A couple of years ago I cycled across Iceland starting from Neskaupstadur and finding my way to Reykjanesbaer with only a backpack of things. I stayed at hotels or inns and sometimes with even strangers who welcome me into their home. It was the greatest experience of my life, and it was kind of a fluke it even happened. It wasn’t too challenging, even as my first (and to date, only) bikepacking experience.
I’d like to make a trip to Japan in 2024 and do the same thing, starting from Wakkani and heading down to Kagoshima, however I wish to avoid metropolitan areas like the greater Tokyo area. Most of my proposed trip would be in more rural areas.
I’m nervous because it is over 3x the distance but I plan to give myself 30-45 days. I worry because (most of the time) in Iceland, there was somewhere to stay within 30km of wherever I was whereas I’m unsure of the availability of accommodations in Japan for a foreigner.
I’m also nervous because while many people in Iceland spoke English (at the very least at a level a conversation could be had without difficulty), I know this is not the same as in Japan, especially rural Japan. I took an introductory Japanese course in university many years ago and I can still read kana but not many kanji. As well, I can remember about 30 phrases of conversational Japanese and about 200 words, although I can brush up before any proposed trip.
Do you think something like this is possible? How easy is it to source overnight accommodations in Japan as a foreigner who doesn’t speak much Japanese but some? The way I did my Iceland trip was I went in mostly blind: I had a route but sightseed as opportunity arose, I never had plans to do any specific activity or visit any specific place. Likewise I’d like to go into Japan fairly blind to the geography and activities, but I need to make sure it’s safe of course.
Has anyone here cycled across Japan and can share some experiences?
25 comments
“Has anyone here cycled across Japan and can share some experiences?”
I don’t know if this helps but British Youtuber, Chris Broad, did a series a few years ago where he cycled his way [across Japan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC_ZDJrBLpk&list=PLSOR9_iNzVfl4ghftQDpTA4CXUvCKRlsL). You may get an idea of what to expect.
Wow… you just broadened my mind….. now i have a new goal in my life…. bike packing….
I’ve lived in Japan, and done plenty of biking around!
I will say that in general- you will have some options for accommodations across most of Japan. There are lots and lots of cheap little two start business hotels that always have a room available. They often don’t speak much English, but it doesn’t take much communication to get your room key and sling them a few thousand yen.
Where I would worry is Hokkaido. Coming down from Wakkanai you are going to be going through some very, very rural country. I did a quick check on le Google Maps and there are random places to stay along the route, but it’s probably going to be one of the most challenging areas.
I have had rural places not want to put me up- until it came out that we lived in Japan and spoke Japanese. So brushing up on your skills there is a good idea.
Avoiding greater Tokyo is going to be quite difficult I think, you’ll have to cut through part of the city no matter what. To do otherwise would involve the west coast and heading through Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa and that route is very mountainous and I’m not sure how confident I would be of biking along those roads.
Would I say this trip is possible? Heh, maybe. But I might try something less ambitious like the 88 temples or the Noto Peninsula first.
I would take the time to study some of the language as much as possible before going. The rest you look like you got it covered, and I would also blu le check on what you should bring since it is 3x the distance from before
I’m sure it’s totally possible. There are several people on youtube who’ve done similar rides – though I can’t think of many that have done one quite that long. That is a helluva long trip through so I personally would aim for the lower end of km/day when planning how long it’ll take. I’ve also heard that camping overnight is fairly easy there if you’re into that enough to do it a few days a week. Probably saves a lot of money as well over that long of a trip, but the downside is then you have to carry more equipment on your bike.
I agree with the other response here, definitely brush up for when you’re in more rural areas and need to communicate. You’ve got plenty of time though if you’re aiming for 2024.
I’m pretty into mountain biking and have thought about doing this *exact* thing myself, but it would definitely have to be in a few more years when I can set aside that kind of time comfortably!
I think you should give it a shot. My dad did a lot of bikepacking growing up in Japan in the 60/70’s. He was often motivated by fishing, so he would tell me how he would take the side roads and find fishing spots along mountain rivers.
It’s something I would love to do sometime too. People are generally friendly and accommodating and having cell service nearly everywhere will be a big help for you. Good luck, ride safe!
[deleted]
There’s a guy who did cycle across japan and documented it on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYS0W_P0U8McJm2sCrXSRMJZvOvuPGkW
He also posted details about his trip on this subreddit, you can find the post here:
https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/8he26n/a_different_way_to_see_japan_last_year_i_cycled/
On his youtube he also has a specific video with tips for bike touring in japan. I really enjoyed watching his videos and hopefully they’ll be of help to you as well!
I’m hoping to bike pack around Japan too, would genuinely love to join you, but let me get my head out of the clouds.
