The Imabari Guide for Shimanami Kaido Cyclists (2026): Renting a Bike, Crossing the Bridges, Onsen, Food and Rest Days
For anyone riding the Shimanami Kaido, Imabari is the Shikoku end of the route.
Ride down from Onomichi and it is your finish line, or start here and it is your first pedal stroke.
What is harder to find is a straight answer about what you can actually do once you arrive.
Over the past weeks we have written up the pieces one by one, from renting a bicycle to crossing the bridges, the hot springs afterwards, where to eat, and what to do when it rains.
This page pulls all of it together in one place.
Everything here reflects the situation as of August 2026.
First decision: where to rent a bicycle
Sunrise Itoyama, the cycling terminal on the Imabari side, closed on 31 March 2026.
The rental service itself, however, is still running.
You can pick up a bicycle at Itoyama or in front of Imabari Station.
Which one you choose changes how your day begins, so it is worth deciding before you arrive.
The current situation is explained in Renting a Bicycle in Imabari for the Shimanami Kaido.
If you brought your own bike, skip this part.
It is about 6 km from the station to the foot of the bridge
From Imabari Station to Itoyama, where the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge begins, is roughly 6 km.
On a bicycle that is about 20 minutes.
There are two main routes, and the one that follows the elevated highway is easier to ride but has no shops along the way.
The seaside route has more places to stop, at the cost of more traffic lights and more kerbs.
The climb just before Itoyama is, honestly, hard work.
The route is described turn by turn in Imabari Station to the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge by Bicycle.
Once you reach the top at Itoyama there is a free observation deck looking down on the bridge.
That view has its own article, Itoyama Park.
For luggage, there are coin lockers at the rental cycle counter in front of Imabari Station.
Crossing the bridges is free if you are on a bicycle
Bicycles cross the Shimanami Kaido bridges free of charge until 31 March 2028.
There is no application and no paperwork.
Pedestrians have always crossed for free, with no end date attached.
Mopeds are the exception, and they pay a small toll at each bridge.
Just before the bridge the path splits, with pedestrians and cyclists sent left and mopeds sent right.
One warning: older signs and web pages still say the free period ends in March 2024, which is out of date.
The current fares and how to pay them are set out in Shimanami Kaido Bridge Tolls in 2026.
An island in the middle of the bridge, and islands reached by boat
Halfway across the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge sits Umashima, an island you can drop down to from the bridge deck by lift.
There are no shops and no vending machines on the island, so carry your water down with you.
How to find the lift, and what is waiting below, is in Umashima: The Island in the Middle of the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge.
There is also a way across that has nothing to do with the bridges.
A small local ferry runs from Hashihama Port and calls at Kurushima, Oshima and Umashima.
A one-way ticket is 220 yen for an adult, plus 90 yen if you bring your bicycle aboard.
There are around nine sailings a day, and because the port is unstaffed you buy your ticket from a vending machine before boarding.
The practical details are in Crossing by Boat in Imabari.
The island most worth the crossing is Oshima, where the ruins of a Meiji-era coastal fortress have been left standing where they were built.
Entry is free, there are no opening hours, and the walking trail runs about 1.8 km, or roughly two hours at a slow pace.
The full walk is described in Oshima Island and the Geiyo Fortress Ruins.
Hot springs for after the ride
Imabari has three hot springs that work well at the end of a riding day.
The closest is Shimanami Onsen Kisuke no Yu, one or two minutes on foot from Imabari Station.
You can turn up with nothing and still bathe, which suits anyone travelling light.
If you would rather bathe before you ride, Kamitoku no Yu opens at 6am and stays open until midnight.
It never closes for a regular day off, which helps when your schedule keeps moving.
The third is Nurukawa Seseragi Onsen, inland from the city in a quiet river valley.
Admission is 420 yen for an adult, and it suits a day when you want nothing to happen.
What to eat in Imabari
The local dish is yakibuta tamago meshi, a bowl of rice topped with roast pork and fried eggs under a sweet-savoury sauce.
