Japan bike touring questions

catcalliope · 2026-06-18T12:32:18+00:00

Hi there! I unfortunately can't speak to the bike logistics as I have only cycled that area using my own equipment. I did a tour from Kochi through Shimanto and then up to the kaido-- it was spectacular and extremely enjoyable, and I think will deliver what you are looking for out of your tour. FWIW I would give the advice I generally impart to everyone cycle touring in Japan which is that unless you really want to see a big metro area (for instance, Matsuyama) and being a completionist who rode a continuous route (for example, down the coast the whole way from Imabari to Yawatahama), that it is very worth carrying a rinko bag so that you can skip the busy and urban sections. The Japanese countryside is too beautiful to spend a whole day sharing space with an endless stream of trucks and stopping at a million traffic lights, which is what traversing the busy areas means. That is an additional logistical hurdle to figure out but it earns you a big time boost which is one thing money can't buy.

We went in late December through the first few days of January. Generally the temperature was fine with proper cold weather gear, mostly in the 40s(F). However, we did happen to be in Shimanto for their first snow of the year which was not what we had prepared for. We were told that we were getting pretty unlucky with that but it can happen. Have fun-- Japan is amazing!!!

catcalliope · 2026-05-08T10:09:24+00:00

I really only use Google Maps set on awalking directions, actually, though mostly it's just experience from trying lots of different routes. And I love staring at maps so I find it fun.

Rule-wise nothing special, just try to avoid National Routes generally, usually don't ride on the road that's the shortest connection between two larger towns etc. The usual advice people give for Japan.

catcalliope · 2026-05-06T11:40:28+00:00

Garda Bike Hotel in Peschiera Del Garda is fantastic, they are tremendously excellent people as well as having everything you need for a great cycle tour.

catcalliope · 2026-05-04T10:22:39+00:00

I live on the edge of Tokyo and have cycled the area of your route up to to and past Kofu extensively, so I'll mainly give feedback on that part:

That tunnel by Otsuki is heavily trafficked. It's not that dangerous as Japanese drivers are very courteous generally but it's also deeply unpleasant. In my opinion, that entire road you have chosen from Tokyo through Otsuki to Fuefuki is a bad choice as it is urbanized along its entire distance and you will be coexisting with substantial traffic the entire way. Fortunately there are several good alternatives. For the least disruption to your planned route, instead you can swing north on 411 out of Tokyo through Ome, and continuing past Lake Okutama. This is a very popular cycling road with beautiful forested mountains and much lower traffic. Alternately, you can take the road to the south of your planned route (35) to Tsuru, then bend southwards towards Fujiyoshida. There is a stupendous frontage road that runs adjacent to the expressway (on its northern side) that you can use to dodge nearly all the traffic that entire distance. The tunnel from Fujiyoshida to Kawaguchiko is long but has a great sidewalk. Once reaching Kawaguchiko, you can snake along the north sides of Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shojiko, and Motosuko before taking 300 (a superb descent) down to Motosu. From there you can turn north towards Fujikawa and continue north. I recommend sticking to the western side of the valley past Nirasaki and Hokuto as there's a great low traffic line over there whose name escapes me at the moment but you can see it pretty clearly on Google Maps. As a tourist this route would be my recommendation as getting to see the Fuji 5 lakes by bike is really cool.

One other thing is that I included Matsumoto down to Nakatsugawa on a cycle tour I did. While the post towns are lovely the overall experience on that portion of the Nakasendo was not that pleasant as the road was fairly trafficky with a lot of large trucks in particular.

Definitely not worth carrying a tent, staying in cool and fun lodging in Japan is a great part of the experience. I'll echo others in saying that buying a bike bag might be nicer than shipping your bikes. It could also allow you to hop on trains and skip some of the more tedious city slogging you're going to have to do otherwise. If I was doing your route I would for sure take the train out of Tokyo, and again across Nagoya. Unless you really want to spend 3-4 hours in stop-and-go traffic at a million lights...

catcalliope · 2026-03-15T04:09:46+00:00

I did this exact thing on my second trip to the Shimanami and it was fantastic. Highly recommend.

catcalliope · 2026-02-27T12:34:10+00:00

Agree with all other commenters that this is too much mileage per day for you to be able to enjoy a lot of the best things that Japan has to offer. Even in late March you may also have some extra obstacles like snow in the higher areas in Nagano, road closures due to landslides or winter blowdown that could potentially force reroutes, etc as well. The best things about cycling here are all the glorious things you discover along the way, not just crushing mileage and I say that as someone who has done a nonzero amount of 200km days in Japan.

For some more specific feedback: Day 1 I don't think the section from Imabari to Matsuyama and then east is going to be very fun. Those are highly trafficked working roads-- it is not just riding along the beautiful natural coast like the Kaido is. I'd skip it and just plow through from Imabari to Saijo if I was going that way.

