A Day of Cycling, Olives, and Shoyu on the Island

Shodoshima Cycling Itinerary

Shodoshima (小豆島, Shōdoshima) is a rather large island off the coast of Takamatsu (高松), in-between Honshu (本州, Honshū) and Shikoku (四国). The island is famous for its olives, shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce), and somen (素麺, Sōmen), and is actually a great place for cycling.

Experience the stunning coastlines, make some somen, and taste test some shoyu on the island. All while feeling the wind in your hair, and experiencing the inaka (田舎, Rural) life. Despite being an island, Shodoshima is rather well-connected with ferries from Okayama (岡山県, Okayama-ken), Takamatsu, Himeji (姫路), and Kobe (神戸, Kōbe) to different ports across the island.

As this itinerary is designed for cycling, it will not be covering the inland attractions of Shodoshima as the incline is too steep to be visited via these rental bikes.

Ultimate 1 Day Shodoshima Cycling Itinerary

Discover The Best of The Olive Island on the Inland Sea by Bike

Nature

Culture

Gourmet

Volume

This itinerary is designed to be easy to cycle, while taking in the great views of the coast. You will start off from Tonosho Port, where ferries from Takamatsu and Okayama stop, and cycle your way over to the Uchinomi Bay area. There you’ll try out stretching your own somen (素麺, Sōmen) at Nakabu-an (なかぶ庵), check out shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce) production in a century old shoyu brewery at Yamaroku Shoyu (ヤマロク醤油, Yamaroku Shōyu), and enjoy some local gelato. Then on the way back to Tonosho Port, you’ll stop by the Shodoshima Olive Park (道の駅小豆島オリーブ公園, Michi-no-eki Shōdoshima Oriibu Kōen) for some great shots with a greek-style windmill.

Itinerary Details

Starting Time

Start off from Tonosho Port

Recommended Time:

09:00

Cycle over to Nakabu-an

Est.

09:00

1h 20m

16.4km

Tonosho Port

Nakabu-an

Lady stretching somen at a Somen Workshop

Est.

10:30

1 hour

Closed on Wed-Thu

Nakabu-an Somen Workshop (素麺箸分け体験)

Stretch some Somen with chopsticks

When people think of Japanese noodles, the big three often come to mind: ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen), udon (うどん), and soba (蕎麦, Buckwheat noodles). However, there’s actually a fourth that Japanese consume quite often at home, and is less commonly found on restaurant menus: somen (素麺, Sōmen). The texture is perhaps most similar to udon, a white noodle with a smooth surface, but unlike udon, somen has an extremely thin, almost thread-like, shape and is commonly consumed cold with a dipping sauce.

Est.

11:30

45 mins

Closed on Wed-Thu

Nakabu-an (なかぶ庵)

Try out freshly made chewy somen

As somen noodles are made without any sort of preservatives, they are usually dried when they are sold. Thus most somen consumed across Japan are typically made from the dried variety.

Cycle over to Yamaroku Shoyu

Est.

12:15

5 mins

700m

Nakabu-an

Yamaroku Shoyu

Est.

12:30

1 hour

Yamaroku Shoyu (ヤマロク醤油)

Check out a 200 year old shoyu brewery

Shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce) is one of the most fundamental and important condiments in Japanese cooking. Yet, only 1% of today’s shoyu that is sold in Japan still uses the traditional natural brewing wooden barrel method (天然醸造木桶仕組み, lit. Tennen Jouzou Kioke Shikumi) method. Most shoyu manufacturers today use either plastic or steel barrels with chemical components to age and brew their soy sauce, a process that is much faster than the traditional method. This barrel-aging technique can take up to 4 years to produce a single bottle, and of the 1% of barrel-aged soy sauce, almost 90% is produced right here at Yamaroku Shoyu in Shodoshima.

Cycle over to Morikuni

Est.

13:30

10 mins

1.8km

Yamaroku Shoyu

Morikuni Shodoshima Sake Brewery

Est.

13:50

1.5 hours

Closed on Thu

Morikuni Shodoshima Sake Brewery (MORIKUNI (小豆島酒造))

Discover locally-brewed sake

Morikuni is the only sake brewery on Shodoshima, established in 2005, they revived local sake production 35 years after the last sake brewery on the island closed down. Their establishment today has three parts: a Gallery & Shop, a Cafe & Bar, and a Bakery.

Cycle over to Minori Gelato

Est.

15:20

15 mins

2.4km

Morikuni Shodoshima Sake Brewery

Minori Gelato

Est.

15:45

45 mins

Closed on Wed-Thu

Minori Gelato (Minori Gelato)

Sit by the sea and dig into local gelato

Minori Gelato is a gelato shop that specializes in serving gelato with local Shodoshima ingredients. There are typically around 10 to 15 different flavors available throughout the year, with flavors changing depending on the season.

Cycle back and stop at Shodoshima Olive Park

Est.

16:30

20 mins

2.9km

Minori Gelato

Shodoshima Olive Park

Credit: 663highland (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Est.

17:00

1.5 hours

Shodoshima Olive Park (道の駅小豆島オリーブ公園)

Do your best witch impression in front of a Greek windmill

Shodoshima is also commonly called “Olive Island” by the locals, as the island’s mediterranean-like climate made it suitable for olive cultivation. First successfully cultivated in 1908, Shodoshima is the birthplace of olive cultivation in Japan, and is one of the island’s major produces alongside shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce).

Cycle back towards Tonosho Port

Est.

18:30

1h 10m

10.9km

Shodoshima Olive Park

Olive Onsen Manten no Yu

Est.

19:50

1.5 hours

Olive Onsen Manten no Yu (オリーブ温泉満天の湯)

Soak your tired feet in an onsen

Olive Onsen Manten no Yuis a small onsen (温泉, Hot Spring) facility located near Tonosho East Port. The onsen facility itself is not very large, but it boasts a beautiful outdoor bath with views of the coast. It’s a great way to end the day off in the evening after a day of cycling, and watch the horizon change color as the sun sets.

Cycle next doors to Kunitsukien

Est.

21:20

2 mins

300m

Olive Onsen Manten no Yu

Kunitsukien

Est.

21:30

1 hour

Kunitsukien (邦月苑)

Fill your stomach with freshly grilled meat

Kunitsukien is a small hole-in-the-wall family-run yakiniku (焼肉, Japanese barbecue) joint that has been operating since the 1980s. The shop itself is simple an unpretentious with a nice homey atmosphere. The prices are reasonable and the portions are rather generous. It’s no wonder that the place is popular with locals, with many long-time patrons as well.

Cycle back to Tonosho Port

Est.

22:30

15 mins

2.1km

Kunitsukien

Tonosho Port

End off back at Tonosho Port

Est.

22:55

Due to changing circumstances, readers are advised to do their own additional research. All information on this site is purely for reference only.

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