One of my favorite adventures was my Barge & Bike trip in August 2022.  Riding an e-bike through the Dutch countryside exhilarated me.

 So when Kayla suggested we tackle the Shimanami Kaidō, a 70 km ride through islands in the Seto Inland Sea, I enthusiastically agreed.  Provided, of course, I could ride an e-bike!

In fact, we both reserved e-bikes and organized a two-day adventure, with luggage transfer to make our journey easier.

On the first morning, we picked up our bikes from Better Bicycles and began following the BLUE LINE marking the trail.

I admit…I was a little disappointed as we began the day passing through traffic, towns, and roads.  I thought we’d be exploring more countryside than city-spaces.  

Our ride began with not a ride but rather a quick ferry crossing from Onomichi to Mukaishima.  Afterwards, it was the BLUE LINE for us!  Fortunately, we arrived in Setoda with plenty of time to walk to Sunset Beach (off-season looks much different than I’m sure it does in season) and the fabulous Kōsan-ji Temple complex.

Our first bridge:  Innoshima Bridge (Innoshima Ōhashi), which connects Mukaishima and Innoshima

Our second bridge:  Ikuchi Bridge (Ikuchi-bashi), connecting Innoshima to Ikuchijima

With my bike on Ikuchijima Island with Seto Inland Sea in the background

Sunset Beach playground on Ikuchijima Island

Setoday:  Kōsan-ji Temple, an elaborately decorated Buddhist temple complex built in honor of its founder’s mother

Setoda:  Kōsan-ji Temple

Senbutsu-dō (Cave of a Thousand Buddhas) at Kōsan-ji Temple — An underground labyrinth filled with Buddhist statues

Tower of Light on the Hill of Hope, a white marble sculpture garden at Kōsan-ji Temple

Sunset through the Tower of Light

Marble framing the sunset