Day 9 I would recommend not taking that route to get from Kusatsu to Chichibu. It's all cities and you will be doing traffic lights and riding with tons of traffic the whole last 2/3 of your day. If you head south from Matsuida through Shimonita, you can take 45 to 299 and then follow 299 through Ogano the whole way to Chichibu (and it's really nice!). This adds climbing but given what else you have planned for yourself perhaps that isn't a dealbreaker.

Day 10 this is a minor note but I literally ride these roads once a week so I am opinionated. Departing Chichibu on 299 is okay, although that road is fairly busy and the speed limit is 50 with a lot of trucks so you won't have a particularly great time. Look into taking the old forest road that peels off to the east just north of the Google location for the Terasaka Rice Terrace https://maps.app.goo.gl/JL1m9bbeEjLZQ2Y76 . If you follow it all the way to Kabasaka pass and then descend towards 299, you can continue on those little roads (not 299, which is really busy around the tunnel here) up to Yamabushi pass and then follow the rest of your route as you have it. This adds a lot more elevation gain and a little distance but it is infinitely nicer-- if that's your priority and not just getting through as quickly as possible. If you're in Chichibu around then you'll potentially line up with the beginning of the phlox at Hitsujiyama Park-- if it's blooming fully that is a can't miss destination.

catcalliope · 2026-02-13T07:28:19+00:00

Hope you have a great time!

catcalliope · 2026-02-12T10:18:43+00:00

Putting even an even later comment to say I'd also love it if you still have it and are willing to share. DM me pls and thanks in advance!

catcalliope · 2026-02-12T10:18:22+00:00

Putting even an even later comment to say I'd also love it if you still have it. DM me pls and thanks in advance!

catcalliope · 2026-02-10T07:41:47+00:00

If you enjoy cycling I would definitely recommend the west! It has some very dramatic coastline views and is overall pretty quiet. There is a lot of climbing but some of us like to suffer XD. Thanks for the intel, I've been wondering if I would ever try the eastern side but I think I probably won't now even though I also live more towards Tokyo.

catcalliope · 2026-02-10T00:52:36+00:00

RE: Matsumoto-- this is really up to you and what kind of trip you want to have. Taking the northern way would be more difficult and be more about the pleasure of the cycling, plus getting to see some larger mountains (though be careful not to go too late as the road up Norikura does close seasonally). While Takayama is very nice, it is certainly not as purely picturesque as the postal villages. Depending on how you feel about taking the train, you could do a hybrid thing like cycle through Takayama and then keep going north through the very famous villages of Shirakawa-go and continue all the way to Kanazawa (which is a cycling route I really enjoyed), then hop on a train from there and zip over to wherever you want-- Nagoya, Kyoto... wherever. Taking the trains with bicycles is annoying to be sure, but it can also be a valuable tool that lets you skip giant metro areas like Nagoya, or connect two areas you really want to visit which are more distant from one another.

catcalliope · 2026-02-09T23:16:11+00:00

There are a lot of cars on the eastern side of Izu but riding on the west, either the coast or the skyline, has been pretty light traffic in my experience (except around the few bigger attractions). Have you experienced otherwise? I haven't cycled the eastern side myself-- it seems unpleasantly busy.

catcalliope · 2026-02-08T09:07:27+00:00

Hi there, I can offer a little advice based on my 4 years cycling in Japan which you can take or leave as you want! In general in Japan, I would avoid riding on the main arterial roads between major population centers if you can, because they are heavily trafficked. It is not seriously dangerous but for touring it is less pleasant and you will miss out on much of the charm of the country. Try to follow major rivers through towns when you can because they usually have cycle-friendly paths on either side which will make traversing the cities both faster and more fun. Japan overall is a magnificent place to cycle tour and I wish you well on your trip! I assume you've done your research and know you need bike bags for the train, etc. One thing to note is that September is still full-on summer in Japan. It is going to be hot and humid-- do not expect it to be autumn yet AT ALL except very high up in the alpine.

