The easiest way to extend your trip would be to ferry back to the mainland from Shiraishi and visit Kurashiki, Okayama's premier tourist city. It's no more than 30 or so kilometers east from Kasaoka. Follow the coast around; the road is actually fairly pretty until you get near the industrial area. Although there are two bridges (Tamashima Ohashi and Mizushima Ohashi, respectively) that might save you time, as I recall this@@@ is a toll road and bikes aren't allowed. No matter; cycle up to route 429, then cross the water and head northeast on route 430 which takes you right into downtown Kurashiki. Like most tourist cities in Japan, only a tiny area has been preserved (the rest is a fairly typical modern city) but that area, with its canals and storehouses, is very nice indeed... and mobbed with tourists year-round.

If you’ve checked out the Koshihata area, you're so far north it's only a short hop up to the Japan Sea! Probably the safest way is to take route 179 up from slightly west of the road where Koshihata existed; at the junction with 482, turn either right to Tottori (whose famous sand dunes, immortalized in Abe Kobo's novel Woman in the Dunes, are shown here) or left toward Kurayoshi. Even Matsue and the great shrine of Izumo Taisha are not far away. Or you could go to Hawai! (actually "Hawai-cho"). Nothing much there, but the station personnel do wear Aloha shirts as a promotional gimmick.

In a completely different direction, Fukiya is virtually right on the border of Hiroshima Prefecture. One nice side trip is just over the border to Taishakukyo, a river gorge that you can follow along - though you'll need a mountain bike for much of the path (which is sometimes broken up by stairways over the steeper parts). They even have horse-drawn carriages for tourists in some areas, like here at this massive arch. Go down from Fukiya on the west and head south, then turn right on route 107 and follow the lake around. After that, turn right on the "Tojo Gaido" and then left on route 451.