Shimanamikaido - is two nights too long?

Hello,

Apologies for yet another of the many Shimanamikaido-related questions. I did try to see if someone has asked a similar question before posting.

I am in decent shape and have no trouble biking. I would bike the route in either January or February (I live in the Arctic so I am not too worried about cold except for perhaps some wind).

I am wondering if one night or two nights along the route would be better for doing the route at a somewhat leisurely pace allowing time for frequent stops. I enjoy exploring smaller towns and taking pictures, and would prioritize photography along the way. It is hard for me to gauge how many hours it may take to bike between destinations since everyone is different.

My loose plan is to arrive in Imabari in the late morning from Takamatsu, then bike to Hakatajima to overnight. Then bike to Ikuchijima the following morning to overnight there before going on to Onomichi. Can anyone with experience please advise about this itinerary? My only real concern is whether it may not make sense to overnight in Hakatajima if it may only take say an hour to bike there, leaving me with a ton of unintended downtime.

It seems I could either leave Imabari later or skip Hakatajim and only overnight in Ikuchijima, but wouldn't want to have to rush the trip.

Thank you in advance!

IMO 2 nights is not too long as the islands are lovely and it's really enjoyable to potter around them, taking your time.
However, I did it in October, not in winter so not sure how much the experience changes.

I did it a few years leisurely in 2 days. But I went through the direct way through Oshima and Hakatashima which in hindsight was not the best thing to do as the direct route is on a rather busy road.
There is I believe an alternative more along the coast so I would suggest that.

On Omishima island I enjoyed a lot the much longer alternative route. So I would definitely recommend that. You can see it in my strava file from the below link.

So in summary 2 nights are fine to do it leisurely, explore, take pictures. But 1 night would also be enough.

Here my experience:
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/part-10-day-48-49-ridin...

Cycling in January or February in Japan is totally fine. Actually weather can be really nice. However it can be cold off the bike. This Year in January I was cycling in Nara prefecture and while on the bike everything was fine, but I stopped for some sightseeing and got reaaaaalllly cold.


http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2024/01/ny2024-d8-tanzan-and-ha...

Now I am on a road bike and with road bike clothes on. Which on cold winter days aren’t suitable for sightseeing. But if you have your luggage with you with some extra jacket, sightseeing and cycling in winter is fine.
I do not know about how the islands look in winter. But would guess that the tress are full of citrus fruits. (Just a guess, that’s what happens in Spain and Sicily in the winter. )

If you have any other cycling related questions, happy to help.