Today’s journey started at the Tatara Shimanami Park in Omishima. Major reasons are availability of bus service from Imabari and the Rent-a-cycle Terminal. Moreover, it is close to Setoda Sunset Beach where we would have our lunch. The only downside is that we have to ride the Tatara Bridge twice just like what we had for the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge in yesterday’s ride.

It took around one hour to arrive at the Omishima BS. Quickly we picked up our bikes at the Rent-a-cycle Terminal and started our ride towards the Tatara Bridge.

This time I got a Giant Escape city bike and my wife had the same Bridgestone CYLVA. They were not very heavy and quite suitable for today’s ride which had a number of climbs to the bridges.

My boy had the same Giant XTC Jr. I wondered if there was a mass replacement of kid’s bike as all of those available in the Rent-a-cycle Terminals were 21-Speed 2016 models.

Our Day Two Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route

With my latest route revision, we would be going up and down several times today as below:

1. Tatara Bridge climb from Omishima
2. Tatara Bridge climb from Ikuchijima
3. Omishima Bridge climb from Omishima
4. Hakata Oshima Bridge climb from Hakatajima
5. Miyakubo Pass in Oshima
6. Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge from Oshima

From the above elevation profile, the challenge of the day would be the Miyakubo Pass and the climb up to the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge.

The weather was not good today and dark clouds were hanging in the sky during our bus trip to the Tatara Shimanami Park.

Within few minutes of our ride from the Park, there was a sudden downpour and we all got wet.

Quickly I dragged all the bikes under a temporary “shelter” until rain was stopped.

See my wife’s DIY backpack cover using plastic bags we previously got from the convenience stores.

She is a genius in that 👍👍

We moved on once the rain was stopped.

The first bridge we rode on was the Tatara Bridge. 1480 Meters in length and built across the Ehime Prefecture and the Hiroshima Prefecture. The boundary is marked on the cycling course which is a tourist hot-spot.

We stopped at the Setoda Sunset Beach for our lunch.

The 800 meters long beach is one of the biggest seaside sport beaches in the Seto Inland Sea area. Famous for its fine white sand and of course, the beautiful view of sunset.

You know why I originally planned to stay here for the night.

Anyway, we didn’t have enough time to walk around. So if you would like to explore more in your future trip, remember to spare some times in your itinerary.

Today’s ride is mainly on the National Highway 317 along the coastal areas.

To my boy, I think the most challenging part was riding with a group of foreign students (I believed) when climbing up to the Hakata Oshima Bridge in Hakatajima.

There were about 20 young students led by teachers (also what I believed) also riding along that part of the Shimanami Kaido.

My boy tried his very best to follow and later, overtook them. Something that gave him some sense of accomplishment.

We were slightly behind the schedule when we were back to Oshima.

Understand that there was still 20+ Kilometers to go before we arrived at the JR Imabari Station Rent-a-cycle Terminal,  we might not be able to arrive before the closing time.

There was another terminal at Sunrise Itoyama that opened until 8pm during summer. We should make it but we might miss the last bus from there to the JR Imabari Station.

We finally decided to stop and return our bikes at the nearest terminal, the Miyakubo Rent-a-cycle Terminal.

From there, we took the bus back to the JR Imabari Station.

3-D visualisation of today’s journey.

Summary of the Day

Again, we had a wonderful time today.

Riding along the islands might sometimes be a little bit boring but climbing up and down those bridges were definitely challenging.

Besides, I also had some observation in the past two days.

Japan is known for their hospitality and friendliness towards visitors.

We came across a lot of Japanese cyclists throughout our journey and they would usually make some greetings to us. Ohayou gozaimasu (Good morning), Konnichi wa (Good afternoon) … , nodding their heads, smile or wave hands to us.

Something not commonly found in other parts of the world.

Of course, one thing that can’t be omitted, our dinner to celebrate the ride.

Last but not least,  here is another video for today’s ride.

Hey, How About the Regrets

Despite we had two attempts to the Shimanami Kaido, we still could not make it a 100% completion. 😱😱😱

Probably our physical fitness are not the concern, it is the weather that cannot be easily controlled!

Thinking on the good side, this may be the reason for ANOTHER Shimanami Kaido ride! 🤣

Click the links below for my previous posts on the Shimanami Kaido Ride 2017:

• Shimanami Kaido – My Family Challenge
• Shimanami Kaido – When planned trip turned into an unplanned one
• Shimanami Kaido – Goodbye to Noru