Introduction

Japan has been on my wishlist for a long time. Unfortunately the best months to go are in the spring or fall which conflict with my teaching schedule. The summer is brutally hot and humid, and the winters are cold. My aim was to do a length of Japan tour from the bottom to the top, and I wanted to have basic language skills before embarking. It occurred to me that I could do the bottom half this June and the top half in 2025. June, hopefully wouldn't be too hot, although it is the rainy season. I took a Japanese class this spring, and gave it my all. I researched dozens of routes, most of which were shared by other cyclists on a Japanese cycling group on Facebook.

I will be cycling on three islands; Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. I will pass through five regions; Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Shikoku, Kyushu. I'll leave Tokyo on the ancient Nakasendo route through the mountains to Kyoto. From there I'll head south to Wakayama, where I'll take a ferry to Shikoku. There's a pilgrimage route involving 88 temples, and I'll be riding around much of the perimeter. I will ride the famous Shimanami Kaido before grabbing a ferry to Kyushu. I'll then head back into the mountains to visit an active volcano before returning to the coast and reaching Cape Sata, the southernmost point of the island.
My itinerary aims to cover 100Km a day, with considerable daily climbing. I'll be camping, hoteling, hot springing, eating fantastic food, and drinking a lot of beer. I've heard nothing but good stories and I'm looking forward to it!

Ground transportation in Tokyo

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