Exploring Japan’s Shimanami Kaido in 4 Days | Ultimate Cycling Trip 🇯🇵

Exploring Japan’s Shimanami Kaido in 4 Days | Ultimate Cycling Trip 🇯🇵

Hey guys, good morning and welcome to 
another video here from Japan. So today   we are in the island of Shikoku in the 
city of Imabari. And today is the day that we’re going to start an amazing cycling 
adventure. Two different islands here from Imabari to the city of Onomichi. And the 
cycling route is called Shimanami Kaido. And the route that we’re going to 
do, we’re going to take about 3 days,   which is pretty long because you can do it even 
in one day. Uh we’re going to take three days to cross seven bridges and seven islands as you 
can see here on this beautiful wall painting. Secret place for cycling. But before we leave, we’re going to 
ship our bags to Onimichi so we don’t have to carry it around during the cycle trip. So, we are here now in the giant store picking 
up our bikes and plans already changed because it is raining like hell. We wanted to take 
a ferry to the first destination and cycle the last little bit, but the ferry is going in 3 
and 1 half hours, so we don’t want to wait. So, we’re just going to go through the rain 
to our first destination. We’re going to   start here. There’s a map here in the store. So 
this is the giant store, our starting point for today. And then we are following the blue line, 
crossing this bridge going to this first island, Oshima Island, and then crossing another 
bridge over here going to Hakatima Island. And then we will stay somewhere here. So we 
have to cycle this piece through the rain. We will take some stops because it is 
raining like hell. It’s like coke or   orange or something here. Let’s 
just get the bikes and start. Hey, you ready? Yeah. Yeah. Look 
at us. Let’s start this trip. I’m not really used to ride on a bicycle like 
this. It’s pretty. It’s like a race racing uh touring bike. Oh, there’s jury 
going. Let’s just go to the first stop. Okay. Well, the first couple 
of kilometers are done,   but we’re now about to enter the huge bridge. And uh this road is just like going bomb bomb bomb 
going up. So I’ll see you when we get up there. Okay guys, we made it. We are on the bridge. 
But look at the weather. It’s just insane. There’s not really a a beautiful view 
as you can see from this side. This side we have a little island and some 
ships. But I think for now it’s best to   continue and found a place to shelter for 
a little bit. Jury is going like a maniac. We did it. We just crossed the first bridge. It’s 
also the longest one. Check it out. Beautiful. This view, this bridge. Absolutely 
stunning. We’re not going to film   the every bridge obviously because 
they are kind of the same. A little bit different I heard. But uh 
we’ll see that along the way. And there are not many tourists today. Okay. Okay. So, we are now on the hunt for some lunch. 
We’ve been cycling now since the last stop for about 30 minutes. It’s mostly like up and down, 
up and down. Obviously, on these islands, going down is much nicer than going up. But with these 
bikes, it’s pretty decent. It’s pretty decent. We reached the second bridge. It’s a lot smaller, but uh also less cycling to reach the top 
here. But uh again, beautiful view of the islands and the island we’re going to reach 
now. We’re going to stay here for the night. And the name of the island we’re 
going to reach now is Hakatajima. We have reached our hotel here on our first 
day of cycling. We cycled about 20 km today in the rain. The weather wasn’t perfect, 
but hopefully it will be better tomorrow. While we are visiting an island that has been 
a secret by the Japanese government for many, many, many years and has now been taken 
over by rabbits. So, see you tomorrow. Oh, okay guys, day two has begun. Today 
we start from Hakata Island where we are now and we are cycling a little 
bit towards that bridge to the other island here across the the water 
which is named Omishima Island. And there we’re going to go to our hotel to 
drop us to drop off our luggage and then we are heading to Okunoshima Island which is a small 
one we which we can only reach by boats and that’s the island with a dark secret a dark Japanese 
secret and nowadays it has been taken over by 600 800 cute little bunnies. So, let’s grab 
the bikes and let’s go to Bunny Islands. Yeah. Worst part of the trip so far, getting on these 
bridges, just climbing with this bike. Luckily, this bike is super light and super 
good to to drive, but you know, it’s just killing. But a lot of fun. Heat. Heat. We found this little cute cafe and it 
looks a lot like the cafe we visited in carst a couple of days ago. And so it 
happened to be. They are friends. Look, they’re friends. We were here like 
5 days ago in cast car city. Oh, I guess this is a different one, but this is where 
we were. Such a coincidence. Very nice. Haku. Heat. Omishima is also very famous for their oranges, 
mandarins, lemons. So check it out. There they are. And this is a wild strawberry that 
attracts the snakes. So let’s continue. We are on the rabbit hunt. But this island is 
not only known because of the rabbits. This island is known because this island was top 
secret. top secret business by the Japanese government for many many years from 1929 
until 1945. On this island was a chemical weapons plant. So they were producing mustard 
gas and tear gas and all kinds of different kind of balloon boom called fugo and hydrogen 