Would you be able to share some advice as to what gear to buy/bring over (and have tried beforehand), versus what to obtain in the country.
Do you rent a bike from somewhere?
I love your approach to having no set plan, day-to-day. Makes complete sense and allows a lot of flexibility.
Following this thread. Good luck!
For something like this, I really think a scouting trip first is a good idea. While I’m encouraged that you’ve already done something similar, I think you are right to be nervous about many of the things you mentioned.
I think you could start by doing a much shorter visit/ride to see how you would fare with little preparation.
Otherwise, I think you’re much better off doing a lot more preparation ahead of time in terms of route and accommodations. It sounds like quite a bit of work but I think with google maps and an excel sheet, you could probably do it in fairly short order.
You may also want to consider bringing a bivy/emergency blanket just in case you get caught out.
Finally, you’re probably aware that Japan is quite mountainous, so while I’m sure your fitness is good, doing some planning ahead of time can probably spare you some agony / unexpected slow days, etc.
I didn’t get Firefox to save my throwaway password, so I don’t remember the details on signing in, so I’ll be using this account to keep up with the thread. Sorry for the inconvenience.
1. 30-45 days is fairly unrealistic given mountainous terrain, unless you are just cycling without any sightseeing.
2. Note that if you are doing Wakkanai to Kagoshima run your starting window is late August to mid-September. Starting earlier and you’d run into extreme heat of Japanese summer and typhoon season; starting later can make conditions in northern Hokkaido and Tohoku fairly unpleasant.
3. I would not recommend avoiding urban areas before you get to around Utsunomiya as you might struggle to find accommodation. Same goes for western Honshu (Hiroshima to Shimoneseki), so taking a route through Shikoku and Yawatahama to Beppu/Oita ferry might be a better plan.
4. If you choose to avoid Greater Tokyo and Keihanshin area, be prepared for steep climbs. And a lot of them.
5. Please note to that on Hokkaido, I would plan to stick exclusively to camping grounds, minshukus and hotels. Camping in the random wild spots is extremely ill-advised given Japan’s proclivity for natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, flash floods) and substantial bear population.
6. Be very aware of weather. Even typhoon/tropical storms remnants can make you miserable.
7. You should note that many of the local authorities will tow away your bike, if you don’t park it in a designated spot.
A friend of mine biked through Japan for a few months in spring and just wild-camped (without tent, just a sleeping bag) wherever he was. Never got trouble about it, but instead he made many japanese friends who just chatted him up, invited him home and wanted to know about his story. They saw him outside sitting somewhere on his breaks or while in his sleeping bag and just went up to him interested.
No idea if this is legal though and if sleeping in a sleeping bag is considered illegal wild camping. He washed himself in rivers and waterfalls, sometimes slept in hostels for a night to use the proper wash rooms or went to bathhouses for that matter.
However, booking accommodation as a non-japanese speaker is easy too, just use websites like booking.com. you can even usually cancel the booking for free sometimes even up until the day before.
Sounds great, I have visited Hokkaido many times and I know they have some great camping grounds, even quite a few free ones! I know you said you wanted to do it blind as much as possible but I would recommend possibly doing some checking for camping grounds or accommodation for the trip from Wakkanai to Sapporo. From Sapporo you should be ok.
There are less people and less traffic in Hokkaido and the roads tend to be wider too, so that is a big plus. My worry would be trying to get around the bigger cities in Honshu and the traffic plus narrow roads. But more accommodation in Honshu.
And yes, rural Japan won’t speak much English so maybe do some prep and have most of the phrases you plan to use written down in advance. I am sure you will have a lot of fun
Not bikepacking but there is a youtuber that lives in Japan that [hitchhiked from Tokyo to Hokkaido](https://youtu.be/wIrqy97S8bA) and back over 30 days I think. It’s a very long series but it could give you some idea of what you’ll expect. Keep in mind he speaks fluent Japanese which helped him get around.
Not possible if you can’t speak Japanese.
what was your daily budget?
I cycled around the island of Shikoku in 2020 (it’s the smallest of Japan’s main islands). It was one of the most amazing trips in my life! The scenery, the roads, the food and the people were just amazing.
Shikoku, especially the south, is also very rural (though probably a far cry from northern Hokkaido). I never had real trouble finding accomodation, but options were usually limited to one or two business hotels. However, I was was travelling on quite a tight budget (was there as an exchange student, I ended up paying 25-55€ per night for hotels). Only for one night at the southernmost (most rural) point of the island, i had to book an accomodation via a Japanese-only Website. Everywhere else, booking.com had some options. Hostels are almost nonexistent in rural areas.
I was also able to communicate in Japanese, which I used every day on the tour (in rural areas, expect NOBODY to speak English. You will need to speak at least basic japanese and have some Kanji skills).
