[Measured by bicycle!] Shimanami Kaido distance and travel time

Shimanami Kaido is a world famous Japanese cycling course.

For those interested in cycling the Shimanami Kaido, the distance and time required to travel by bicycle can be a concern.

Especially for beginners who are going to the Shimanami Kaido for the first time, they may feel anxious about whether they can complete the route, wondering:

“How many hours does it take to ride a road bike from Onomichi to Imabari?”
“Is it a long distance, but can I make it in just one day?”

The sunset over the sea is beautiful, but you might be upset if you see getting dark before reaching your destination.

For example, according to the Shimanami Kaido’s tourist information website,

The distance from Onomichi to Imabari is about 70 km, and the cycling time required is as follows:

• Serious riders: about 3 hours
• Fast people: about 4-5 hours
• Those confident in their physical strength: about 5-6 hours
• Beginners: about 8-10 hours

Certainly, if you keep cycling speed at 20 km/h, you will be able to arrive in 3 hours and half by calculation.

However, you may want to take pictures and need to take a break and this requires a little time. We cannot easily measure the speed of our bicycles.

Moreover, when talking about the distance from Onomichi to Imabari in general, the 70 km of Shimanami Kaido refers to the foot of the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (Sunrise Itoyama) when mentioning “Imabari.”

Alright, I’ll try riding and measuring the distance myself.

I tried riding Shimanami Kaido cycling one way to see how many hours it would take

Explanation of distance and time measurement method

I will cycle from Onomichi to Imabari while taking photos with a digital camera.

The bike is a rental road bike.

The time on the pictures show my digital camera’s shooting time.

I didn’t just keep riding but also break as much as possible and rode slowly.

Places that I spent time for breaks and meals are shown in parentheses.

Running speed

I tried to maintain a constant riding speed, without rushing and at a comfortable pace.

I don’t know the exact speed since it’s a rental bike, but it might be around 20 km/h based on my feeling.

However, the average speed will vary due to the following factors, as I didn’t continuously ride.

Factors that slow down the average speed

• I intentionally stopped many times to take photos.
• I took many breaks.

Factors that speed up the average speed

• I was familiar with the route, so I could ride without getting lost.
• Since I went alone, I could ride at my own pace. Meals and restroom breaks were also completed in a short amount of time.

Shimanami Kaido: Distance and time measurement for each island from Onomichi to Imabari

Starting by renting a bicycle in Onomichi

Onomichi Station 9:01

Giant Store Onomichi 9:09 (go through rental cycle procedure)

Onomichi side ferry terminal 9:26

Mukaishima Island

Mukaishima side ferry terminal 9:40

Innoshima Bridge 10:16

Innoshima Island

Hassakuya rest house  (to take a rest) 10:24

Ikuchibashi Bridge 11:01

Ikuchijima Island

Dolce rest house (to take a break) 11:21

Setoda port 11:38

Tatara Bridge 12:15

Omishima Island

Tatara Shimanami Park (to take a break) 12:28

Omishima Bridge 12:45

Hakatajima Island

Marin Oasis Hakata restaurant (to take a break) 12:57

Hakata-Oshima Bridge 13:36

Oshima Island

Cafe (to take a break) 13:28

Yoshiumi-Ikiikikan restrant (to take a break) 14:10

Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (on Oshima Island side) 14:21

Imabari city

Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (on Imabari city side) 14:40

Imabari Station 15:01

Shimanami Kaido: Distance and time for each island from Onomichi to Imabari – Results

Total distance of 80km, travel time is 6 hours

Here are the log data from the GPS app.

Total distance： 79.77km
Total time： 6:02:30
Travel time： 5:37:17
Average speed： 13.20km/h
Average moving speed： 14.19km/h

Although I took several breaks, I didn’t do sightseeing.

The total amount of time was 6 hours.

Since the measurement started just before the GIANT Store Onomichi where I rented the bicycle, the actual riding time may be slightly shorter.

What surprised me was this:

Total distance: 79. 77 km

I think this is because the total distance increased not only by the Shimanami Kaido’s 70 km and 6 km distance from Itoyama Cycling Terminal to Imabari Station, but also by the loop connected both front and end side of a bridge crossing the Shimanami Kaido.

We actually need to ride Shimanami Kaido as much as 80 kilometers!

The bicyclists who already knew the way -Intermediate level (14 km/h)

Organizing each shooting point, I calculated the required time.

The average speed is calculated as 14 km from this measurement.

For those who are used to road bikes or cross bikes, or adults, an average speed like this (travel speed 20 km/h + breaks) should be achievable.

Island	Measurement Point	Measurement Time	Required Time	Distance Travelled
Onomichi	Onomichi Station	9:00	25 minutes
	Onomichi ferry terminal (west)	9:25
Mukaishima	Mukojima ferry terminal (west)	9:40	50 minutes	9 km
	Innoshima Ohashi Bridge	10:15
Innoshima	Hassaku-ya	10:25	45 minutes	12 km
	Ikuchi Bridge	11:00
Ikuchi-jima	Dolce	11:20	1 hour 15 minutes	17 km
	Setoda	11:40
	Tatara Ohashi Bridge	12:15
Oomishima	Tatara Shimanami Park	12:30	30 minutes	8 km
	Oomishima Bridge	12:45
Hakatajima	Marine Oasis Hakata	13:00	30 minutes	5 km
	Hakata-Oshima Ohashi Bridge	13:15
Oshima	Cafe	13:30	1 hour 5 minutes	18 km
	Yoshiura Ikikii-kan	14:10
	Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (Oshima side)	14:20
Imabari	Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (Imabari side)	14:40	40 minutes	11 km
	Imabari Station	15:00

Riding for the first time -For beginner (10 km/h)

Let’s slow the average speed a little and calculate it at 10 km/h (15 km/h of running speed + taking breaks).

This is for slow speed riders who need map-reading, or ride on a sport bike for the first time.

Let the departure time be 9:00 at Onomichi city, keep 10 km/h and arrive at Imabari city at 17:00.

It will be 8 hours tour.

Shimanami Kaido Cycling -The summary of distance and time required by bicycle-

As a result, I roughly made a correct assumption that would be about 5-6 hours for riders who has confidence in physical strength, and about 8-10 hours for beginners.

As a supplement, I felt that I was able to run faster than I thought because I was running alone by myself.

When you work out your schedule for the first time, it will be fun to talk with your friends at rest stations and photograph spots, and it may be better to expect to ride at 10 km/h.

It seems convenient to combine with shortcuts using ferries, in consultation with distance, time and your physical strength.

Measurement of Shimanami Kaido’s distance and required time was completed!

I hope you find it useful!