On your next trip to Japan, skip the country’s overly crowded Golden Route of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Instead, go on the Shimanami Kaido, roughly translated as the “Island Wave Sea Route” or “Island Viewing Sea Road.”
At 70km long, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway – or more affectionately known as the Shimanami Kaido – connects Japan’s main island of Honshu, starting in Onomichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture, to the island of Shikoku, ending in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.
The route crosses the Seto Inland Sea, linking six islands, namely Mukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Omishima, Hakatajima, and Oshima, offering panoramic views of the sea and the islands.