![[Title] Shimanami Kaido Cycling Information: 2024 Website Annual Report](https://touring-shimanami.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/rep2024e-ogp.png)
*This article is an English translation of a Japanese report published in 2025.
Hello. I’m Kawai Yuki, a cyclist living in the Shimanami Kaido area. In this post, I’d like to share a look back at how my website has been growing.
Another Year of Running the Site
Thank you to everyone who visited Shimanami Cycling Tips throughout 2024.
In this post, I’d like to look back on how the site was used during 2024 (January 1 to December 31), sharing traffic data and highlights from the year.
This is a site I run on my own, and I believe sharing data on who visits and what they’re looking for — even in a small way — helps build the kind of transparency that makes this site a more trustworthy resource. That’s why I plan to publish this kind of report every year.
What I’ve always tried to do with this site is share the kind of real, detailed information that only comes from actually living in the Shimanami Kaido area. I want to help ease the worries that first-timers often have, one by one, so that every visitor can have a safe and enjoyable cycling trip. That commitment hasn’t changed in 2024.
What the Numbers Reveal
Over 150,000 people visited Shimanami Cycling Tips in 2024. I imagine many of them found the site while searching something like, “I’d love to try cycling Shimanami Kaido” or “I’m a beginner — will I be okay?” Below is a summary of the site’s usage data for 2024, based on Google Analytics.
[2024 Site Usage Data]
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Active Users | 151,611 |
| New Users | 152,610 |
| Events | 1,599,641 |
One notable feature of this site is that nearly all visitors are new users — which suggests that many people found it while researching Shimanami Kaido for the very first time.
Looking at device usage, smartphones accounted for roughly 67% of all visits.
[Device Breakdown (Active Users)]
| Device Category | Users | Approx. Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile (Smartphones, etc.) | 101,252 | approx. 66.5% |
| Desktop (PC) | 47,265 | approx. 31.0% |
| Tablet | 3,813 | approx. 2.5% |
Seeing these numbers reminded me that the site really is being used out in the field. I believe visitors aren’t just checking it during the planning stage — they’re also using it while cycling, to confirm routes or look up spots to stop at along the way. Going forward, I’d like to keep improving the layout and clarity of the site for smartphone users.
Top 5 Most-Read Articles of 2024
Here are the five most-read articles on the site in 2024. Looking at which articles made the list, I think it naturally reveals what visitors are looking for when they plan a Shimanami Kaido trip.
[Top 5 Most-Read Articles of 2024]
| Rank | Article Title | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | [1-Night 2-Day Itinerary] Complete Shimanami Kaido by Bike — A Beginner-Friendly Route with Must-See Stops | 12,313 |
| 2nd | [Complete Ferry Guide] Using Ferries and Passenger Boats on Shimanami Kaido — Including How to Bring Your Bike on Board | 11,888 |
| 3rd | [E-Bike Rentals] The Best Way to Rent an Electric Assist Bicycle or E-Bike on Shimanami Kaido | 11,854 |
| 4th | [Best Season] When Is the Best Time to Cycle Shimanami Kaido? A Season-by-Season Guide | 11,507 |
| 5th | [Measured Data] Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route: Distance and Elevation Explained — Why Do Different Sources Give Different Numbers? | 11,148 |
The top spot went once again to the 1-Night 2-Day Itinerary article. It speaks to the feelings of so many first-time visitors — “I’d love to cycle all the way from Imabari to Onomichi, but I’m not sure I can actually make it…” It’s an article I’ll keep updating with care, as it feels closest to the heart of what this site is for.
The Ferry Guide (2nd) and E-Bike Rentals (3rd) articles also held steady in popularity. It seems many visitors are looking for ways to tailor the journey to their own pace — whether that means shortening the distance with a ferry or reducing physical strain with an electric-assist bike. The idea of enjoying the ride without pushing too hard feels like a perfect fit for Shimanami Kaido, and it’s something I genuinely believe in too.
Beyond Cycling: Enjoying Shimanami Kaido in Your Own Way
When I looked at the search keywords bringing visitors to the site, I noticed a number related to non-cycling travel — things like “Shimanami Kaido on foot,” “driving to Senkoji Temple,” and “running Shimanami Kaido.”
Shimanami Kaido is widely known as a “cycling mecca,” but in reality, plenty of people enjoy it by car, scooter, on foot, or even running. And yet, information about these other ways of exploring the area is still surprisingly scarce online, at least in my experience.
