Shikoku
A beautiful cycling route over the Japanese island of Shikoku and a few surrounding smaller islands. You will start in Onomichi with the Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route. After six small islands you will arrive on the island of Shikoku.
You cycle along the beautiful, quiet west coast and then cycle through the inland along the Shimanto River. South of Kochi you cycle along the breathtaking rocky coast and from Kochi you cycle back inland. To come to one of the most beautiful places in Shikoku, you will need cycle a while on a - although beautiful - busy road. The road became more calm over time and suddenly you cycle along the impressive Oboke Canyon.
Via the Iya Valley you cycle along the Iyakawa river with its centuries-old vine bridges. You cycle through the village of Nagoro "scarecrow village", where there are more scarecrows than people living there (1 in 20 is human), and finally reach the top of Mount Tsurugi (1500 m). From there you have a kilometers-long descent until you arrive in Takamatsu via a separate cycle path. Here you will take the ferry to the island of Shodoshima. This is a beautiful island, but the route we chose was tough. There is one road, the 27, on Shodoshima that has an inclination of 18% over a length of 3.5 kilometers. We survived, but it is almost impossible to do with luggage. But you will have enough distractions on your way, because you will see monkeys around you and you have a breathtaking view upstairs followed by a beautiful descent.
We cycled this route in October 2019. Read our travel report here (No. 9 to 12 are about this route).
Download the GPX-track
| distance | duration | avg. speed | trackpoints | trackpt. distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 745.7 km | n/a | n/a km/h | 8794 | 84.79 m |
| altitude range | lowest point | highest point | uphill | downhill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1008 m | -8 m | 1000 m | 13734 m | 13732 m |
