Wakka Reviews

I stayed at WAKKA as it was a good halfway point while cycling the Shimanami Kaido as situated in Omishima Island. The service that WAKKA provides is awesome- they have thought of everything. Firstly Claudio, who managed the booking was very patient, corresponding with me over so many emails and providing very useful suggestions. At no point did I feel that he was trying up upsell products to me. The staff are so friendly and helpful I would like to say a big thank you to two staff members in particular who we interacted with the most - Attican and Sugoi ( sorry if I have the spelling or you names slightly wrong. We had WAKKA provide the bike for us, drop them off in Onomichi at our hotel at pick them up at Imabari. The condition of the bikes were excellent. They looked pretty new, well serviced and they provided us with gel seat covers. They also took our luggage from Onomichi to WAKKA and dropped them off to our hotel in Imbari on our last day. It was worth paying extra for the convenience. We splashed out and stayed in one of the cottages rather than the dorms and they were very comfortable and cute with a deck to sit on and a view of one of the bridges and the sea. The size of the cottage was good. Decor is kind of Scandi style - very tasteful. Bathroom was a bit small. Whilst the toilet was seperate and the shower had a curtain. It was a bit awkward getting undressed or dressed in the shower cubicle. So would have been good to have a curtain or some kind of screen partitioning the bathroom area. There is an iPad in the room where you can book for the activities that WAKKA provide (fishing, cruises,making stuff) . You can also order food and drinks which will be brought to you. Fluency in English of all the staff we encountered was high. It looked like a few were ex-pats. They also charge your e-bikes for you every evening when you get back from your day cycling, welcome you on your arrival day with a cold tea ( which was very much appreciated since we arrived on a stinking hot day) , have a laundry (costs 550 yen to use). They also offer a shuttle at set times to take you to Omishima town to go to restaurants there or will book a restaurant for you nearby. We went to a seafood restaurant across the road and had sashimi. It was very fresh and reasonably priced. We had breakfast there both days and it was a very nice hearty breakfast - you definitely won’t go away hungry and it kept me going until lunchtime. On our final night, we just sat on the deck and ordered snacks for our dinner which were delicious. It’s very peaceful and chilled and a lovely way to end the evening after a hard days cycling. WAKKA is not cheap but worth paying a bit extra for the convenience if you can afford it. I think it’s one of the only places that provides the service of picking up the e-bikes at your final destination along the Shimanami kaido. You’re also paying for the service they provide and hospitality which in my opinion is top notch. The staff ther