balloon attached with a small incenderary bomb. All bombs they produced to attack the United 
States of America during World War II. And this is a part of that factory, that plant that 
produces these weapons. Check how cool it looks. So, apparently the building behind me produces   all the energy for the factory a 
little bit further on the island. We bought some lettuce for the 
rabbits. We found the rabbits.   We found them. Check it out. Our 
first rabbit. Oh, so cute. So cute. Oh, he looks very fluffy. And there’s another 
one here which we will feed a big one. Look at him. He’s just thinking. 
Hello. You want some lettuce? Yes. Okay. So, I guess I think they 
they like to be pet. Hello. Amazing. Kawaii. We are a little bit afraid that not many 
rabbits will go out of the forest today   or nowadays because a couple of months ago there 
was a guy and he killed 80 rabbits in total. 80 rabbits he killed. So there was a little hunt 
on the rabbits. It’s terrible of course, but that’s why we think like maybe the trust in the 
human is a little bit gone on this rabbit island. On the island there was also a huge battery 
of cannons to protect this place or protect   Japan. This was already before the I have 
to read it here the Russo Japanese war from 1904 to 1905. These cannons were placed 
in 1902 way before second world war and even after the war during the Korean 
war which America also took part they also used this island to store weapons 
too much history here let’s continue Heat. Heat. Okay guys, that was Rabbit Island. That’s 
the end of day two here in Shimanamikaido. I’m going to take a delicious pancake 
and I see you tomorrow at day three. Day three of the Shimanami Kaido cycling tour is 
about to start. So, we just had our breakfast here at the breakfast area of this place called Vaka 
Hotel or Vaka Resort and we are about to start the set the third day. As I said, at the moment 
we are here on Omishima Islands and we are going to go a little bit like this way, this way, this 
way and then we’re going to go to Ikuchima Island. It’s only about maybe one hour cycling. We’re 
going to put our bags in the new hotel and then we’re going to explore the hotel. Oh, 
there’s Jerry. And then there’s a special place there. We heard I heard so many stories 
about it. All the other cyclists are like, “Oh, have you been to this place on Iima Island?” We’re 
like, “No, we’re going there, but what is this place exactly?” and they told us a story and it 
is mindblowing. So, we’re going to head there now. We’re going to take the Tatara Bridge, which is 
that one, to Ikuchima Island. Let’s start the day. My favorite drink in Japan. Only available at Family Mart. burning me. Fire burn. We are now in Aheime Prefecture 
as you can see here. And we take one step to the left and we are in 
Hiroshima Prefecture. Let’s continue. burning me. There are also many points on this island with 
nice art just like this dinosaur. Hopefully, we find some other arts. They’re 
all scattered around the island.   But this one is beautiful. Look at 
it. It’s a T-Rex holding a lemon. in me. Fire burn in me. Fire in me. So, we reached the toada. We had a 
nice coffee, a local lemon cake. Now,   we’re having a ice cream. And after the 
ice cream, we’re heading to this Yeah. How can we say it? Temple. It’s an 
incredible place. It’s a magnificent   place. It’s like what the reason why 
people come to this part of the island. Have you ever seen the locks, the 
bike locks in Japan? I will show you. This is it. It’s just a little string like a key cord. Okay everybody, we made it. 
We have arrived to the Kosani   Temple. Check it out. Nice dragon. 
Okay, let’s go have a look inside. Yeah. Fire burning me. Fire burning me. Fire. Okay. So this temple was constructed by a man 
called Kosanji. That’s why it’s called Kosanji temple. It took him 30 years and he built this 
temple for his late mother because he loved her so much. He built this huge temple. Look at it. It’s 
crazy. Look at how many dragons. So many dragons. It says that Kosan Gi even entered the priesthood   in order to repay a son’s debt 
to gratitude to his mother. We are now entering the cave. Look 
at it. There’s all different kinds of Buddhas. See this one? You have the 
smaller ones. Magnificent. And this also I think at some point we come to a spot and 
that must represent hell in Buddhism. So if you if you are a Buddhist and you go to hell 
that’s what you will get. Let’s have a look. I’m not sure if it’s here actually. But what is 
this? Oh yeah, this must be it. Check it out. Oh, you see? He said, “This is some kind 
of a devilish guy.” And then, yeah, that’s somebody who didn’t uh who didn’t 
do well in life. This green little fella. Yeah. There’s all kinds of like 3D paintings 
here. You see, it’s a devilish guy. He’s killing everybody. It’s like blood everywhere. 
Whoa. This is pretty crazy. Oh, look at this. This is all like decapitations going on. 
Look at it. And it’s going on. It’s going on. There’s like Don’t know if I can show 
this on the on YouTube, but look at this. These are I don’t know what they’re doing with it,   but doesn’t look good. Doesn’t look good. 
But this cave is really cool. Look at it. Like these rocks. Pretty sweet. Oh, look 
at this. This is a dragon. eating someone. Kakoi. Okay, so wow, this place is huge and it’s 
super cool, actually. It’s really cool. Look at it. This tunnel is already continuing for like 200 
m or so. I have to watch out for my head though. It’s not made for tall peeps. Look at this. 
