A group of 3 of us are planning for a longer trip next spring (after having it pushed off each of the last 3 springs), and while much of our itinerary is more or less nailed down, I had a couple of questions regarding some route possibilities. Worth noting we’ll have active JR passes during the activities below.
First, we’re planning on a few days in Shikoku, with Matsuyama being the first stop there. Training there from Osaka is simple enough, but we had the thought of possibly going along the north side of the inland sea for that scenery for a day instead, stopping at Tomonoura (near Fukuyama) in the morning and then going to Onomichi and spending the night there. Then the following morning, either rent a car one way to Matsuyama or take a highway bus across the Shimanami Kaido.
1) Is half or 2/3 of a day in Onomichi worth it?
2) Is it worth it (both time and money) to rent a car to drive across the Shimanami Kaido for the freedom of stopping wherever we want along the way for the scenery, pictures, etc, vs. taking the bus(es)?
Second point is regarding our plan to go down the Kii Peninsula a bit near the end of our time staying in Osaka, mainly to see Nachi Taisha one day and do the shorter hike from Hosshinmon-oji to Hongu Taisha the next and leave that afternoon/evening to go on our way. Like above, trains are straightforward enough to do, but we also had the thought about taking an extra day and again renting a car to drive down the coast, stopping by Shirahama and Kushimoto, spending the night there or in Nachi.
1) Is it worth it (time and money) for the extra day to see around Shirahama/Kushimoto on our way down the coast?
2) If yes to the above, would it be worth the extra cost (~10000ï¿¥) to just do the car one-way to Shingu and take a train back to Osaka, our save the money and drive back ourselves?
3) How long would we want to give ourselves to do the hike from Hosshinmon-oji and see the shrine at a modest pace?
Thanks much for your help!
4 comments
Yes, spending time in Onomichi is absolutely worth it. It is a lovely city and probably my favorite place in Japan. The view from Senko-ji is great, the small streets on the mountain side are really nice. There is many cute stores and cafe. Absolutely do not miss Onomichi ramen.
As for the choice between highway bus and car rental, as you said, the advantage is that you can stop on the way if you have a car. In that regard, I think you should check if there is things you would like to see on the islands first. I think that there is a highway bus that do the whole route in one go without stop, but Google Maps suggest that you can do it with two bus, changing in Innoshima. So one more option would be to take a boat to Innoshima, then walk to one of the bus stop. That would be about 3km walk to the Innoshima Bridge Bus Stop at the highway rest area (note that if you Google map to go there walking, it will make you do a detour, so instead, say you want to go on the “wrong” side of the highway, you can see that there is a ramp to walk across and go on the other side. You can also do a detour via Shiratakiyama, from the top of the mountain, you have a great view, with that detour it would be about 4.5km. If you do something like that, could be an idea to use a luggage forwarding service so you only have to bring one change of cloth with you. And of course, make sure you know the bus schedule. (let me know if I am not clear, I can give specific points on the map).
I think that you have an interesting choice with Tomonoura, I would like to check it out too, but the main disadvantage with it is that it require a bus ride, while you can go to Onomichi by train only.
Onomichi and Shirahama/Kishimoto are very nice places. I love them too.
Both are tourist destinations where you can enjoy the scenery while enjoying the slow passing time, not the excitement.
It also depends on the season. Shirahama and Kishimoto are of course more pleasant to visit in summer. And you can swim in the sea.
If you are going to the Kii Peninsula by rental car, I am a little worried about traffic jams…
Onomichi is great, and even a half day is still worth it. I recommend getting a car to drive across the Shimanami Kaido at your own pace as well. Drop off fees from there to somewhere in Shikoku won’t be too expensive.
Are you just going to Matsuyama? I’d definitely explore if you can, like drive down through Uwajima, all along the southern coast to kochi, maybe then back up to Matsumoto and train back to the mainland (Okayama). If you wanted you could also frontload your Osaka trip, and go from Shikoku straight to Wakayama via the Nankai ferry in Tokushima.
Also! If you can, Nachi Taisha is best experienced by hiking to it (the Ogumotori-goe section, rather than bussing there, and it’s significantly more impressive than Hongu.( Yunomine Onsen is great too in the kumano area if you can swing it for an overnight stay or something.) You can pick up the trailhead in Koguchi. It’s a moderately challenging hike, but your reward at the end is the pagoda and the falls which is so worth it. There’s a bus running along the route that you can always take to pick your trailhead basically.
If you do decide to just do the Hosshinmon-oji to Hongu taisha route btw, it can take just a few hours at a leisurely pace.
I also think it’s worth renting a car and exploring the coast from Nachi like you mentioned. Also, if I were you I’d drop the car somewhere a bit on the outskirts of Osaka and take a local train into the city. The bigger cities are generally more stressful to drive in, and some of the car dropoff places can be so tiny which makes it more stressful.
It is recommended not to drive by yourself.