“An epic cycling trip featuring great scenery in one of the most wonderful cultural, historical and culinary settings. Shikoku is simply stunning and a relatively quiet part of Japan. Team and guides were excellent. Equipment was too. Route was well chosen to optimally visit towns and villages and sights while avoiding the busiest roads / areas. First day involves the well known Shimanami Kaido island-hopping route. Remaining days all involve hills, some steep. Route takes advantage of near empty forestry roads that wind through timber harvesting in the interior. The elevations are impressive and for moderately experienced cyclists an e-bike is essentially a must not so much because of the length of the climbs but because of the grades which can average 10+% over several kilometers and 15% on shorter pitches. Do-able on a road bike for experienced cyclists. The experience is greatly enhanced if one enjoys the various types of Japanese food, seafood in particular. It's an adventure in its own right. An Onsen (mountain spa / hot springs hotel) stay is a highlight as are several cultural and historical sights.”
“I enjoyed the 7 days full of amazing riding through Shikoku's hidden locations, great company of the tour members, and deep cultural and historical knowledge of the local guides. The beautiful food served daily certainly fuelled us to keep riding through the mountains and along the rivers.”
“My wife and I loved this bike tour—our first time in Japan. The guide, Fumiya and his partner did an amazing job with everything we needed. The electric bikes were essential to climb the hills, as it was challenging but totally worth it—beautiful landscape with many peaceful surroundings on the islands. We highly recommend joining this tour. Thanks, Ron and Sarah from Canada.”
“The Shikoku bike tour is a wonderful experience. My son and I rode road bikes, and my wife rode an ebike. The roads were wonderful and quite beautiful, with practically no traffice through gorgeous cedar forests. The pitch of the climbs is quite steep, often a 10-14% grade, so road bikes are recommended only for experienced cyclists. All the hotels were lovely, and some quite authentically Japanese. The guides, Jumiya and Masao, are very thoughtful, and they are passionate about Shikoku, its beauty and its history. This is a beautiful, unique bike tour.”
“Nice bike trip. Brand new e-bikes were
great to ride. Guide adjusted route so
that we could avoid the tunnels. One of the 3 guides spoke enough English so that we could understand. We received bike shirts which we appreciated but they should have asked our sizes in advance. They did not have a big enough size for my husband so he could not wear his. Food was good except one of our friends was vegetarian and there was not much for her. Basically rice and tofu.
Country side was beautiful and also going over all the bridges. Accommodation was good. Loved the hotel on the mountain Hoshifuru Village Tengu. Very beautiful!
Good tour overall.”
“Japan is so much more than its big cities. The Essence of Shikoku was such an amazing way to experience that. Nothing disappointed on this trip, from the amazing Shimanami Kaido to the luxurious Ryokans to the rewarding days spent cycling around the beautiful hills, valleys, waterfalls. This trip had it all.
Expertedly guided with a great team this was a can't miss experience.”