I’ve long hoped that more people would feel free to enjoy Shimanami Kaido in their own way. I believe that offering information for a wider range of travelers — not just cyclists — is one way to help more people discover everything this area has to offer.
With that in mind, I worked in 2024 to expand the site’s coverage of non-cycling ways to explore the area. The name of this site does include the word “touring,” but it was never meant to be a resource only for cyclists. My hope is to keep growing it into a place that shares Shimanami Kaido in greater depth and from a wider range of perspectives.
Behind the Scenes of Running the Site
A Year of On-the-Ground Research
2024 was a year when I put particular effort into going out and researching things in person. From ferry crossings in Onomichi to roadside stations, convenience stores, parking areas, and how to transport a bike by bus — I visited each location to verify the latest information before writing or updating each article.
One experience that stood out in particular was a research stay in Onomichi focused on accommodation. For me, based on the Ehime side of Shimanami Kaido, Onomichi is always the destination in my mind — the finish line. Spending about three nights there and hearing directly from the staff and people involved in running the accommodations gave the writing a real sense of authenticity.
Talking with the people on the ground, I could feel their genuine desire to make the experience better for visiting cyclists. It was truly inspiring. And it reminded me again how much I want my work here to be a positive contribution to the efforts of those who keep this area alive.
Growing Past 150 Articles
Updating existing articles became an even bigger part of my work in 2024. Whenever a business or service changes, I try to update the relevant information as quickly as possible. I’ve also continued refining the site’s main page — “A Complete Guide to Shimanami Kaido Cycling” — through multiple rounds of revisions, always aiming to help first-time visitors find what they need without confusion.
As of January 2025, the site has grown to around 150 articles. By reorganizing content by island and topic, I’ve been working toward a structure that makes it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve also been quietly continuing to survey visitors in the field……
Declining Advertising and Sponsored Content Requests
As the site’s traffic has grown, I’ve been receiving more and more requests from companies for advertising or sponsored content placements. While I appreciate the interest, I continue to decline these requests in order to maintain the neutrality and fairness of the information I share.
I’ve heard that some major guidebooks operate on a system where paying a fee guarantees prominent placement. What I share on this site is limited to things I genuinely recommend. I believe that’s what builds real trust with readers.
Joining J SPORTS Cycle Village
While I continue to decline most collaboration requests, there was one piece of good news I’m happy to share. I received an invitation to become a partner contributor for Cycle Village, a community platform for cyclists launched by J SPORTS — a sports broadcasting network also known for its road racing coverage.
The opportunity to share Shimanami Kaido route and spot information through that platform felt like a great fit, so I was happy to accept. I’m looking forward to continuing to share the kind of detailed, on-the-ground information that only living here can provide.
Social Media and Expanding My Reach
My accounts on X and Instagram are now in their second year. Rather than posting frequently, I’ve focused on sharing fewer but higher-quality posts — and as a result, my follower count has been growing steadily.
I share a range of content — from recommended spots and basic cycling tips to guidebook introductions — while also making sure to guide followers back to the website for more detailed information.
One of the things I value most about maintaining these accounts is how much I learn from the real voices and interests of cyclists out there. Through the responses I receive, I’ve also noticed a growing interest in wider-area cycling routes beyond Shimanami Kaido itself — such as the Uwakai Shiosai Orange Cycling Road and the Route 94 Ferry connection between Kyushu and Shikoku. These insights have led me to expand the site’s coverage of such regional routes.
Looking Ahead to 2025
One of the strongest impressions from 2024 was how dramatically the number of international visitors to Shimanami Kaido has increased. The faces I pass on the cycling road have changed noticeably over the past few years. I’ve been thinking about creating English-language pages for some time, and 2025 may finally be the year I make that a real priority.
What I want to continue prioritizing is the kind of information that only comes from living here — seasonal weather changes, shifting sunset times, road condition updates, and other details that are hard to find in books or aggregated travel sites. I’d like to keep sharing these things with care.
My hope is that through Shimanami Cycling Tips, many more people will enjoy safe and wonderful journeys along Shimanami Kaido in 2025. And I believe the best contribution I can make is simply to keep sharing honest, ground-level information from here.
In this post, I’ve looked back on the year 2024 for Shimanami Cycling Tips, with a look at the Google Analytics data along the way. I hope what I share here helps someone plan a Shimanami Kaido cycling trip — or maybe even inspires someone to give cycling a try for the very first time.