Kakishima Kaido
The Kakishima Kaidō (which translates as the oyster route) is a scenic cycling route that connects the islands of Edajima and Kurihashi to the mainland via a series of small islands in Hiroshima Bay. This lesser-known island-hopping route features quiet coastal roads, gentle hills, and beautiful views of the Seto Inland Sea.
Cyclists will pass through peaceful fishing villages, cross elegant bridges, and ride past oyster farms—one of the region’s specialties. With light traffic and a relaxed atmosphere, the Kakishima Kaidō is a great alternative to the more famous Shimanami Kaidō, offering a tranquil and scenic ride through Hiroshima’s island landscapes.
The Kakishima Kaido is a companion route to the other popular Shimanami Kaido and Tobishima Kaido routes. The Tobishima Kaido can easily be reached from the Eastern end of the Kakishima Kaido.
Route
Official Route
The official course is about 70km long and has the same blue markings on the ground as the Shimanami Kaido so the route is easy follow even without a GPS unit
Wabisabi Route
By extending the route further to the South, the island scenery can be enjoyed for a full 110km making it a good full day’s ride. The route is still mostly flat and hugs the coastline. It also includes a lot more seaside roads, many of which are just about deserted.
Additionally, by ending on the East side of the Kure Peninsula, it makes it very easy to connect to the Tobishima Kaido.
Extra Riding
Many of the peninsulas around the islands don’t have roads going around so a ride will be out-and-back. Consequently, the raods are practically traffic free and the roads often hug the coastline making for some truely wonderful cycling.
Miyanokuchi Port
The southern most point of Hiroshim, the out-and-back to Miyanokuchi port is 10km each way but is very enjoyable.
Getting there
Ferry from Hiroshima
The West End of the route is at the Kushikiri Ferry Port (串切港）which has good ferry access (over 20 ferries per day, schedule here, Japanese only) from Hiroshima Port and the ride is only 30 minutes long. As is visible in the photo, the city center of Hiroshima City is not far away.
There are also ferries to Mitaka Port (三高港）which can give the option to either shorten the route slightly or if one just misses the ferry to Kushikiri
Kure
Kure is quite easy to get to with good train service to Hiroshima Station. While the trains are fewer, it is also accessible from the Onomichi direction via Mihara Station.
Things to do
Ondo – Japan’s shortest boat crossing
Instead of riding up the narrow loop bridge or over the bypass, taking the shortest crossing boat in Japan. It’s an interesting experience in it’s own right!
Unfortunately, the boat stopped operating in 2021.
Ondo is also famous for it’s 900 degree (2.5 full rotations) helix bridge. It has since been bypassed by a larger bridge just to the South but this can be an interesting piece of infrastructure to ride through.
Yamato Museum (Kure Maritime Museum)
Located in the city of Kure near the ferry to Matsuyama, this is a popular wartime museum.
F.H.ROYCE Museum
Somewhat of a crazy find, but near the southern end of the Kakishima Kaido, tucked in against the coast is a Rolls Royce museum (unofficial) filled with classic Rolls Royce cars (link)
Other Notes
Food
There are various convenience stores littered around the Kakishima Kaido so food/water/toilet shouldn’t be much of an issue. Some of the more remote sections may not have much in the way of shops so when going on the detours make sure that you have some extra food.
