One-Way Cycling on the Shimanami Kaido with a Rental Bicycle

Can you cycle the Shimanami Kaido one way? In this beginner-friendly guide, I’ll walk you through the public rental bicycle system, GIANT’s one-way plan, bicycle pickup services, how to choose the right rental bike for a one-way trip, and how to get home once you’ve returned it.

Can You Cycle the Shimanami Kaido One Way?

You might be wondering, “I’d love to cycle the Shimanami Kaido on a rental bike, but do I have to ride all the way back to where I picked it up?” At most tourist destinations, rental bicycle shops only have a single location, so returning to your starting point is usually the rule. The Shimanami Kaido, though, works a little differently.

• Pick up in Onomichi, return in Imabari
• Pick up in Imabari, return in Onomichi
• Return on an island partway through
• No need to ride back to where you started

The Shimanami Kaido has a rental bicycle system built to make this kind of one-way cycling possible.

In this article, I’ve brought together everything first-time visitors should know: how to choose the right rental bike for a one-way ride, how pick-up and drop-off actually work, and how to get home once you’ve returned your bicycle.

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One-Way Cycling Is Easier Than You Might Expect

From Onomichi to Imabari, or Imabari to Onomichi

“One-way cycling” on the Shimanami Kaido simply means returning your bicycle at a different location from where you picked it up.

You could start in Onomichi on the Honshu side and finish in Imabari on the Shikoku side, or ride the other way, from Imabari to Onomichi. The full Shimanami Kaido route runs roughly 70 to 80 km (about 43–50 miles), but riding one way means you never have to retrace your steps

Since you’re not cycling the same scenery twice, you’ll have more room to take detours or stop at a café that catches your eye along the way. And from wherever your ride ends, you can simply hop on a bus or ferry to make your way home.

You Don’t Have to Ride the Whole Route to Go One Way

It’s easy to assume that “one-way cycling” means riding the full 70 km (about 43 miles), but that’s not actually the case.

Plans that cover only part of the route one way, such as Onomichi to Ikuchijima, or Imabari to Omishima, are just as popular. You can also pick up a bicycle on one island and return it on another.

If you’re not used to riding a sports bicycle, or if this is your first long-distance cycling trip, I’d suggest trying a one-way ride at a distance that feels comfortable first. Completing the entire route isn’t the only point of a one-way trip, at least in my view.

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Public Rental Bicycles Are the Easiest Choice for One-Way Cycling

Ten Terminals Where You Can Pick Up and Drop Off

The Shimanami Kaido has ten rental bicycle terminals in total, spread across both the Onomichi and Imabari sides. Besides the terminals right by Onomichi Station and Imabari Station, they’re also dotted across the islands themselves — Mukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima (two terminals), Omishima, Hakatajima, and Oshima — plus Imabari Itoyama on the Shikoku side.

The public rental system, Shimanami Rental Cycle, generally allows you to return your bicycle at a different terminal from where you picked it up. It’s set up with one-way cycling in mind from the start. As a side note, there used to be a system where returning your bicycle to the same terminal would refund the one-way drop-off fee, but that has since been discontinued.

I’ve put together the address, opening hours, and access details for each terminal in a separate article, so do take a look if you’d like the full list.

Cross bikes and city bikes can be picked up and returned at any terminal, but e-assist bicycles, e-bikes, and tandem bicycles each have their own pickup locations and return rules. I’ll go into more detail on this later in the article.

Public Rental Bikes Make It Easy to Build a One-Way Trip

According to the official website of Shimanami Japan, the organization that runs the public rental bicycle system, you’re free to change your return terminal partway through your ride, depending on the weather or how you’re feeling.

In other words, you can decide partway through, “I was planning to reach Imabari, but I’ll stop here for today,” and that’s perfectly fine. Low-cost one-way drop-off, plus the flexibility to return your bicycle partway through, is a genuinely reassuring option for anyone new to bicycle travel, or visiting the Shimanami Kaido for the first time.

