This blog is about travelling through Japan on a bicycle. Initially on a foldable bicycle (Brompton) and more recently mostly by road bike (Spezialized)... but also by train, ferry, plane, bus or any other transport, if sea, weather, mountains or the like come between me and my desire to ride.
I have tried to summarise information that could be potentially helpful also for other bicycle travellers through Japan, such as list of bicycle roads, helpful web pages etc.
Route: Yokosuka- Miura peninsula - Enoshima - Koza Shibuya Bicycle: 90 km Train:110 km Total ascent: 542 m Average speed: 18,7 km/h
Riding time: 4:47 h Weather: Sun and clouds and during the day surprisingly warm. 12 C
Today wasn’t my first time on Miura peninsula by bike but the first time I made it in just one day. Did choose though I think a different route. At least it seemed much flatter than I remembered it.
I had my bike still all packed up from the ride to Odawara with my friends and earlier this week, so had decided to take advantage and start the ride somewhere outside of Tokyo. When looking for ideas, Miura peninsula came along. It’s a rather famous cycling destination from Tokyo, but frankly I am not sure I like it that much. Specially the part from Mizakiguchi to Zushi and further on to Enoshima has heavy traffic. So heavy that the cars hardly advance. For us cyclists it is possible to pass the cats on the left, but it isn’t the same fun as just riding.
However one has to admit that the views over Tokyo Bay are nice.
Around Mizakiguchi the peninsula is quite rural at least when one manages to escape from the main road, then one is surrounded only by cabbage and daikon. So many of them, that actually the entire region smells cabbage.
Shortly before Enoshima, Fujisan made its appearance.
From Enoshima I entered one of the typical Japanese cycle paths along a river. This one after Fujisawa becomes a really nice one. But even better was the end in Koza Shibuya at Ofuro no Oosama, one of my preferred Super sentos in the Kanto area.
Day 1 Route: Tokyo - Odawara Bicycle: 99 km Total Ascent: 601 m Average Speed: 17.7 km/h Riding Time: 5:36 h Weather: Sunny and quite warm for early February, 8 C
One of my friends from the Night Pedal Cruising (NPC) is a concierge in the Shinjuku Hilton hotel and he gets employee discounts in stays at other Hilton’s. So he organised this ride to Odawara. For the group this was already the 3rd ride, bit for me the first.
We met on a Monday morning around 8:00 in Futakotamagawa and set off through the non-countryside around Yokohama towards the West. It took a while before we hit a river with a good cycling path along.
We took regular rests and at some point arrived on the coast where there is for a while a nice cycling path right behind the beach. It tends to be quite sandy, but with some caution was well rideable. At this monument to the city of Chigasaki we took an other group picture, all doing a little C with our hands.
Soon after it was time (albeit so late that most of the dishes had already sold out) for lunch, which we had in the harbour restaurant of Chigasaki. Fried fish was it for me. On we went to Odawara where it was starting to get dark just about at the time when we started our final ascent to the hotel. The Odawara Hilton is high above the city on a rather steep hill. So steep that everyone was talking about this hill weeks before. And yes, it is steep, specially at the beginning where it seems to be more like a wall than a hill. I managed that part only partially and then had to push the bike, but soon after it got a bit flatter so I could jump back on the bike. With a few more rest stops from there I made it up the rest of the mountain. Apparently this hotel was originally built and owned by the city of Odawara. However as the bubble burst th deity needed money and someone more expert than themselves to run a hotel so sold it cheaply to Hilton who managed to keep the hotel afloat. It isn’t only a hotel it comes complete with an onsen, a swimming pool , a play bath, a wedding church and a lot of other facilities.
On Day 1 after checking we went quickly to the play bath area, but couldn’t stay for long as the Buffett dinner was waiting for us and definitely a good buffet (as far as buffets go). We had been instructed to bring dr8nks along for the after party in the “boys room” but after only about 1 beer per head (craft beer brought along by one of my friends who is very much into craft beers) we were all pretty tired (and it was late) and retreated to our beds.
