This is the next leg of my solo ride across Japan, south to north. Previous posts: [Kyushu](https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycletouring/comments/1t0ru0u/cycling_across_kyushu_japan_377_miles_25k_ft_8/) and [the route overview](https://www.reddit.com/r/bikepacking/comments/1soyrao/my_cycling_route_across_japan_cape_sata_to_cape/).

Shikoku is the second of Japan's four main islands and the smallest. I crossed it in 5 riding days, ferry to ferry, ending up around 430km (266 miles) with a lot of climbing packed into a short distance.

The big decision on Shikoku was skipping the Shimanami Kaido. It's the famous, well-supported cycling route along the Inland Sea, and it's genuinely great, but I wanted to see the interior instead, so I turned inland off the ferry at Yawatahama and rode into the mountains. The tradeoff was real: far fewer services, sparser towns, and some of the biggest climbing of the trip so far.

The standout day was the UFO Line, an exposed ridge road along the spine of the island. My computer flagged the climb at the base as 22 miles and \~7,000 ft (it turned out closer to 5,500 once you account for a few tunnels), the biggest climbing day I've ever done loaded. Worth noting for anyone planning this: after Kumakogen there was no konbini for \~80 miles, which is wild by Japanese standards. I stuffed every pocket with calories and just barely made my hotel before check-in closed. There's a small Montbell stand near the top of the line selling coffee and deer-meat hot dogs, which saved me.

The interior was the highlight of the whole trip so far. Oboke Gorge, Iya Valley, and the old prefectural roads (Route 32 especially) were some of the best riding I've done anywhere, deep lush gorges, near-zero traffic, great pavement, onsen hotels built right into the cliffs. I came out the other side at Takamatsu, ate an absurd amount of Sanuki udon on a double rest day, then rode the Inland Sea coast to Tokushima to catch the ferry to Honshu.

A few notes: the interior is remote enough that you genuinely have to plan food and lodging carefully, the old roads over the passes are far better riding than the tunnels if you're willing to climb, and I still keep seeing almost no other touring cyclists.

I wrote a longer piece with more photos and stories from the interior here, if anyone wants the full version: [Substack link](https://jhallard.substack.com/p/shikoku-by-bicycle)

Next up: Honshu.

*note -- I'm sorry about mixing up feet/meters/miles/km all over the place*

Cycling across Shikoku, Japan: 430 km / 6,000 meters / 5 days