Three long-established shops serve it, and each pulls the flavour in a different direction.
The differences are compared side by side in Imabari’s Yakibuta Tamago Meshi: 3 Long-Established Shops Compared.
Each shop also has its own article: Shigematsu Hanten, Daikokuya Hanten and Hakurakuten.
Usefully, their closing days fall on three different weekdays, so at least two of the three are open whichever day you arrive.
For udon, Matsu Seimenjo in Hashihama serves hand-cut Sanuki noodles.
It sits close to the ferry port, which makes it easy to pair with a boat day.
For a slower meal of Seto Inland Sea fish, Suehiro serves sea bream cooked in an iron pot with rice.
If you simply want somewhere reliably open, Ryugu in the basement of the Imabari Kokusai Hotel trades every day of the year.
Near the castle there is also Kinkairou, an unpretentious Chinese restaurant the locals keep going back to.
Coffee, cake and shaved ice
For a stop mid-ride, Ondata Coffee sits on the water with the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge in view.
In town there is Barrel Coffee & Roasters, roasting its own beans.
If you want somewhere to sit out the rain, Mori is a book cafe in an old wooden house.
The books on the shelves can be read without buying them, which changes how long an afternoon can last.
In summer the shaved ice at Tousendo and Tamaya Saint-Honoré is what people queue for.
Their sister shop Tamaya Cafe serves it all year round.
Days when you are not riding
Rain days and rest days have their own guide.
The indoor options are gathered in A Rainy Day in Imabari.
Imabari Castle is one of very few Japanese castles whose moat is connected to the sea, so the water level rises and falls with the tide.
Admission is 520 yen and it opens from 9am to 5pm.
The Nihon Shokken KO Palace Factory lets you walk its palace garden free of charge, with no reservation needed.
The garden is open from 9am to 4pm.
A little inland, Noma Uma Highland is the only place in the world to meet the Noma horse, the smallest of Japan’s native breeds.
Admission is free and it closes on Tuesdays.
If you come in summer: the Onmaku Festival
Imabari’s biggest festival is Onmaku, held every summer.
In 2026 it falls on 8 and 9 August, with the fireworks on the evening of the 9th.
The dates move from year to year, so check Imabari Onmaku Festival and the official announcement before planning around it.
Putting half a day or a full day together
With half a day, rent a bicycle at the station, ride the 6 km to Itoyama, cross the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and turn back at Umashima.
Come back, wash off the ride at Kisuke no Yu by the station, and finish with a bowl of yakibuta tamago meshi.
With a full day, take the morning ferry from Hashihama Port to Oshima and give the fortress ruins the two hours they deserve.
Eat udon at Matsu Seimenjo when you land back, then spend the afternoon at the castle or at Noma Uma Highland.
If it rains, do not force the ride, because an afternoon of books at Mori or a long soak at an onsen usually turns out to be the better day.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay to cross the bridges by bicycle? No, it is free until 31 March 2028 and no application is needed.
I heard Sunrise Itoyama has closed. Can I still rent a bike? Yes, rentals continue at Itoyama and in front of Imabari Station.
How far is the bridge from Imabari Station? About 6 km to Itoyama, or roughly 20 minutes by bicycle.
Can I buy food or drink on Umashima? No, there are no shops and no vending machines, so take what you need down with you.
Where can I leave my luggage? There are coin lockers at the rental cycle counter in front of Imabari Station.
What should I do if it rains? The indoor options are collected in a single article linked above.
Using JR Imabari Station as your reference point
Every article on this site gives distances and times measured from JR Imabari Station.
Using one fixed reference point makes it easy to work out the distance from wherever you happen to be staying.
From the station to Itoyama is about 6 km, or roughly 20 minutes by bicycle.
For Hashihama Port, take the Setouchi Bus Namikata Loop Line for about 20 minutes, get off at Watashiba and walk one minute.
Kisuke no Yu is one to two minutes on foot from the station.
Open Imabari Station in Google Maps
Original article in Japanese: しまなみ海道サイクリストのための今治ガイド
