Cycle Touring in Japan

[simonhill]

I have recently completed a six week cycle tour in Japan and as a number of people asked for details, I have done this short write up. It is not really about the trip but what to expect when touring there. I went for all of October and the first two weeks of November. I flew into Kansai airport (Osaka) and rode a 2,000 kms circuit. Shikoku, Shimanami Kaido (amazing bridges cycle path) to Western Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku again and back to Kansai. I was more interested in cycling around and didn't visit any main tourist hotspots like Kyoto, maybe next time. Nonetheless many less famous places have plenty of worthwhile sites, natural and manmade.
(NB very roughly, ¥100 = 60p)

Weather:

Generally very good, despite two typhoons! The typhoons passed quickly and only delayed me a couple of days. Weather forecasting is very good and the typhoons and periods of rain are tracked on net and TV. I arranged rest days on a couple of wet days but due to a tight schedule I had to cycle on two other wet days, not bad in six weeks. The days were usually bright and sunny, low humidity with temps in low 20s, ideal for cycling, although by the time I left the temperatures were starting to fall and the wind was getting cold. Winter was coming and so I headed off to pedal in warmer climes.

Accommodation:

Most of the time I stayed in business hotels, which can be found in all reasonable sized towns.These are good quality with bath and shower, AC, TV, fridge and kettle. They usually cost ¥5,000 to 5,500. WiFi was normally available for free. I also stayed in a couple of minshuku (small country hotels) at ¥4000 and 3 hostels in private rooms ¥3,000-5,800. Check in is usualy 3 or 4 pm. Generally they expect you to book ahead and find it odd when you just turn up. I rarely booked and always found somewhere to stay, but beware when business conferences are in town and holiday weekends. I didn't camp and only saw 3 official campsites.

Food:

Excellent! My normal DiY breakfast in my hotel room was bananas and bread or cake, which cost about ¥250, plus tea using the kettle, Some hotels included breakfast, but if not included I thought it poor value at about ¥700. On the road, the convenience stores (cv's) do a great range. Good coffee for ¥100 a cup, cakes, etc for ¥100 and ready meals for ¥350-500. My lunch was normally one of these meals, heated in their microwave, cheap, tasty and filling. You can also get portions of mixed salad, with fish, egg, etc. and fresh fruit. If you choose carefully, eating in cv's can be fairly healthy. Supermarkets also do ready to eat food, plus all the usual stuff.

There are also plenty of small restaurants (noodles, one plate meals, etc) for ¥500-700, but generally I preferred the speed of the cv's when cycling.

In the evening there were many restaurants offering good tasty meals (soup, and main) for under ¥1000. For more specialised or top quality Japanese food, the price rises rapidly. Hotels we're happy for you to take food to your room. Some had communal microwaves.

Roads:

Generally very good quality. Sometimes a shoulder, sometimes not. I found the Japanese drivers very safe and respectful towards cyclists. Everybody obeys the traffic lights, but there are loads of them and they can be a real pain as they are time rather than demand controlled. The lights are above you so you need to keep one eye on the sky. Most Japanese cycle on cycle paths or the pavement, very few on the actual road. The cycle paths can be useful if you are nervous of heavy town traffic, but they are too slow for me when doing a day's touring. Once away from the urban areas you see very few other cyclists. There are lots of tunnels, some have space for bikes, some don't. All are well lit. Remember tunnels are your friends, they cut the top of the hills.

Due to the nature of the country, ie densely populated, lots of hills and a coastal fringe, many of the roads are busy and run along the coast or in the valleys. I found it hard to avoid riding lots of busy roads. Even on days when I rode more rural areas, I was always on the main roads at the start and at the end in the towns where the accommodation is. If camping, you could probably avoid 'civilisation' a bit more. I did more urban and busy highway riding on this trip than on any other.

I didn't use any transport apart from ferries. These are reasonably priced eg ¥1,500 including bike for 1 hour crossing. Bikes on buses and trains are a problem and long distance transport seems expensive. My advice is cycle. Urban transport eg trams, when off the bike, is good and cheap.

Maps:

I looked at the Mapple series of motorbike touring mapbooks and didn't like them. You can get good quality maps in English from the tourist offices, but these aren't detailed enough for urban area navigation where the roads can be a real jumble. Google maps on my tablet with GPS were invaluable. The terrain view also shows what climbs to expect.

Costs:

Overall I found it surprisingly cheap, but you need to think in terms of UK, Europe, Oz prices, not Asia. In 43 days I spent (according to my ATM records) ¥302,000 or ¥6,863 average per day (just under £40 per day).

Impressions:

The scenery is very beautiful with steep wooded valleys and lots of coastline although it does get a bit samey. Lots of volcanoes, particularly on Kyushu and the odd earthquake to liven things up. There are some stunning roads to cycle, but you need to research quite a bit to find them. My favourite area was around the volcanic caldera (largest in the world) of Aso and the nearby Yanamani Highway on Kyushu.There are very few old historic buildings away from the honeypot sites and some of the urban architecture is very uninspiring. Unfortunately, they seem to like covering much of their natural beauty in concrete, possibly to defend it from earthquakes, tsunami, etc or possibly as rural job creation.

It is an incredibly safe country and I never felt threatened. As someone who is used to cycling in other parts of Asia where people all wave and shout hello, Japan was a bit of a shock. Most people just ignore you, even other cyclists. Once you break the ice, they are very friendly and helpful.

