Cycling Shikoku, Japan 2.0 - Part 1: Tokushima to Kochi
SHIKOKU IS a bucket list route for CYCLISTs, featuring roads that wind through a breathtaking countryside full of stunning valleys, unspoilt coastlines and rivers. As a famous PILGRIMAGE destination, the island is also home to ancient temples and shrines as well as beautifully preserved traditional villages.
Shikoku is without a doubt one of the most intriguing places to cycle in Japan, as its remoteness from the mainland ensures that the traditions and cultures are very well preserved on the island. It is definitely a less touristy part of the country, since it takes a bit more effort to visit than the more popular heritage cities where visitors both local and foreign flock to. If you’ve been following the adventures of the Riding Tales crew all these years, you’ll know we’d already been to Shikoku in 2018, and had been planning to cycle somewhere else in Japan in 2020 before the pandemic turned the whole world upside down.
Once it appeared that some semblance of normality was returning and international travel was available again, Japan had not yet opened borders. Because of this we opted to fly to South Korea, as it was the only one of our three favourite cycling destinations (the other country being Taiwan) that had opened borders to travellers. But due to a K-ETA mishap that remains unexplained to this day, we ended up with a hastily arranged last minute trip to Japan instead. This would never be a bad thing, save for the fact that some financial loss was incurred since we had already booked everything and had to make last minute cancellation for flights and many accommodations.
Why Shikoku again? In all honesty everything was centered around the cost for an 11th hour tour plan. Flights to Kansai Airport were cheaper than the other airports like Narita Airport, so this was the main reason we flew there. From Kansai we looked at different routes that weren’t too far away, i.e. wouldn’t require too much Shinkansen use or any other form of local travel to our starting point. Shikoku and Wakayama were both on the list, but Wakayama would have colder temperatures compared to Shikoku at the time of our trip. We also had friends along the Shimanami Kaido route that we wanted to see, so all signs pointed to Shikoku for our first tour post covid. However, we didn’t want to just repeat our tour from 2018, so an alternative route was made instead.
OUR SHIKOKU 2.0 CYCLING ITINERARY
This time, our journey through Shikoku also took a total of 11 days to complete, but with 9 full days of cycling. We lost one rest day with this new route, as well as quite a bit of elevation gain, but clocked slightly more mileage distance wise. After overall adjustments to our route while we were there, we would cover a total 629km in total with a 5,460m elevation gain. Just to compare, in 2018 we covered 607km with more than 7,500m of elevation gain. The previous route ran from Tokushima - Oboke Gorge - Kochi - Shimanto - Uwajima - Matsuyama - Imabari - Omishima - Onomichi - Osaka.
Stage 1: Tokushima to Shishikui - 87km, 908m elevation
Stage 2: Shishikui to Kochi - 42km, 195m elevation (Adjusted from 126km due to heavy rain)
Rest day in Kochi City
Stage 3: Kochi to Nakatosa - 85km, 931m elevation
Stage 4: Nakatosa to Shimanto - 77km, 757m elevation
Stage 5: Shimanto to Uchiko - 120km, 1349m elevation
Stage 6: Uchiko to Matsuyama - 56km, 496m elevation
Rest day in Matsuyama City
Stage 7: Matsuyama to Omishima - 79km, 350m elevation
Stage 8: Omishima to Mitarai - 27km, 186m elevation (Adjusted from 45km for a more scenic route)
Stage 9: Mitarai to Kure and Hiroshima - 56km, 288m elevation
Ideally, adding several more days to the trip would have allowed us to explore more of the coastal areas and more heritage towns and cities. But then again that seems to be something we say after every trip, so it is really hard to say what would be the perfect itinerary. More to the point would be there’s so much to see and do in Shikoku and the neighbouring smaller islands that you can’t possibly cover everything of interest in such a short amount of time.
Starting the journey
After spending the night at the First Cabin Hotel at Kansai Airport, Eka, Maya and myself set about getting ourselves to the starting point of our tour, namely Tokushima. You’ll remember that in our 2018 tour of Shikoku we took a bus to the city straight from the airport. However, in the two and a half years of the covid19 pandemic that Japan remained closed to the world, the same bus service had unfortunately been discontinued. Instead, we took a short taxi ride to Wakayama, where we could then take a roll-on-roll-off ferry to Tokushima. There, we unpacked the bikes and set up for the tour completely. We then sent our bike cases to our hotel in Hiroshima where we would end the tour, and rode the short distance to the Wakayama ferry terminal.
