Cycling the Shimanami Kaido
The Shimanami Kaido is a “60-km long toll road that connects Japan’s main island of Honshu to the island of Shikoku, passing over six small islands [ukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Omishima, Hakatajima and Oshima] in the Seto Inland Sea… before terminating on Shikoku in Imabari City.
Each small island inbetween these two prefectures are connected via bridges, a series of trails and ramps mostly separate from the road, following the coastlines of the islands.  Wow
The route soon becames obvious: anywhere the cycling route goes, the sides of the road are painted with white and blue lines, in addition to plenty of signage. 
Rohan did all the homework and planning for this trip, compliments to him!  Fabulous organization; despite all the Japanese misnomers :-)
We rented a bike with baskets to break up the load we were carrying, arranging to drop it off in Imabari. We decided to spend the night midway on our first day on Ikuchijima island, reserving a room at Setoda Hostel.  
To start the Shimanami Kaido route, we took a short ferry from Onomichi to the first island. Soon we were whizzing along the coastline, past green islands in the distance, boats and men fishing off the side of the road.
It didn’t take long to reach the first bridge, after a pleasant ride through rural towns and agricultural fields. The bike pathway ran under the belly of the bridge and it was a little unnerving, feeling the bridge shake with traffic above me, but the views were stunning.
The second island was more industrial, but it was interesting seeing some enormous cranes move scrap metal, peering into gigantic warehouses to see men in white coveralls and helmets having lunch breaks, and beyond the buildings, the glittering sea. We stopped at a seaside park to eat our bento box lunch we had picked up at the train station in Hiroshima.  
Ikuchijima ended up being the prettiest island thus far. Setoda was a lovely town, with a strange temple and cute streets lined with palm trees on one side and wide canals on the other, running towards lush green mountains.
 
The hostel was off of the bike route. An old woman with a friendly face welcomed us and led us to check in.  The buildings making up the hostel were a ramshackle thing, looking straight out of the 1960s but mostly rough around the edges, nothing has every really changed here.
The woman led us through a dining room filled with the late afternoon sun and down an outdoor walkway to a building at the back of the property. She slid open a door to reveal a medium sized tatami room and pointed to some cupboards filled with linens, mats and rice pillows. The window looked right out onto Sunset Beach and the room was filled with the sound of crashing waves.
Next she led us to the shower room and onsen and we were overcome with joy at the sight of it. The onsen was hand built by the owner of the hostel and it was so beautiful. There was a pool fashioned out of rocks, with a view of the beach and sea and islands beyond. Little plants were tucked in the rocks here and there and a high ceiling made the room feel alternatively airy and cozy. Outside was a stove filled with a crackling fire, that heated the water.
It was like heaven stripping down and washing our hair and soaping up, especially after sweating on the road for three hours that day. When we finally slipped into that big hot pool, we were in sheer bliss. I opened the windows and let the sound of crashing waves fill the room and a cool breeze slipped in and around my shoulders. I put my head back on the rocks and hoped I would never forget that feeling. Outside the sun was setting behind the islands, the layered silhouettes of the islands and the pink sky and the sound of the sea. May the memories live on!
Dinner served that evening was an enormous platter with steaming fresh rice. The meal was enormous and especially delicious after such a long day.
After dinner we saw the little sign outside indicated the “family bathing”. With plenty more biking ahead of us, we looked forward to sleeping in an airy room, falling asleep to the sound of crickets and crashing waves.
Our dreams of a deep and restful sleep, lulled into slumber by crashing waves, became reality.  
The Shimanami Kaido was one of my favourite experiences in Japan. In particular, we’ll never forget that evening spent in the warm waters of the onsen, watching the sun set over the islands of the Seto Sea.