Hyogo (Kobe) to Osaka (35 km by bike)
Kobe and Osaka are one large conurbation and the best route we could find was to follow National Route #2 all the way. This is a busy road, but because it goes through a built up area, sidewalks are continuous. Even though we were separated from the vehicular ...
Himeji to Hyogo (Kobe) – 59 km (bike)
A “breakfast set” which is frequently available in cafes includes one or two eggs, usually boiled, but occasionally poached, a thick slice of toasted white bread, a small salad and coffee (or, this morning, good espresso and latte.)
The first section of the route recommended by the Japan Cycling ...
Tonosho to Himeji (33 km bike and 47 km ferry)
Soon after leaving Tonosho, we stopped at “Mother’s” again for brewed coffee, toast and that very good orange spread. The ride from there to Fukuda was great, although increasingly hilly around the coast (except for one long tunnel with a separate bike lane), which meant we ...
June 5th, 2018 – Day 95 and June 6th – Day Off
Takakamatsu to Tonosho (Shodoshima)(15 km by bike & 26 km by ferry) (33 km by bike)
We had been encouraged to visit Shodoshima by Alix’s cousin, Andy, and it looked like it might be a fun place to cycle. It turned out to be a great choice (thanks, Andy!). Shodoshima is the second largest island in the Seto Inland ...
June 3, 2018 – Day 94 & June 4 – Day Off
To Takamishu (140 km by train)
After the wonderful Shimanami Kaido, we were even more keen to avoid cycling on heavily trafficked roads, which ruled out riding across Shikoku or attempting to cycle to any of the 88 temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. Instead, we opted to take the train to Takamatsu, with a view to ...
June 1 & 2, 2018 – Days 92 & 93
Onomichi to Imabari (77 km over two days)
To Setoda:
Our friend Helen B sent us an article the other day from the May/June copy of I Fly Magazine, describing the Top 5 Bike Holidays. Two of them we had done: La Route Verte in Quebec (the section from Montreal to Rivière-du-Loup ) and Land’s End to John ...
Takehara to Onomichi (38 km by bike)
The town of Takehara styles itself as the “Little Kyoto of Aki”, having a well preserved old town, including 120 buildings remaining from the late Edo period (17 to 19th centuries), when the city flourished as a centre of the salt industry. The Special Historical District of old warehouses was selected as ...
Hiroshima to Takehara ( 13 km bike and 39 km car)
We had a brief panic this morning, when, just after starting out for the nearby Cafe di Espresso, Lois had a sharp, burning pain under her right kneecap when flexing her knee, virtually making it impossible to cycle. She had had occasional twinges in Korea ...
Miyajima and Hiroshima
Our visit to the island of Miyajima was a soothing contrast to yesterday. The island is replete with Shinto and Buddhist shrines, pagodas and parks, beautiful scenery and a peaceful ambiance. One of the icons of Japan is the torii leading to the Itsukushima Shrine, which we were able to view at high ...
Hiroshima
It was an emotional day, spent contemplating the horrors experienced by the people of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when, at 8:15 a.m., an atomic bomb was dropped on the city’s busiest downtown commercial and residential area. That area is now covered by Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, a beautiful space designed for the purpose of ...