Day 2 Route: Odawara - Shin Matsuda Bicycle:24 km Train: Total Ascent: 83 m Average Speed: 16.6 km/h Riding Time: 1:27 h Weather: cloudy and colder than the day before, 12 C
Day 2 to most part was not spent on the bike but rather in the pool or on a recliner close to the pool. It has been ages that I haven’t been in a pool. What was surprising that so many people (at least the younger women but also some men and children) were wearing a kind of jacket and trousers in the water. The older people who came here mainly for swimming or participating in one of the water gymnastic sessions were generally wearing normal swimsuits.
Ou day had started with an other very rich buffet. The hotel was actually full with a conference by Roche Taiwan, so when we first came down for breakfast it was quite busy, but after a while they had to leave for their meeting sessions if the day , and we had the rest of the buffet to us.
Around noon we got going and headed down the steep hill back to Odawara.
Down in Odawara in the harbour we had lunch, more fried fish for me and then went to the castle and a small coffee shop in its park, to relax a bit more with some hot drinks under the trees that just very shiny started to bloom.
Route: Full circle of Kasumigaura and over to Tsukuba
Bicycle: 137 km
Train: 145 km
Average Speed: 26.0 km/h (!)
Total Ascent: 73 m
Riding Time: 5:30 h
Weather: Sunny, no wind, 4C (but felt warm enough to take the long sleeves off)
I had seen a new Meetup group announcing this ride around Kasumigaura, one of the places on my bucket list. The sell was that this would be also for beginner road cyclists, so I gathered my determination and signed up.
I had never made the full loop and even in parts I think I had been here only once before, many years ago on one of my first rides with Garmin (RIP). But the lake is definitely very nice and with the sun out it was warm enough to roll down the long sleeves of my winter jacket, albeit I was the only one thinking so. Everyone else was still very much in deep winter mode.
We set out and had a very high pace going... but just about to be able to stick in there. A few stops on the way were planned, the typical conbini stops to get to a toilet, fill up the bottle and get some quick snack between the teeth and into the stomach.
A bit later a stop at a local restaurant, famous for its huge Katsukare where we were lucky to get in as a relatively large group for a small and famous restaurant.
After a quick picture at a road side stop the slowest rider (not me) dropped of and went directly from there over a bridge back to Tsuchiura... while the rest of us set out to cycle around the smaller part of the lake as well. And here the speed really picked up. So much that the front group left us, but luckily a French guy had pity with me and I was sitting in his wheel cycling with all my possible speed and hitting 30 km/h and more.
The day should have ended after this beer back at Tsuchiura station, but it turned out that there was some major problem with the train line and no trains passed for hours on end. Some of the guys had come by car, so they went back to their car and even took an other 2 with them, the German girl, decided that riding an other 80 km back to Shibuya was her thing... while the French guy and I headed over to Tsukuba, a mere 10 km away to catch a train from there.
Day 1 Route: Hamanako lake Bicycle: 82 km Train: 280 km Average Speed: 17.1 km/h Total Ascent: 504 m Riding Time: 4:46 h Weather: sunny but cold, 2C
Today was the first ride with a group of cyclists from Osaka I had been in contact for the last 3 years. I had found them on their internet page just at the beginning of Covid and met a few members of them in Osaka in preparation of a ride to an island in the Seto sea, but a few days later the government asked that people don’t do any group activities and don’t travel, so the ride got canceled. But I had made it into their - extremely lively - Line group. Now finally I managed to join a ride. And what a ride!
The day started early in Tokyo to be at 8:30 already at Bentenjima station, but then the fun started. I had been at this very station 5 years ago on my ride through Japan but didn’t ride around the lake back then.
The organizer before the ride had asked me about average speed suggesting that they’d go at 25-30 km/h, which was a bit intimidating, but it turned out to be considerably slower, so we had a lot of time to enjoy the views.
And take pictures.
It seems this group specially enjoys taking pictures of bicycles all nicely lined up.