This is some kind of underground waterfall. Wa! Okay, guys. We’re now going to go I’m in the 
elevator now. We’re going to go to the last   area of this temple complex, and that is the hill 
of hope. And the hill of hope is designed and created over a period of 16 years by a man called 
Itto Guani, a sculpture who is active in Italy. It’s a Japanese man who works in Italy. Uh this 
park is opened since 2000, the year 2000. And it represents a peaceful world that is filled with 
hope for the future. Let’s go and have a look. So this whole hill is made with crazy big blocks 
of marble. White marble. Look at it. Yeah, it looks like a pile of rocks. It also is in 
theory, but it also looks pretty impressive, pretty cool. Like this scissor 
shape, scissor shaped stones. Okay, anyways guys, this is the end of day three 
for today. Tomorrow, day four of the Shimanami Kaido cycling trip, the most amazing cycle trip 
in the entire world. Today is our last day, the fourth day of our Shimanam Kaido trip. And we 
start today off at Bonapool Hotel. And this is not just a hotel. It’s a special hotel because they’re 
giving people with special needs an opportunity to work and to be part of society, which is not yeah 
really common in Japan, I guess, probably all over the world. But they give certain people a job like 
they uh let in cleaning the rooms or they make pastries. So, we’re going to buy some pastries 
to support the cost. Can I have two pudding? So, guests get a special discount for the 
pudding. Yeah, that’s what I have. Okay. Fire burning me. Fire burning me. We have left Satada and today the 
Oh, wait. It’s red. We’re just going to go. We’re just going to go. So, we just left Sata 
and we are on our way to our final destination, which is Onomichi, which is a bigger 
city in the Hiroshima Prefecture. But before we before we arrive 
there, we need to cycle about   20 kilometers and cross a couple of other 
uh islands. The first one is Inosushima. This is the fourth day cycling and we 
have the best weather. Look at the views. It’s simply amazing. All the mountains, 
the blue water, it’s beautiful bridges. It’s simply a beautiful way to see Japan. We found a castle on our way to Omichi. And 
this castle was owned just like any other castle here in Japan by the samurai. But this 
was not just a samurai. They were also pirates. Let’s have a look inside. So, these 
were the ships they were using, the samurai pirates. It’s 
pretty interesting, though. Wow, look at this true pirate helmet with a 
crap. So, I run into some fisherman here. Uh you’re doing the school project for school. 
Yeah. School. Ah, okay. And they’re doing some fishing. And they have some fish, but 
really special ones. They have a baby eel and they have a little like I don’t know how 
you say it, but you say it’s like a flat fish and some shrimps. But the eel and the flat 
fish are really special. Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful. There are many jellyfish. Yeah. It’s not dangerous. Oh. Oh. What’s it going? 
It’s for the sushi. For eating. Eating. What? Okay. So, this is our last spot which is ini 
almost. As you can see, that’s on the across the ocean or so. And this is what happened to Tom’s 
bike. It’s got flat suddenly. Luckily, it’s now and not at the beginning. So, we’re going to we 
need to walk the last little piece. We’re going   to walk back to the port instead of cycling. Why 
is it It’s not funny. It’s not funny. It’s okay. Now that we’re walking, I’m going to 
give you a very useful, handy tip. If you’re going to do this cycle trip and 
you’re going to rent a bike like this, take a special like pants for this with some 
like cushion on your buttocks because this there is nothing like a cushion. nothing 
there and it’s going to hurt like hell. So, we’re taking a little ferry at the moment. We 
were planning to do this anyways, but we had to do   it because of my flat tire. With the little ferry 
here, you skip a huge huge part of land that you should cross with the uh with the bicycle. So 
most people who do the the cycling trip choose to take the ferry here right across the other 
side instead of going like 20 km around it. Wa crazy Japanese boats. Okay everybody, we reached Onomichi and we are exhausted. We are here now at Kapa, a 
famous sushi chain here in Japan. And we were so hungry. So we just ordered the sushi. Look 
at it. Oi. And it’s come with the trainer. Anyways, we need a good meal. We need some 
rest. Maybe a little onen tonight. And then tomorrow we’re going to explore Onomiti. So, see 
you in the next one. Thanks for watching. Bye-bye.

Join us as we cycle the famous Shimanami Kaido — one of Japan’s most scenic cycling trip — over 4 unforgettable days in Japan! Starting the Shimanami Kaido in Imabari and ending in Onomichi, we took the most tourist-friendly route to explore everything this incredible journey has to offer.

From island-hopping across massive suspension bridges to feeding bunnies on the magical Rabbit Island (Ōkunoshima), this video is your ultimate travel guide to the Shimanami Kaido. We stop at local sights, taste delicious Japanese food, and discover hidden gems across the Seto Inland Sea.

Whether you’re planning your own cycling adventure in Japan or just love travel content, this guide is packed with helpful info, gorgeous visuals, and lots of fun moments on the road.

👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments if you’re planning to ride the Shimanami Kaido!

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