What's new

GW 2015 Tour Help (Shikoku)

paberu

Speeding Up
Dec 26, 2014
58
2
Hello,

I'm thinking of going touring during the golden week this year again,

So far my plan is to start in Onomichi (shinkansen from Kyushu)-> Ride the Shimanami Kaidan first day (rest).
Next Day go from Imabari to Takamatsu. Takamatsu to Wakayama (via Ferry from Tokushima).

From there I'm a little lost, should I loop around the coast to Toba and then Nagoya? It seems to be quite desolate there, but I think I can hit 150km - 200km a day to make it through.

Any advice, anything I should look to visit? Should I just keep it to Shikoku and spend more days exploring? If I loop around the whole island it will let me go back via ferry to Kyushu like here: https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/threads/golden-week-2013-tour-feedback-shikoku-kyushu.4384/?

Cheers!

p.s. I'll reformat this format.
 
Last edited:
A few GW's ago, I did a 3 day tour... Starting in Onomichi , taking Shimanami kaido to Imabari, and onto Matsuyama on Day One (staying Dogo onsen); On Day 2, taking rt 33 Matsuyama to Kochi; and on Day 3 taking rt 32 going thru Oboke gorge (stunning) to Marugame (train station) - which will get you back to Okayama (to hop on shinkansen). On Shikoku, we stayed away from coastal routes (windy and crowded) and stayed inland. Views exceeded our expectations. All of our days were 130km+ and hilly, you'll want to tailor up/down to match your tastes....

** Post corrected.. Oboke gorge is on rt 32
 
Last edited:
A few GW's ago, I did a 3 day tour... Starting in Onomichi , taking Shimanami kaido to Imabari, and onto Matsuyama on Day One (staying Dogo onsen); On Day 2, taking rt 33 Matsuyama to Kochi (going thru Oboke gorge - stunning); and on Day 3 taking rt 32 to Marugame (train station) - which will get you back to Okayama (to hop on shinkansen). On Shikoku, we stayed away from coastal routes (windy and crowded) and stayed inland. Views exceeded our expectations. All of our days were 130km+ and hilly, you'll want to tailor up/down to match your tastes....


@trad --could you clarify? I'm seeing two different rt 32s (nat'l vs local), one of which goes thru/past Oboke station, and I can't seem to find a rt 33...?

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place...2!3m1!1s0x35522713b612c9ad:0xd0e3e451d6a6e1e7
 
I have in-laws in Kagawa so have ridden in Takamatsu, Marugame etc. Generally, Kokudo (National Roads) are wide and relatively busy, especially if near the coast.
Takamatsu is a pleasant city, but it does sprawl and the roads leading to it are busy (Kokudo 11, 32 etc).
One of the joys of riding in rural Kagawa is you are never too far from an udon shop. The best ones are located in the sticks!
If you enjoy visiting temples, I'd suggest tailoring your itinerary to pass some of the 88 Ohenro Fudasho.
Here are some routes I've done in recent years:
Okuboji - you could extend this to make into a non-coastal route from Kagawa to Tokushima.
The first 30km of this route goes past a number of temples and you could do it in reverse if you're heading west to east.
Goshikidai Plateau, located between Sakaide and Takamatsu, offers great views of the Seto Inland Sea as well as two fascinating temples (Shiramineji and Negoroji). Check 65-85km of this ride - again you could do this in reverse.

If you decide to stay in Shikoku and love to climb, go to Oku-Iya, as Iya has sadly fallen victim to Japanese overdevelopment (ugly car park & omiyage complex metres away from the Kazura Bashi). You could try this, but turn left onto Kokudo 439 and head to Tsurugi-san. Maybe best to split over 2 days though, as Tsurugi-san is at around 1400m. If going on these roads, be sure to carry supplies as the routes have very little traffic/shops.
 
@jdd - Oboke (and Koboke) are on Rt 32 - and were on day 3 of my tour....I've corrected earlier post, thanks for pointing out... Beautiful part of the country.
 
Back
Top Bottom