Hamanako seems to be famous for eel, so for lunch we went to an eel place. The first few we tried were already full and we would have needed to wait for 1+ hour, but finally we found a restaurant with space for 8 and really tasty eel:
After lunch one of the participants slowed down a lot, but now we were at the forest from the station, so we made our way slowly back. Close to the station stands this torii in the lake and we took some special go pro pictures. While taking pictures we were standing around a lot so it got really cold. The group had decided to put the bikes in the bike bag and take the train to Hamamatsu, but I was cold at that moment and I don’t specially like to disassemble and reassemble my bike, so I rode the last ~ 12 km into town… and actually arrived before everyone else. Early enough to get a shower before dinner. (It seems Hamamatsu is famous for gyoza).
Day 2
Route: Hamamatsu - Omaezaki - Yaizu Bicycle: 100 km Average Speed: 19.6 km/h Total Ascent: 298 m Weather: sunny but cold, and a strong tailwind, 4C Riding Time: 5:04 h
On the second day we went from Hamamatsu along the coast to Omaezaki and then to Yaizu. We did choose the right direction, we had a very strong tailwind along the entire coast.
I did this same ride (or at least a part of it) in 2017 in my 2 months cycling trip through Japan, but in the other direction, from Shizuoka to Hamamatsu. Day1 back then was nice... Day 2 was in the rain and I got so wet that I searched for refuge in a shopping mall, changed in a toilet, called a taxi and went to the nearest train station and from there to Bentenjima (the same train station as yesterday), where I had already reserved a hotel. But today the sun was shining, the wind was blowing strongly from behind so we sailed down the coast. Sometimes riding at 30 km/h along with little effort.
However the problem with the sand on the cycling path continues:
2017
2023
Only that now those parts are closed, diverting the ride to a normal road for long stretches. So what could/should be a very nice ride on a cycle path along the shores of the Pacific, in most places is just a ride along the road. It seemed that the planners had indicated some secondary roads even further inland, but we took the main road.
On my last day, a bigger ride, up the hill I cycled up a part on Day 6, and then up and up. There is a long, very straight valley parallel to the Biwa Lake, with a good road, not too much traffic and a nice incline, not too steep. So actually quite perfect, both for riding up, as well as rolling down. This is the view from close to the highest point:
Shortly after I entered a tunnel (the first in a row of maybe about 3 tunnels) and when I came out, there was this:
Snow! But the road was very much free of snow, so no problem at all for riding:
This descent was quite perfect, only the road surface could have been smoother... but I guess one cannot complain for a road with relatively little traffic and harsh winter conditions, it was reasonably well maintained and had a perfect incline. And nice panorama off the road:
On the mountains around and the one here in the distance, there was already snow. Not a lot of snow though... but that is probably going to change over the coming weeks.
Continuing down and down, I came to Takashima, which was my minimum goal of today, as that is the first place with a train line, but it was still early enough in the day, and I still had energy, so I continued on riding along the famous Biwa-ichi cycling road. This is in some places a real cycling road, in others it is just a blue line on a street. Sometimes there is a fast track (generally on the bigger streets) and a slow course, which is generally more on smaller, neighborhood streets.
Along the way, in an area with not a lot of space between mountain and lake, so on a rather busy road, there was this torii standing in the Biwa Lake in the late afternoon sun:
At around 80 km in, I still felt I had enough energy, so I decided to make this my first 2023 100 km ride. Last year, I only managed one 100+ km ride, since moving to Japan. (I don't remember where and when, but probably it was a rather flat ride). So I continued on, always parallel to the train line and for most part on the Biwa cycling course. Although at some point I must have missed a turn... but sometime later I found the course again. And anyway, with the train line to one side and the lake to the other, there isn't any getting lost. I had planned to look for a station once I hit the 100 km, and by pure chance right at that point, a sign appeared showing to the right for Ogoto Onsen station. I had comfortable time to pack up the bicycle, while it got dark outside. Then hopped on a rather empty train directly back to Kyoto station.
