Hi all, after doing the Shimanami Kaido in 2017, we will return to Japan in November 2023 and are planning to do another cycle route. As we will spend some days in and around Hiroshima, the Kakishima Kaido cycling route has caught our interest. Foreseen travel dates are 23./24. November 2023.
Questions, and hopefully we find some people who have already done this route?
Bicycle rental
We found several potential sources for renting bikes. As lot of the websites are in Japanese only, we are looking for some specific advice here.
– Where could we rent bicycles suitable for a tall man? My partner is very tall with 1.92 m, a bike suiting his stature would be nice. We are happy with conventional bikes as well as e-bikes.
– As it is not a round-course, can we rent bikes at one place and return at another place?
Places to visit
We are planning to spend two days for the route, in order to visit some interesting places along the way. We saw about the marine academy as well as the Kurahashi Katsura-ga-hama Onsen-kan. Also some oyster-related visit would be great. We read about the Etajima Oyster Factory.
– Is it worth visiting the Kurahashi Katsura-ga-hama Onsen-kan? Or would you recommend some other onsen (can also be combined with an overnight stay)?
– Which oyster-themed visit could you recommend? How about above mentioned Oyster Factory?
– What do you recommend visiting on the way?
– Where could we stay overnight? Ideally some
traditional Japanese guest house or a Ryokan. We looked into places close to Kurahasi Katsura-ga-hama Onsen but could not find something convincing. There seem to be some small hotel on the north side of Kashima Island, does anybody know about them and how/where to book?
I am trying to make my request more specific, as it was first removed due to „low effort“. We put quite some research into it, so I cannot relate to it being low effort. I tried to phrase my questions in an open way in order to gater info that we might have overlooked. Now I phrased them in a more closed and specific way in order to meet the requirements for posting here. Hope it works. Still,
thank you very much in advance for ALL your advice.
1 comment
In terms of accommodation outside the big cities, you’ll find English-language sites like booking.com quite sparse, especially for ryokan. If you head to the Japanese travel booking sites you’ll find more options, and some ryokan can only be booked direct via their individual websites. I have seen a few Hiroshima Prefecture ryokan on booking.com, albeit generally on the pricier end of the spectrum. There’s also a villa you can rent on Kurahashi Island, though like the ryokan it would make for a higher budget trip. The nicest hotel in the nearby city would be the Kure Hankyu Hotel by the station (you can book direct on their website), though it is modern/Western-style. It’s worth visiting the Yamato Museum and Irifuneyama Memorial Park if you want to spend a day there. For ryokan-style accommodation though, you’ll probably have more luck on Miyajima, which has a lot of hotels catering to that market.