Stage 1: Tokushima to Shishikui
Start Tokushima
Finish Shishikui
Distance 87km
Climbing 908m
Grade Medium
The day started with a lovely breakfast spread with some delicious Hokkaido butter and an array of local fruits prepared by our Airbnb host in Tokushima. We then had to make a quick convenience store visit to send off a small backpack with some unneeded items to our final hotel in Hiroshima. Before embarking on our journey we each nibbled on a steamed bun snack despite already having breakfast, keeping in mind that there would be a lot of uphill riding later in the day. The first part of the journey saw us heading south to cross the Naka River, before turning onto a slightly more inland route that would feature riverside views with a backdrop of the mountains we would climb later in the day, as well as a fair bit of rolling terrain. Lunch came near the halfway point of Minami in the form of a traditional Japanese meal, in which the stars were fresh sashimi, tempura prawns and delectable braised fish.
The elaborate meal would prove to be a wise decision, as there would be some steeper gradients later, averaging up to 8-10%. We also had a lot of tunnels to climb through, not all with safe pedestrian lanes, though we were grateful for these as they meant a route punched through the moutains rather than more climbing. By late afternoon we were back on the road hugging the coastline, meaning a number of observatories with vantage points that gave us stunning views of the coast. We also made a pitstop at the Yakuoji Temple at the Hiwasa seaside town, temple number 23 in the 88 temple pilgrimmage circuit on Shikoku Island.
The sun set early as is common during our autumn cycling tours, which meant several climbs and descents in pitch black conditions. Our wildlife spottings included tanuki, a badger, as well as extremely terrified fawn and what appeared to be a feral cat. Our final moments riding along the coast was illuminated by beautifully bright moonlight, after which we turned a little bit inland and had a number of bridge crossings before finally reaching Mitsuka Minshuku in Shishikui. The hostess had prepared an elaborate multi-course dinner that featured a number of ingredients that were in season and specific to the area. Much green tea and a hot bath later, we rolled blissfully into our traditional tatami room bedding for the night.
Stage 2: Shishikui (aki) to kochi
Start Shishikui
Finish Kochi
Distance 42km
Climbing 195m
Grade Easy
The day began with an ominous drizzle, which we mistakenly assumed would ease up by the time we had breakfast and finished setting up. Our hostess followed up last night’s amazing dinner with an equally fantastic breakfast, and we savoured the meal gratefully thinking the day would be a long gran fondo with some punchy climbs along the way. When it became apparent that the rain had progressed into a full thunderstorm with no signs of easing up anytime soon, we accepted defeat and opted for a somewhat expensive van transfer to shorten our journey for the day. We found a less perilous starting point at the Aki train station, bypassing the worst of the storm and some 80km of rolling terrain. From there, the roads had mostly flattened out too.
After a late lunch/tea at a local bakery cum cafe nearby our drop off point, we rolled out to a very light sprinkling of rain. The skies were still grey and overcast, and the rain gradually returned albeit without as much force as before. Several hours of plodding along through a steady sprinkle and road spray ensure our rain gear was still wet through, and we arrived at Katsuo Guesthouse in Kochi damp and cold, and infinitely glad to end the ride for the day. We were definitely ready for a rest day after hitting the ground running upon arrival in Japan with no day to acclimatise, and there was no better time for some down time than immediately after such a wet ride. By the time we had checked in and showered only Domino’s Pizza was still taking orders and we made do with two seasonal special pizzas with Japan specific toppings for a late dinner.
Rest day in kochi
Opting to sleep in a little, we took care of laundry before deciding what we wanted to do in Kochi city. We’d already made a visit to the castle during our 2018 Shikoku tour, and wanted to do something else this time around. No one was in favour of rushing around too much, so a leisurely exploration was on the cards for the day. And after our somewhat sad pizza dinner the night we arrived, we obviously wanted to make up for it. First up was a visit to the shopping arcade, but all the restaurants and izakaya bars were about to shut their kitchens for a quick break. Instead, we headed to the Hirome Ichiba Market, which was possibly the best decision we made that day.