Route: Kyoto - Otsu - Uji - Kyoto Bicycle: 63 km Average Speed: 17.3 km/h Total Ascent: 380 m Riding Time: 3:39 h Weather: Cloudy, rainy from Uji onwards, 3 C
After a 1 day hiatus yesterday (the first working day in 2023, that I spent in Osaka office, so that I could extend my stay in Kansai a bit further), today back on the bike. The weather a few days ago didn't look very promissing for today, yesterday evening it looked a bit better... so I actually had planned a quite ambitious ride for today... but then today in the morning it again looked like it would be raining in the afternoon... and sure it did... while I was still on the bike. But it wasn't a too strong rain and by the time it started raining, I was already in Uji, so already back in civilization.
Actually today's ride I kind of copied from someone I met 5 years ago, while cycling through Japan, when I headed down from Omi Hachiman to Uji. Since then I am following him on Strava. Normally he makes very long rides or rides with a lot of climbing, but a few days ago I saw him making a ride from Kyoto to Otsu and then down to Uji, so I kind of copied that for today.
The first stop was on lake Biwa which lay in the mist of the cold day.
When riding into town, I remembered that there was a German Brauhaus in a German half timbered house. Last time I had just bought a conbini lunch when I spotted this restaurant, so I decided to go there today... but it was closed as the building is under complete renovation. That's how it looked like in 2017:
So I just had a nuts bar and then continued on my way along the Kizugawa, which flows out of the Biwa lake. Down a very nice valley, with a very gentle slope and not too much traffic. Somewhere midway through hunger set it in, but I didn't need to wait until Uji, but found a small village along the way where 2 middle aged women had a small restaurant in their living room, where I had fried chicken with tartar sauce, i.e. Chicken Nanban.
Continuing down the river I came to Uji, took a picture on the bridge, went to the toilet and then continued in the starting (light) rain back to Kyoto.
Route: Kyoto - Ohara and back Bicycle: 50 km Average Speed: 16.2 km/h Total Ascent: 472 m Riding Time: 3:06 h Weather: Sun and clouds, and a few rain drops in the hills, 5 C
In principle today I wanted to avoid the mountains, but surprisingly I did more vertical ascent than yesterday... which kind of sounds surprising.
After the cold and rainy experience yesterday, I took it easy this morning, getting up late (after all I am on vacation) and then deciding on a rather random route not too far from Kyoto. I just looked at google maps, marked a few temples that looked somewhat promising and planned a route.
As I started so late, I didn’t make it to all my spots, but I had a great and very varied day, with more than sufficient “temples”
A cat temple
A temple dedicated to pickles
An actual Buddhist temple up in the hills above Kyoto
An onsen temple
The cat temple is actually called so in Japanese ニャンニャン寺 (NjanNjanJi), the sound that cats make in Japanese. It’s an old Japanese house dedicated to everything cat:
Per google maps it seemed that they also had a restaurant, but no. At this point I was a bit hungry, so another look at google maps and saw that there was a Kyoto delicatesse restaurant a bit further up the hill. It turned out to be a pickles factory with restaurant and shop.
With every lunch, there was a free pickles buffet... and I have to admit these pickles were good. I am not a total fan of pickles, but these were extremely fresh and tasty.
From there it wasn't too far to the only actual temple of the day, Sanzen-in ab ancient buddhist temple with a nice garden, that seems to be very famous (for its azaleas)... and seems to get a lot of visitors, except today. But there were parking lots all over the village.
From there it was a fast and easy ride back to Kyoto, passing by briefly by my accommodation to pick up some clothes, and then off to another super sento in the center of Kyoto.
Route: Kameoka - Miyama - Wachi Bicycle: 65 km Train: 90 km Average Speed: 19.4 km/h Total Ascent: 303 m Riding Time: 3:21 h Weather: started with sun and clouds, ended in icy rain, 1C
While I write this, I am sitting in a warm train on the heating, and am still quite cold as my cycling pants, shoes and socks are pretty wet. This was me in the - nicely warm - waiting room or Wachi station, trying to bring life again into my wet and freezing feet (with a warm drink between them). Hail to Japanese vending machines!
