Two years ago, my husband had a work event in Shikoku and as luck would have it, he could bring the family along. So we trekked off to Kochi, with a long winding sidetrip through Tokushima and Ehime on the way back to Kyushu. And while we took the ferry over, we decided to drive the long way round to go home.
(Truthfully, the long way round was faster. Strange, I know.)
Part of that drive included the Shimanami Kaido, a series of bridges over the islands in the Inland Sea, which connect the two main islands of Shikoku and Honshu. Halfway across, we made a stop on Omishima, where I snapped a photo of this cool cover:
The Omishima Bridge, connecting Omishima to Hakatajima, is actually the shortest bridge along the Shimanami Kaido … and must have been so unexciting that it didn’t rate the manhole cover as the above structure is NOT the Omishima Bridge. I’m pretty sure it’s the 1.5 km Tatara Bridge, that connects the other side of Omishima to Ikuchijima.
I’ve never personally cycled across the Shimanami Kaido but I hear it is quite the adventure. Should you want a first hand account, check out my good friend and prolific travel partner Felicity’s video at the Where Next Japan website.
Uncover Japan 
It’s quite a pleasant route, with easy facilities. There are some slopes though, so a bit of training is required beforehand.
Loving this reminder of the wonderful cycle we did last year.