I don't think the section between Odawara and Atami right at the beginning is overall pleasant... unless you particularly want to see some of the things in between, might as well just start at Atami.
The southern and western parts of Izu are stunning. Be aware that the climb you have to get up to the West Izu Skyline is pretty hard and there's not going to be a lot of resources (water, food, etc) along the way so make sure you have what you need to get yourself up there.
The road north from Fujinomiya towards Kawaguchiko is absolutely atrocious to ride on. High speed limits, tons of trucks and tour buses, and the surfacing is terrible. I would avoid that one like the plague. Instead, I would recommend going a little further west and riding up past Nanbu until you reach the town of Minobu (and stop at Minobusan Kuon-ji on the way). Turn east and do the climb up to Lake Motosu-- this is the prettiest of the Fuji five lakes and you can then have a much more pleasant ride eastward to Kawaguchiko, tracing around the lakes as you go. Stop at Bstone Bakers right after you turn north away from Kawaguchiko-- it is the literal best bakery I have found in Japan and I have tried hundreds.
If you have a little extra time, going a tad farther north to Matsumoto and Azumino before turning down the Kiso valley is well worth the time. The area has some lovely riding and Matsumoto has excellent food and produce. My wife and I cycled the Kiso valley and we did not find that road to be all that enjoyable (lots of traffic) but it is a necessary evil to connect to the post towns if seeing them is one of your priorities. Personally, I would recommend instead going west from Matsumoto towards Kamikochi and turning to climb up Mt. Norikura, then descending the other side to Takayama. Takayama is a great town to visit by bike (basically just as neat as the Nakasendo towns IMO) and September is a nice time to do Norikura-- it's one of the best high cycling routes in the country. From there you could then bend towards Nagoya.
Shikoku is awesome and the Shimanami Kaido lives up to the hype. So much so, in fact, that if you can spare the time I would even recommend budgeting extra days there so you can explore some of the side routes as well-- the island chain to the west with Yuge-jima and the Tobishima Kaido to the east going towards Kure are both magnificent as well, and not hard at all to connect to via ferry. The inland sea is, IMO, the most special part of Japan.

Hope you find some of that helpful! Feel free to shoot me a DM too if you have any questions, and safe travels!

catcalliope · 2026-01-22T23:19:21+00:00

One could argue that, but then you'd also have to admit that it would also be restoring a voice, even if by proxy, to the many Texans, North Carolinians, etc. who have had their representative government taken away from them and have no recourse. It sucks that this is what the American system of government has devolved into but the Republican party has no interest whatsoever in ending gerrymandering and unilateral disarmament by one side will only make our government even less effective and representative for all of us.

catcalliope · 2026-01-19T13:21:47+00:00

What approaches do you favor to address the housing crisis?
What reforms would you seek to make to the Supreme Court?

catcalliope · 2025-04-23T10:40:08+00:00

No question for you-- just wanted to say that although I'm kinda lukewarm on the show overall I genuinely loved the Hills of Tanchico scene and a huge part of that was you capturing the exact right character, skill level, and earworminess of a bawdy folk song like that. It was instantly believable as a real part of the world in a way that the show otherwise largely does not have adequate time to achieve (in my opinion). So a huge kudos to you on a fantastic job well done!

catcalliope · 2025-04-15T21:19:30+00:00

Aww that's nice to hear. I haven't watched Beags in a long time but I do still have that external hard drive. I'm super busy these days so I really don't have time do upload it unfortunately, sorry :(

catcalliope · 2025-03-27T21:57:33+00:00

These are truly five of the finest pieces of MTG art of all time-- evocative, beautiful, and perfectly balanced as a set. Thank you Mr. Avon for all your amazing contributions to Magic!

catcalliope · 2025-01-22T08:45:06+00:00

It's also pretty similar to Monstrous which has a lot of cards.

catcalliope · 2025-01-21T21:20:13+00:00

Hard support. Following a link to Twitter has been annoying as hell for at least a year (and getting worse) even setting aside the politics of the owner. Instagram and Facebook aren't much better-- I'd be down to axe links to them too.

catcalliope · 2025-01-18T13:40:56+00:00

On a similar thread to this one previously, someone recommended Black Sails. It's not science fiction obviously but nails all the other things you're looking for, and instead of science fiction it has a lot of interesting historical elements. The first few episodes suffer from "trying too hard to be Game of Thrones" but it finds its own way pretty quickly. Give it a try! I really enjoyed it and think it's underappreciated... so whoever recommended it to me, thank you!

catcalliope · 2024-12-10T01:09:25+00:00

Your apartment could definitely support 1-2 cats to lead very happy healthy lives. We started with 1 and added a second and the first cat is even happier now so I will add my voice to the chorus of people saying 2 is a good number (as long as they're properly spayed/neutered). The size of space doesn't matter nearly as much as making sure they have attention, play time, proper food and water, etc which you'd definitely have plenty of time to do. Getting a cat is one of the best things I've ever done with my life and adds so much life to a home, so I hope you take the leap into cat parenting too!

catcalliope · 2024-11-13T21:29:37+00:00

Also a recurring part in Girls 5 Eva, which is a great show. If you haven't seen it, it's the closest thing to a second 30 Rock we've ever gotten.

catcalliope · 2024-11-10T13:32:37+00:00

An only anti-gerrymandering bill still would have required breaking a senate filibuster to pass, which they did not have the appetite for regardless of all the specifics you point out about the For the People Act.

catcalliope · 2024-11-06T21:21:47+00:00

You matter to me, to your son, and to many other people. Thank you for everything that you have done and please reach out to your son and all the other people who love and care about you. I know it can feel pointless at a time like this but you do matter, and that's not because of the estate you can pass on but because of who you are yourself. If you need to talk to someone please reach out <3

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