a thousand Buddha cave full of intense imagery and statues winding underneath the hill.  The was an impressive five-story pagoda near two art galleries.  A large imposing gate atop a staircase, as well as the main temple. And these were just some of the complex's religious icons. Due to the layout and architectural references, it almost felt like a theme park for Japanese Buddhism.

Atop the hillside, above the complex is the Miraishin no Oka, the Hill of Hope. Having no religious significance, this piece of environmental art struck a great balance between minimalism and naturalism. Carved entirely out of white Italian marble, this blinding bright monument was an impressive sight! It was also a ton of fun to climb and jump on. While it only took me 10 months, I managed to find a sweet parkour spot in Japan.

We then continued our trek across more bridges. While riding across the islands, the bridges grabbed our attention with their imposing presence. But once we were riding across the bridges, the provided unbeatable views of the sea and the surrounding islands as we were suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Along our route we passed some creepy mannequins, which sat next to a cooler full of free orange slices! Apparently in Japan, even when the people are inanimate, their hospitality is top notch.

We stopped once more for some good food at a rest stop, and then made our final leg of the journey. The scenery continued to be beautiful, yet interesting as the environment kept changing slightly different between islands.

Near the end things got more challenging, with the road cutting through the middle of an island rather than around. But then we made it to final bridge, which dwarfed all the other bridges. To reach the road we took a spiraling on-ramp build specifically for bicycles, breaking above the trees and over the water. The trail framed the bridge and its unbelievable scale! After cycling for what seemed like maybe a half hour we were rewarded with possibly the most fun snaking downhill of the whole ride, ending the ride on a fun note!

Having arrived in Imabari, we peddled into town, dropped our bikes off, and walked to the hotel where we ate a good dinner and met up with the rest of the group.

The next morning I woke up early, said goodbye to everyone, and caught a train to the nearby city of Matsuyama. I figured if I had made it all the way to Shikoku I might as well check out some of the sights! The main item on my time constrained agenda was visiting the ‘original’ onsen.

Tom Waters joined me, a Colorado ALT who studied abroad in Australia with my sister Maria! The world is truly a small place. We caught a fun cable car to the onsen on the outskirts of the city. At the end of a small shopping arcade stood the famous Dogo Onsen. Having over a thousand year history, it is considered the first hot spring in Japan. And for Ghibli fans, this building might look familiar since it is featured in the Miyazaki movie Spirited Away.


Apart from the main bath and relaxation areas, the building also has a separate quarters for the emperor's private use. While in theory it could be used by the emperor upon his visit, it is mainly a tourist attraction. We took the brief tour of the private quarters ourselves. We also stopped by a third floor corner room which was frequently used by the famous Japanese author Natsume Soseki. His book Botchan, is one of Japan's most famous modern literary works. While I have not read it myself, the psuedo-autobiographical nature of the synopsis feels reminiscent of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist.

The onsen itself was large, surprisingly deep, and quite hot. Relative to some more modern bathhouses, the amenities were rather sparse. Dogo is notable for serving tea out of rather uniquely shaped cups. So between the large stone pool and post-bath tea, the onsen experience was exactly the R&R we needed after our cycling journey the day before.

After the onsen, Tom and I noticed we had a bit of time before needing to catch our trains, so we power toured Matsuyama castle. It was possibly the most impressive castle I have visited in Japan. Much of the building is still original, which is rare for Japan as most of the castles had been destroyed due to fire, acts of god, or war. The castle complex is also massive, so much so we had to take a chairlift up the mountain to reach it. The castle has a stellar view of the sprawling city of Matsuyama, and a strong collection of artifacts.

A funny little story was during our time at the onsen we ran into a tour group, who we once again saw at the castle. I guess we were touristing right if we were ahead of the actual tour groups. They were a fun group of guys, and we had a good laugh after running into each other three times in town.

I wish I could have allocated more time to Shikoku, there seemed to be a lot happening in Matsuyama alone. Alas I had to get back to work the next day, so I hopped on a series of trains and made it back to Tottori that night.