The Shimanami Kaido isn’t only for people with the stamina to complete the whole route. Being free to set your own finish line, one that matches your pace and your style of travel, is, I think, the biggest appeal of a one-way trip on the public rental system.

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Want a Road Bike? Try a Private Rental Shop

GIANT Store Offers One-Way Road Bike Rentals

If you’re an intermediate or advanced rider looking for something a bit more serious, I’d also recommend renting a high-quality road bike from GIANT Store, run by the bicycle maker GIANT. With shops in both Imabari and Onomichi, they support one-way cycling too.

GIANT Store’s one-way service is limited in the number of bicycles available and requires advance reservation, and it only applies to road bikes. Cross bikes aren’t eligible for one-way rental, so do keep that in mind.

For an additional fee of 3,300 yen* (tax included, roughly $21 USD depending on the exchange rate), you can rent a bicycle in Imabari and return it in Onomichi, or the other way around. It works for both day trips and multi-day trips, though there are a few finer conditions worth knowing. For instance, one-way rentals from Onomichi to Imabari aren’t available on Tuesdays, so it’s worth checking the official website before you book.

*Rates are subject to change.

I’d think of this less as an alternative to the public rental system and more as an option for riders who care about the type of bicycle they ride. I’ve written more about road bike rentals in a separate article, if you’d like the details.

For Shops Without One-Way Service, There’s a Bicycle Pickup Option

Most private rental shops besides GIANT Store expect you to return the bicycle to the same shop where you picked it up.

That said, if there’s a particular shop’s bicycle you’d love to ride, there’s also the option of using a bicycle pickup and delivery service. Companies like WAKKA, based on Omishima, and Seto Bike Taxi, based on Mukaishima, will come and collect your bicycle from wherever you specify.

There’s a separate delivery fee on top of the rental cost, but it opens up a lot of freedom, letting you ride your favorite shop’s bicycle all the way to wherever you’d like to end up. Pricing depends on the distance and the number of bicycles, so if you’re cycling as a group, the cost per person might work out lower than you’d expect.

Maps You Should Get in Advance

“CycloTourisme Shimanami,” which has been active in cycle tourism and regional promotion for nearly 20 years along the Shimanami Kaido, publishes guidebooks and maps. The map is also available in English and is extremely popular because it is the most detailed cycling-specific map in this region.

This product comes with a set of seven maps, each with a fairly detailed map for each island. I believe that getting your hands on this map will change your experience here. It can be purchased on Amazon.co.jp, and you can also buy it locally at Guesthouse CYCLONOIE in front of Imabari Station.

How Do You Decide Where to End Your One-Way Ride?

Riding the Full Route from Imabari to Onomichi

The full Shimanami Kaido route from Imabari Station to Onomichi Station runs roughly 70 to 80 km (about 43–50 miles). If you ride from morning until evening, it’s not an impossible distance to cover in a single day, even the first time.

That said, squeezing everything into a single day tends to turn the trip into a ride and not much else. If you’d rather build in time for sightseeing and café breaks along the way, I’d recommend a two-day, one-night plan with a stay around Omishima or Ikuchijima. I’ve also put together my own go-to model course in a separate article, so feel free to use it as a reference.

If You Only Have One Day, Make an Island Your Finish Line

Plans that cover just part of the route, such as Onomichi to Ikuchijima or Imabari to Omishima, are popular with riders who want to fit everything into a single day. Keeping the distance shorter also means you get more time to properly take in whatever island you end up on, which is its own kind of reward.

Adjusting Your Return Point to Match Your Energy or the Weather

“I was planning to ride all the way to Imabari, but let’s call it here for today.” On the Shimanami Kaido, being able to make a change like this easily is one of the real advantages of one-way cycling.

Beyond your ideal Plan A of how far you’d love to get, I think it helps to loosely picture a Plan B for if you make less progress than expected, and even a Plan C for if you make more. Having those in mind, even roughly, makes for a much more flexible trip.