The market has a food court, and is the best way to eat some local delicacies at slightly better prices and in a more casual setting than a restaurant. Book an empty table and order from any of the stalls there, most of which will be offering fresh seafood of some sort. The grilled katsuo-no-tataki (skipjack tuna) served with sea salt and ponzu sauce is a must try specialty, and we all had a meal each with katsuo as the main dish and different sides, since no one was willing to share. A quick teatime of coffee and sweet snacks later, we were ready to keep moving.
Afterwards, we set about locating a local Mont bell store, to find rinko bags in case we experienced any more bad weather and needed to take the train instead of riding in the rain. Target acquired and a bit more wandering around later, we set about finding a good izakaya bar for a carbo loading dinner, since we were due to continue our tour the following day. We found a great izakaya joint not too far from the guesthouse, which had the most amazing food, including another round of katsuo. Bellies full, we bedded down for the night, preparing for the long journey to Nakatosa the next day, which would also be a tough one with lots of climbing.
STAGE 3: kochi to nakatosa
Start Kochi
Finish Nakatosa
Distance 85km
Climbing 931m
Grade Medium/Hard
The day began with a fond farewell to the people at Katsuo Guesthouse, who we’d spent the evening before chatting with over drinks and Japanese snacks. After checking out we had a power up breakfast at Depot Cafe et Restaurant, a Western style coffee house which is well known for its hearty fusion breakfast set meals. From Kochi we rode south towards the coast, getting some fantastic views of the sea thanks to a dazzling sun. It would appear that the threat of bad weather had passed, as the clouds had empited out all the rain on our way to Kochi the previous day. Our route hugged the coastline, passing through many quaint fishing villages along the way, on mostly flat roads with a view of more mountains we would be climbing later in the day. Eventually we found lunch at a local Moss Burger joint, one of our favourite fast food places in Japan. Double Tobikiri cheeseburgers with special Hokkaido Gouda cheese sounded like a good idea, and we tucked in without hesitating.
After lunch the flat terrain became more rolling, and by two thirds of the way we were heading inland, where the climbs got steeper and the going got much slower. By the time we left the fringes of Susaki, golden hour was beginning, and we rode north of the city towards the mountains which were by then bathed in the warm late afternoon sun. Peeling off the main road we took a small winding road up to the mountain peak, climbing in complete darkness through an eerily quiet village. We eventually rejoined the main road right before a big roadside station that was now closed for the day, save for some vending machines and clean toilets. After yet more climbing along some bigger trunk roads that were quiet, remote and dark, the road flattened out until we reached Nature Resort, where we hurriedly checked in to use the public bath before the main building shut for the night.
We found out a bit too late that there was no dinner to be had at the resort unless pre-booked and there was no food around for miles. Thankfully the kind French lady managing the place generously gifted us with a loaf of bread and several cans of tuna, while there were also sweet potatoes on sale that could be nuked in the microwave there. I managed to make a makeshift tuna pasta soup dinner thanks to a cheese pasta snack hiding in my handlebar bag the whole day, using eka’s camping stove he had brought along to make coffee. Needless to say, no one went to bed hungry that night. We even had leftovers for breakfast the next morning before checking out of our lovely log cabin in the mountains.
In the next part of our tour report, we cover stages 4 to 7, riding to Nakatosa, Shimanto, Uchiko and Matsuyama, before leaving Shikoku for the smaller islands. Click on Cycling Shikoku 2.0 Part 2 to continue the journey
If you enjoyed reading this post, do check out our other bike tours:
Cycling Spain’s Andalucia 2017
Cycling Taiwan’s East Rift Valley, Jiufen and Houtong 2019
Cycling Seoul to Busan, South Korea 2019
Cycling Northeast Taiwan 2023
We also have a number of local tours, if you’re keen on cycling in Malaysia:
Cycling Malaysia’s Northern States to Langkawi
Cycling Malaysia’s West Coast from Klang to Pangkor Island
