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★ Cycletowns Original
Japan’s island-hopping cycleway, and what to know before you ride it.
The Shimanami Kaido runs about 70 kilometres from Onomichi on Honshu to Imabari on Shikoku, crossing six islands on seven bridges built with dedicated cycle lanes. It is one of very few long-distance routes anywhere designed for bikes rather than adapted for them.
The riding is gentle — the bridge approaches spiral up at a steady gradient, and the island roads between them are flat and quiet. It is comfortably a day for a fit rider and a very good two days for anyone else, with the island of Ōmishima the usual overnight stop.
Practicalities that catch people out: bikes can be hired at one end and returned at the other, the bridge tolls for cyclists are small but real, and the route is well signposted with a blue line on the road surface. Ride it early and you will have the bridges to yourself.
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