• Plan A: Pick up at Imabari Station, return on Omishima, then take a bus
• Plan B: Pick up at Imabari Station, return on Hakatajima, then take a bus
• Plan C: Pick up at Imabari Station, return on Innoshima, then take a bus or ferry

With the public rental system, you can simply return your bicycle at whichever terminal you reach and continue home by public transport from there. Being able to set your finish line based on how the day is actually going, without pushing yourself, might be a bigger advantage for beginners than it first seems.

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What Do You Do After Returning Your Bicycle?

Heading Back by Ferry

If you return your bicycle on an island partway through, you can take a ferry or passenger boat onward to Onomichi, Imabari, or another island.

• Onomichi to Ikuchijima (Setoda)
• Imabari to Oshima to Hakatajima to Innoshima (Habu)

Routes like these are the ones most commonly used by one-way cyclists on the Shimanami Kaido. There are actually far more ferry routes connecting these islands than most visitors expect.

Heading Back by Bus

In addition to the “Shimanami Liner” highway bus connecting Imabari and Fukuyama (for Onomichi, transfer to a local bus at an intermediate stop or take the JR line from Fukuyama Station), local buses running within the islands also offer a convenient way to get around.

• The Imabari-Fukuyama Shimanami Liner highway bus
• The Matsuyama/Imabari-Omishima limited express bus
• The Innoshima-Onomichi local bus

Bus routes like these are popular with travelers exploring the Shimanami Kaido by rental bicycle. There’s usually a bus stop near whichever terminal you return your bicycle to, so it’s worth checking the nearest one in advance for peace of mind.

Staying Overnight Where You Finish

Staying overnight at your finishing point before heading home is another option I’d recommend if you want some breathing room in your itinerary. If there’s no need to rush back, why not enjoy an evening on one of the Seto Inland Sea islands? I’ve put together my recommended places to stay for a Shimanami Kaido cycling trip in a separate article, so do use it as a reference when you’re looking for somewhere to stay.

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Things to Keep in Mind When Planning a One-Way Ride

Check the Return Hours in Advance

Opening hours for the public rental bicycle terminals vary by location. The three terminals at Onomichi Station, Imabari Itoyama, and Imabari Station keep relatively long hours, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from March to November, and 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from December to February. The island terminals, on the other hand, are open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Arriving at your finish line only to find you can’t return your bicycle is something you’ll want to avoid, so if you’re planning to return yours at an island terminal in particular, I’d suggest building the 5:00 p.m. cutoff into your itinerary from the start.

Check What Type of Bicycle You’re Renting

Even though one-way drop-off is possible, the conditions differ depending on the type of bicycle. Cross bikes and city bikes can be picked up and returned at any terminal, and multi-day rentals are available too.

E-assist bicycles are available for pickup at only six terminals, though you can return them anywhere. E-bikes can only be picked up at the three terminals of Onomichi Station, Imabari Itoyama, and Imabari Station; you can return them anywhere too, but only on the same day you rented them. Tandem bicycles can only be returned to the terminal where you picked them up, which makes them a poor fit for one-way cycling.

If this is your first time cycling one way, I’d feel most comfortable recommending a cross bike or city bike, since they give you the most freedom.

Think About Your Way Home Before You Set Off

“I’d decided where to return the bicycle, but I hadn’t looked into how to get home from there” is a mistake I see travelers make fairly often. Deciding on at least one option in advance, whether it’s a nearby bus stop or a port near your return terminal, will save you from scrambling on the day.

Being able to build an itinerary without overextending yourself, precisely because it’s one way, is, I think, what makes cycling the Shimanami Kaido so appealing. Completing the whole route isn’t the only goal. You can ride a distance that suits you and take a different route home than the one you came on. That’s the real charm of one-way cycling here, at least as I see it. I hope you’ll put together the perfect plan for your own style of travel.

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In this article, I’ve covered how to make a one-way cycling trip work with a rental bicycle on the Shimanami Kaido. On my website, Shimanami Bike Touring Tips, I bring together everything you need to enjoy Shimanami Kaido cycling with confidence, even as a first-timer.