BAPEsta_SWE
Warming-Up
- Dec 17, 2021
- 4
- 2
Hi all!
I’ve had the vision of doing a cycling tour in Japan since early 2019 but we all know why that hasn’t been possible yet. At first the idea was to ride around Awaji but after becoming a more and more avid cyclist I’ve realized that Awaji is far too small. Recently I sat down and started really looking through a possible route, but this time on Shikoku. This is what I’ve come up with. The distances seem doable and I am aware of the elevation changes, especially with the 1st leg that will be both long and steep (5m to 1400m above sea level). But what I do not know is if I am missing out on some Need-to-see places that I can not miss. So please, give me tips or alternate routes, I’d be incredibly grateful!
I am not a huge fan of cities and am more interested in riding in nature and stopping in smaller villages or towns. I’ve tried to find cheap or free campgrounds to stay at and I will bring my own tent to keep the costs down but when I stop for more than one night I will go for a cheap hotel where I can do laundry and such. During the Shimanami Kaido leg I’ve found a hotel on Ikuchi Island that looks neat and in a nice price range, not terribly expensive and not too cheap. Suggestions are welcome!
1st rough route plan:
This is all a rough plan by now and I’m not really expecting to do this until Late April, Early May 2023 or even 2024. My exploring of Osaka will probably be pretty brief as I’m not a fan of cities and when I do visit cities I usually enjoy exploring them with minimal planning. But as a nerdy IKEA employee I will visit both the Osaka and Kobe IKEA warehouses, that’s my only plan in Osaka so far.
Do you bring a light carrying bag with you on the ride to use for ferries/trains or is it easy to get one on the fly? Thinking mainly of one to use for my trip from the Hotel in Osaka to Tokushima and the trip from Onomichi back to Osaka. When checking in my bike for the flight I’ll use a hard case that I will leave at the hotel in Osaka.
Have I missed anything? Is there something you see as being completely crazy or boring? Should I redo some route to really get the full experience?
I’ve had the vision of doing a cycling tour in Japan since early 2019 but we all know why that hasn’t been possible yet. At first the idea was to ride around Awaji but after becoming a more and more avid cyclist I’ve realized that Awaji is far too small. Recently I sat down and started really looking through a possible route, but this time on Shikoku. This is what I’ve come up with. The distances seem doable and I am aware of the elevation changes, especially with the 1st leg that will be both long and steep (5m to 1400m above sea level). But what I do not know is if I am missing out on some Need-to-see places that I can not miss. So please, give me tips or alternate routes, I’d be incredibly grateful!
I am not a huge fan of cities and am more interested in riding in nature and stopping in smaller villages or towns. I’ve tried to find cheap or free campgrounds to stay at and I will bring my own tent to keep the costs down but when I stop for more than one night I will go for a cheap hotel where I can do laundry and such. During the Shimanami Kaido leg I’ve found a hotel on Ikuchi Island that looks neat and in a nice price range, not terribly expensive and not too cheap. Suggestions are welcome!
1st rough route plan:
- Arrive in Osaka, Stay at a hotel close to Kansai Airport.
- Osaka - Tokushima by train and ferry (1 Day in Tokushima)
- Leg 1: Tokushima - Mt. Tsurugi (76km)
- 1 Day rest to hike Mt. Tsurugi
- Leg 2: Mt. Tsurugi - Sameura Dam (84km)
- Leg 3: Sameura Dam - Snow Peak Campground (47km)
- 1 Day rest with possible river rafting
- Leg 4: Snow Peak Campground - Sanseki Camping Ground (57km)
- Leg 5: Sanseki Camping Ground - Shimanto canoe and camp village (67km)
- Leg 6: Shimanto canoe and camp village - Uwajima (60km)
- 1 Day rest
- Leg 7: Uwajima - Matsuyama (85km)
- Leg 8: Matsuyama - Imabari (Option 1, 56km) / (Option 2, 58km)
- Leg 9: Shimanami Kaido in 1 or 2 days
- Travel back to hotel close to Kansai Airport from Onomichi
- Light exploring of Osaka for a few days
- Fly home
This is all a rough plan by now and I’m not really expecting to do this until Late April, Early May 2023 or even 2024. My exploring of Osaka will probably be pretty brief as I’m not a fan of cities and when I do visit cities I usually enjoy exploring them with minimal planning. But as a nerdy IKEA employee I will visit both the Osaka and Kobe IKEA warehouses, that’s my only plan in Osaka so far.
Do you bring a light carrying bag with you on the ride to use for ferries/trains or is it easy to get one on the fly? Thinking mainly of one to use for my trip from the Hotel in Osaka to Tokushima and the trip from Onomichi back to Osaka. When checking in my bike for the flight I’ll use a hard case that I will leave at the hotel in Osaka.
Have I missed anything? Is there something you see as being completely crazy or boring? Should I redo some route to really get the full experience?
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