I enjoyed my time there and will probably go back next year.

[matt2matt2002]

I think I would enjoy it, but I don't speak Japanese.
Is that going to be a problem for me?

[TonyR]

I would point out you chose a good time to go. Summer is stiflingly humid and hot, winter is cold. Spring and Autumn are good times although avoid the rainy season in late spring/early summer unless you like riding in the rain.

[robing]

Where did you store your bike overnight when staying in the hotels etc?

[simonhill]

In reply:

I don't speak Japanese and got by OK. I was surprised to find how little English there was. I think this is a result of poor (spoken) English teaching and a reluctance to try - the Japanese are a very reserved people.

Annoyingly, there is lots of written English, but it is just for show, eg shop names, the name of a cake on a packet although the rest of the writing is in Japanese and my favourite, a folder in the hotel labelled "Information" in English, but all the stuff insde was in Japanese!

I don't think travelling is rocket science and I find it easy to get by in most places. When I walk into a hotel, they don't think I have come to pick up the laundry or fix the lift, but realise I want a room. In the cv's all items are priced and you just hand them over and they ring them up on the till using the same numbers we use. The restaurants either had a menu showing the food or plastic models outside. All very easy.

I should have said before, but almost every road direction sign was also in English.

The main thing I miss by not having the language is conversations, but you need a pretty good level to make it more than a collection of inane questions and answers.

My advice is if you want to go, go. Don't worry about the language.

I kmow the weather at that time of year is good as it is when I usually travel in the region. Nonetheless it wasn't luck, I do a lot of research on the weather before I go anywhere. Sites like accuweather and wunderground both have excellent historical climate info.

I am normally paranoid about leaving my bike outside overnight, but in Japan there were bikes everywhere. Only once did I leave it right out front, but most of the time I left it in the open parking area or round the side of the hotel, etc. I always kept it under some sort of cover, even if only a fire escape and always locked it to something. After a few days I stopped worrying. To sum up how safe it was, there was a roadside stall selling oranges. Not only was there a cash box, but there was a row of ¥100 coins, enough to change a ¥1000 note (£6).

[TonyR]

I am normally paranoid about leaving my bike outside overnight, but in Japan there were bikes everywhere. Only once did I leave it right out front, but most of the time I left it in the open parking area or round the side of the hotel, etc. I always kept it under some sort of cover, even if only a fire escape and always locked it to something. After a few days I stopped worrying. To sum up how safe it was, there was a roadside stall selling oranges. Not only was there a cash box, but there was a row of ¥100 coins, enough to change a ¥1000 note (£6).

Japan is very safe and your bike will be totally safe even if not locked up. The Japanese would suffer a loss of honour if it did get stolen so people lock things to avoid the remotest chance of a loss of honour. I have seen workers passed out drunk on the train late at night with their jackets hanging open and their weeks/months wages sticking out their inside pocket and nobody touches it. Also no worries about being a woman travelling alone or out late at night on your own.

[southerly]

I live in France and part of a 3 way package from Orange is sat. television and one of the channels is NHK public service channel.

I did not realise just how amazing rural Japan is. There are all kinds of places to stay including (in the cities) peoples homes, so you really mix with the Japanese. As the OP said if you stick to the roads it is'nt always what you would want but how about a little heresy - off road riding or trekking on foot. there are some amazing paths to walk or ride all over Japan, with no need or at any rate little need to travel via big cities. I would rec. eyeballing NHK on the net, it is possible to view in 17 different languages.

If I had known just how beautiful Japan was I would have stumped up the horrendous airfares of the 1970s' because then once there Japan was cheap to visit.

[TonyR]

If I had known just how beautiful Japan was I would have stumped up the horrendous airfares of the 1970s' because then once there Japan was cheap to visit.

Bits of it, usually out of the way bits of it, can be incredibly beautiful. But much of the beauty is about getting the right camera angle. Kyoto looks a beautiful ancient city in the photos but in reality its a large low rise urban sprawl with small pockets of great beauty and tranquility hidden within it.

[southerly]

Tonyr,
can't agree I've seen so many programmes on NHK that show just how mountainous Japan is and so many beautiful places to see. Outside of the cities many villages with only old people in their 80s' and beyond, completely undeveloped - check out NHK and the holidays in Japan time table. There are plenty of islands to visit as well - a million miles from Kyoto and Tokyo. What I would enjoy is trying all the regional cuisines which have never disappeared even though it is a highly advanced nation - all their traditions are very much alive as well - they hav'nt sold their soul.

[TonyR]

Tonyr,
can't agree I've seen so many programmes on NHK that show just how mountainous Japan is and so many beautiful places to see.

Yes, well, I lived there for two years and have travelled there extensively so seen it beyond the promotional confines of the camera lens.

[cyclingnomad]

We loved Japan our favorite country so far. I learnt a bit of basic Japanese as particularily in the North it is rare to meet anyone speaking any English. We cycled from Hokkaido down to the western
tip of Honshu in just over 2 months starting at the end of August. We camped most of the time. You need to pick your eason carefully because the summer is hot and very humid. It was getting cold in the mountains already at the end of October. http://www.cycling-nomads.com/japan-is-number-one/

[Weimarunner]

Great write up, thanks for taking the time. It's a country I'd love to tour.