Swim Shōdoshima （スイム小豆島）is an 66 km 8-day counterclockwise stage swim around Shōdoshima Island in Japan [shown above on left]. Scheduled to start in June 2026, it will be the final training and logistical preparation for the 1,188 km Swim Shikoku  (スイム四国) that will start in July 2026.

Swim Shodoshima starts and finishes on the Angel Road sandbar [shown above on right]. This narrow strip of sand only appears at low tide between Shōdoshima and Nakayo Island. 

Shōdoshima is an island located in the Seto Inland Sea within hours of Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto by car and/or train, and ferry. The name means ‘Island of Small Beans’ and was the first area of Japan to successfully grow olives. If you did not see Japanese signs or hear the locals speak Japanese, foreign visitors would swear they are in some island in the Mediterranean Sea rather than in Japan. The rugged mountainous interior and beautiful shoreline areas feature olive groves, beaches, and coastal scenery.

Off in the distance, there are over 3,000 islands, many of which are uninhabited, in the Seto Inland Sea. Shikoku Island can be easily seen from the shores and mountains of Shōdoshima.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture past the shore“

World Open Water Swimming Federation, a human-powered project.