The plan for today in principle was good, cycling from Kameoka to Miyama and the catch a train back to Kyoto from Wachi, only that it started raining about midway through and that in winter in the mountains. Not too much higher that rain came down as snow.
But the valley of Miyama with its traditional farm houses is definitely nice and merits a new visit, with better and slightly warmer and dryer weather.
I had this page of the Japan Guide open on my mobile phone for maybe 3+ years as a reminder that I want to visit. Maybe not the best way to make a list of places to visit and other reminders, but it does work. I also have some more pages open:
A page about Tamba Sasayama (actually not too far away from where I was today)
Kabuki program in Tokyo
A list of travel highlights 2019 from a Japan guide author
A page about Awaji
…
You get the idea.
Miyama would for sure have been nice. It’s a remote valley but good to cycle (no steep gradients, good road with not much traffic, and several villages along the road with probably some places to eat as well, at least when it isn’t New Year period when many things are closed. Everything should be back to normal tomorrow, 5/Jan.)
Now some hours later, back in my accommodation in Kyoto, I have had a nice warm (but not too hot) bath in the local sento, just around the corner...
... and Uber dinner... and am ready for bed. No real plans yet for tomorrow... but not into the mountains. Probably up to Biwako. Weather should be fine. Just cold. Hope that the shoes will be dry by then. I even bought a Japanese sports newspaper (seemed to be the thickest of them all) and have stuffed my shoes with it. Luckily I brought a second pair of shoes, just not totally apt for cycling. So "worst case" tomorrow just some Kyoto city sightseeing.
Today did go to plan and was nice and different from the previous days. Since I am in Kyoto I thought it only fair to explore some areas around Kyoto where I haven’t been before. So when I looked at a map yesterday it seemed that the plain around Kameoka might be a good destination. But as so often it isn’t the destination but the way to it.
I saw that there was a pass behind Arashiyama and initially planned to ride up there and then turn on a street that runs parallel to the Sagano Torokko train, but per Komoot that road isn’t passable (although per Google maps it even has a road number), so I also planned an alternative route further up into the mountains and then down to Kameoka plain.
While riding I met one other cyclist and I met him at the right moment, not too far from the turn I would have needed to take to get in that road. But he advised that that road has trees lying across and is generally more something for a mountain bike. So I continued up the “main” road to this mountain village, famous for its Yuzu.
I am saying “main” road, because although technically it is the main road there is hardly any traffic. So perfect for us cyclists.
It was a long ascent but doable. I only pushed the bike for a few meters on the first ascent close to the top, and with the excuse that there was a car behind me that wanted to take over, so I got off... and there was just no possibility to get on the bike again, too steep for that. But the rest, I slowly but steadily made my way up.
Already on the way down, I even passed this Gassho zukuri house:
The descent was also okay. Not too steep, the road surface good enough, only very few cars... but cold! Although I had put on again all my layers of clothing, which admittedly as a cyclist in winter aren't actually that many, my fingers were frozen when I arrived in the valley. But once down in the plain, I found a conbini, got a hot drink and a hot bun and was on my way again for the two tourist spots of today.
Frankly I hadn't done a lot of research yesterday, but saw on google maps two temples which I picked. The first one seemed to be closed today... so I only have a picture of the gate (which was open... but nothing behind it was open):
While the second wasn't exactly teeming with activity, but there must have been something shortly before I arrived. At least there were still a lot of people clearing things up. I also saw a few people leave with their Kagami Mochi.
In a corner of the temple was a small fire, where a long rope was being burned. I saw on New Years Eve quite a lot of people in Kyoto walking around with small ropes (maybe about 30 cm long) that were burning on one end.
From there it was a short way to the station in Kameoka, where I left the bike in a proper bicycle parking house to wait for me until tomorrow... so now I need to make plans for tomorrow starting in Kameoka...
