Best cycling experiences

Bicycle touring Japan - Top 10 cycling experiences

Here my personal top 10 bicycle experiences in Japan:

1. Shimanami Kaido
• Reasons:
• Dedicated cycle lane on all bridges between the islands. 
• Indicated cycle route through all the islands.
• Superbe landscape.
• Here a detailed description of the rides. 
2. From Lake Biwa to Nara prefecture
• Reasons:
• Multiple cycle roads available. They are of varying quality from high speed cycling road along the river between Kyoto and Nara to partly overgrown lanes or gravel. But overall it is a very long cycling trip in which one can use on-and-off cycle lanes.
• Good cycling lanes around Lake Biwa, with nice views on the lake and not the typical "river ride". 
• Specially around Nara there are also a lot of sign posts specifically for cyclists.
• Great area with a lot of touristic highlights, even outside the obvious destinations
• Here a summary of the ride
3. Sado island
• Reasons:
• Small roads with little traffic leading through wonderful country side and well preserved and still functioning villages, including some sightseeing options (temples, shrines...) which are void of tourists. 
• In the center between Ryotsu and Mano Sado island is quite flat, but for the more ambitious cyclists there are two ranges of mountains on each side of the island to explore. 
• Here the detailed description of the 4 days touring Sado
4. Kibi Plain
• Reasons:
• Well indicated cycling lane through fields and on small rural paths
• Sightseeing spots such as temples and shrines
• Here a detailed description of the ride
5. Tono valley
• Reasons:
• I originally had decided to go to Tono valley because I heard of a good cycling infrastructure there. Well there is the typical cycle path along a river, however the valley has a lot more to offer, with having small streets with little traffic.
• The local tourism office has some maps for suggested rides
• Very nice landscape with still a lot of traditional houses 
• I did not ride INTO Tono valley by bicycles but rather by train (because of hills and of rain), however the part I did cycle up from Shin Hanamaki to Iwanebashi was also nice. No bicycle lane, but not a lot of traffic anyway. 
• Here and here a detailed description of the ride
6. Kubihiki cycling path on the Sea of Japan between Naoetsu and Itoigawa
• Reasons:
• 30 km cycling lane along the Sea of Japan from outside Naoetsu to Itoigawa 
• Nice view of the sea
• On an old railway track for most parts
• Relatively well maintained
• Use of old railway tunnels adds to the special feeling
• Keeps you away from the busy road 
• Here a detailed description of the ride
• And here for an official map
7. Cycling with friends from the NPC
• Here some rides with my friends from the Night Pedal Cruising in Tokyo
• Recently we also started to announce them on Meet-up, if you want to join
8. Cycle lane between Sapporo and Kitahiroshima. 
• Reasons: 
• Wide cycle lane through the forest between Sapporo and Kitahiroshima.
• In some points totally quiet, which I appreciated even more after riding in the traffic of Sapporo city. 
• Gently sloping up and down, as it is an old train track
• It is relatively short though. 
• Here the detailed description of the ride
9. Cycle lane to Sayama Lake
• Reasons:
• Long totally straight cycling lane out from Tokyo to Sayama Lake used by both neighbourhood cyclists as well as people going more seriously to Sayama Lake
• Links to a quite long cycling path out of Tokyo, you can essentially start in Shinjuku (or maybe even before), ride down along Kanda river to Kichijoji, then through small neighbourhood streets until somewhere behind Koganei park, get on the cycling road there (see map in the link below) and then ride slowly up to the lake and make a full round of the lake on the cycling path before returning back to Tokyo.
• Easy accessible from downtown Tokyo
• Here a map of the ride
10. Cycling along the Pacific from Shizuoka to Irago and on by ferry to Ise.
• Reasons:
• A long stretch along the Pacific ocean with views of the ocean and farther into Irago peninsula through fields
• The one big problem however is the maintenance of this cycle path. Besides a few perfect stretches (like the one leading from somewhere outside of Shizuoka to Omaezaki on an old railway track or the last few kilometers leading to cape Irago) it has a lot of totally overgrown parts that can become totally impassible and specially between Omaezaki and Hamamatsu the sand dunes on the path are a real problem. 
• Apparently nothing is being done against the vegetation. A bit more is being done against the sand, but for the time being I only saw statements of that something WILL be done, no results yet (unless the path was even worse before)
• Here a detailed description of the rides

Best accommodations

Bicycle touring Japan - Best accommodation

In this post I list those accommodations where I stayed and that I think I can recommend to other travellers. I have stayed at many others, but those didn't impress me specifically. The list is ordered by region, roughly from North to South.

