In the port towns of Mojiko and Onomichi, a few cafes look straight out over the water, where ferries and large cargo ships pass all day long. Order a coffee, take a seat by the window and let the boats drift by. Both towns are in western Japan, so they fit best into a trip to Hiroshima or northern Kyushu.
This coffee shop has been open for more than half a century, partway up the hillside above Mojiko, the old port district of Kitakyushu. From its windows you look out over the Kanmon Strait, the narrow channel between Japan's main island and Kyushu, while you eat homemade yoshoku, Japanese-style Western dishes, with your coffee. Opening hours are not posted online, so have a backup plan nearby.
A small cafe on an upper floor of a building near Mojiko Station, with window seats that face the Kanmon Strait. Vintage goods fill the room, and you can rest with a coffee or a waffle while ships slide past outside. It is a short walk from the station, so it fits easily between sights in the Mojiko Retro district.
ONOMICHI U2 is a former shipping warehouse on the Onomichi waterfront, now home to a hotel for cyclists, shops and restaurants. At its Yard Cafe, terrace seats face the Onomichi Channel, where small ferries shuttle back and forth to the islands across the water. Try a gelato made with lemons from those islands, a good break before or after cycling the Shimanami Kaido route; it is about a 5-minute walk from JR Onomichi Station.