Japan - generally: 

• Toyoko Inn 東横イン
• This is a big chain of business hotels. The rooms are simple but reliable and practically furbished (e.g. there is a washing line in the bathroom). You can get a membership card (I think for 1500 Yen) and then with each overnight stay points are accumulated and after 10 you get one free night. The hotels are normally conveniently located next to major railway stations. 
• Highlights:
• Discount system
• Practical rooms
• Location:
• All over Japan, close to big railway stations in general
• Big cities only
• Family Lodge ファミリーロッジ
• I only stayed at one in Kurobe. It seems to be a budget hotel chain mainly catering to car drivers looking for a place to sleep outside of cities but close to major streets. It is sleeping only, with only a minimal service for breakfast. But a conbini most likely wont be too far away to get something else. 
• Highlights:
• Good cost-benefit ratio
• Big rooms, clean and very new
• See here for a description of the experience

Hokkaido

• Ashita no jo　あしたの城
• This is a good quality Minshuku, with friendly hosts and a modern building. 
• Highlights:
• Gyunyunabe ("milk soup") for dinner and eating it with other solo travellers
• View in to the garden from the ofuro (bath tub)
• The big garden with view on Rishiri island
• Nice common living room. 
• Location: 
• Hokkaido, close to Tokumitsu
• Find a more detailed description of the ride to it here.
• Kirkiri 吉里吉里
• This feels like a riders house, at least it is very much geared towards riders of all kind, and the hosts have great interest in all their guests with a nice guest book. 
• Highlights:
• Very good dinner and breakfast
• Very friendly host
• The rooms are relatively small and dark, but you get the restaurant room to use, so essentially the room is for sleeping only. 
• Location:
• Hokkaido, Haboro
• Find a more detailed description of the ride to it here and a picture in front of it here. 

Aomori

• Shukubo on Osorezan - Kichijoukaku 吉祥閣
• This is a big a modern Shukubo (temple stay) right on top of a vulcano and obviously right beside the temple. Osorezan being apparently one of the 3 most sacred places in Japan. The room was really superb. Probably so far on this travel the best room I had. Food was below my expectations (which were high). And as due for a temple stay, you get to participate in the morning prayer at 6:30
• Highlights:
• Location! On a vulcano, right besides a temple, on one of the 3 most sacred places of Japan
• Onsen (see here for a rating of the onsen)
• Location: 
• Aomori, Osorezan
• A more detailed description of the experience here and here
• Business-in Club - ビジネスイン倶楽部
• This is a basic business hotel, quite small and I think family run in the small city of Noheji. It might not look very inviting from outside, but actually inside it is all totally new. The room is basic, but you get your own toilet and shower, which is not standard everywhere in Japan, specially with Japanese rooms. 
• Highlights:
• Very newly reformed
• Incredible number of electrical plugs
• Nice, basic rooms
• Location:
• Aomori, Noheji
• A more detailed description here

Toyama

• Kuronagi onsen 黒薙温泉
• This is a small simple ryokan with a superb onsen with two rotenburos (one mixed bathing, one female-only) in the middle of nature, but still reasonable reachable without any hiking skills. 
• Highlights:
• onsen pools surrounded by nature with direct views into the river gorge (see here for a rating of the onsen)
• If you are lucky you can watch the monkeys while bathing (you bathing, monkeys at their daily chores)
• Location:
• Toyama, Kuronagi onsen (on the Kurobe railway line)
• Find a more detailed description of the experience here and here

Gifu

• Hirayu no mori 平湯の森
• This is a onsen hotel buildt to resemble a mountain village, with simple tatami rooms
• Highlights:
• onsen hotel with no less than 9 different rotenburos (female section, 7 in the men's section)
• while it is a relatively bit onsen hotel, it is not ugly as many others are
• conveniently located right besides the bus stop of Hirayu onsen
• Location:
• Gifu, Hirayu onsen
• See here for a more detailed ranking of the onsen. 
• See here & here for a description of the experience

Aichi

• Kyukamura Irago 休暇村　伊良湖
• This hotel is one in the chain of Kyukamura ("vacation village"). It is located right inside a national park and this is definitely one of its attractions.
• Highlights:
• nice landscape directly surrounding the hotel
• reasonably good dining and breakfast buffet
• several activities are offered by the hotel
• Location:
• Aichi, Cape Irago
• See here & here for a description of the experience

Nara

• Haruya Hostel はる家
• A hostel, although in other places it would probably be called ryokan, in the old part of Naramachi in a restored old town house. 
• Highlights:
• good location
• Nice old town house
• Friendly hostel staff
• Location:
• Naramachi
• See here & here for a description of the experience. 
• Guesthouse Egao グエストハウス笑顔
• An other hostel, in a old town house, not as beautiful as the Haruya hostel above, but also cheaper, very close to Imaicho.
• Highlights
• Very friendly hosts
• Free breakfast
• Very recently renovated guesthouse with traditional tatami rooms
• Good price
• Location:
• Yamagoyagi
• See here for a description of the experience.