Hey, I did a similar trip a few years ago, maybe not quite as adventurous in distance as yours, but probably outmatching you in unpreparedness!
I had never bikepacked before, very very little Japanese language, I went and bought a bike there (bit difficult to find a big enough bike for a westerner!), bought a tent, panniers, and too much stuff and went for it.
Started near Tokyo, went up to Hokkaido, rode a bit of Hokkaido then rented a car and drove around most of it with my girlfriend, then rode on down the west coast as far as Kyoto, then back to Tokyo.
Took a couple of months, there were a few train trips in there too with the bike covered to take with me on there. Probably the only real run ins I had with authorities revolved around covering the bike to get on a train, but I always managed somehow.
Tips in no particular order:
– it gets hot in Japan, heat at the start of my trip was brutal.
– I planned on doing rural roads like you, but they also happen to be hilly. Combined with the heat, it was tough going! I would often take a mix of main and rural roads depending on how far I wanted to go that day.
– going south was better than north for tailwinds (for me). Going south down the west coast was glorious, maybe not the most scenic part of Japan but I loved every minute of it!
– you can basically live off convenience stores and local restaurants in Japan, they are everywhere (maybe not Hokkaido). I planned on cooking a bit but didn’t need to.
– sento’s are amazing, and visiting one after a days riding, then having a meal and a beer at a tiny small town restaurant is probably the best travel experience you can have in Japan. And you get to do it almost every day on your trip! God I’m jealous of you haha!
– bad weather I would stay in Internet cafes in slightly larger towns. Free pc use to connect to the world, can charge up your stuff, no camping in the rain.
– I free camped all over the place, also stayed in campgrounds (often free). Be aware that campgrounds are sometimes up big hills which can be rough at the end of the day!
– I camped in parks and near temples in pretty large towns. A bit dodgy but it was fine, was never told off. Japan is probably the best place in the world to do this I would think in terms of safety.
– Japanese drivers are generally great and will give you room, slow down and not try to kill you like in other countries. Again I think Japan may be the best country in the world to do this.
– language won’t be a big issue. Sounds like you know way more than me and I was fine.
– riding in Japan is the best because you’re always hungry, and the food is amazing. Go to local ramen restaurants and get extra free noodles! Supermarkets are great for ready made meals, often have microwaves for you to use. Can be out of the way.
– biggest days ride I did was maybe 150km in a day. I could do 80-100km comfortably in a day by the end, at the start during summer less. Also I had too much stuff. This was coming from basically no riding experience though, so probably rookie numbers!
– be aware of mountains on your route! I generally avoided them! Japan has some pretty epic tunnels that go through them, but it’s hard to tell on your route what it’s going to be! Tunnels could be a bit sketchy, but I survived.
– I also couchsurfed a bit on the trip when I could tee it up, met some awesome people. Would recommend. I think I stayed at a couple of guest houses here and there, but I was too cheap generally haha..
– Damn I’m jealous and want to do it again now. Probably my favourite trip I’ve ever done and I’ve travelled a fair bit.
– just do it, you will love it!
Hit me up if you have any questions.
My friends did it and had a blast.
Be friendly and respectful and maybe type up and laminate a card with useful phrases in case you need help.
Accommodation is quite affordable here.
There’s a network ot bike hotels for like $10-20/night across Northern Japan. Dunno if it extends across the country. Forgot what it’s called.
Yes, avoiding the urban area should be possible. My question would be, is the main focus the cycling, or do you want to include sightseeing in it ? A lot of sight and interesting things will be located in the bigger cities, so you likely want to stop in several decent sized city and not only focus on the countryside.
The difference for booking accommodation between a foreigner and a Japanese person is more likely just the website options. Yes, there might be some accommodation that are not listed on international websites, some only have a webpage in Japanese, so in some cases, it might not be as easy to find all options withtout being able to read Japanese, but should still be ok. It is sure that you might have less choice if you do your booking last minutes and might have less choice or pay more.
On how to book, to be honest, my go to is [booking.com](https://booking.com) and before I was also checking some hostel websites, but nowadays, most of them are on booking anyway. Otherwise, Google maps and use the option to look for accommodation around a location. Sometimes you can find things not listed elsewhere (found one that could only be booked by phone/fax, so had a friend in Japan book it for me).
For Japanese skill, obviously it will be easier to communicate if you can speak it, but if you have internet at all time and tools to translate, it should not be impossible for you to communicate. And anyway, you will want internet to get access to map and such.
On the plan to have no plan… I would not, but that’s me. Going bling on the geography can be a bad idea. There is a lot of mountain in Japan, so you might want to avoid some of the rough area like the alps, going without plan might end up with bad surprises. You also need to plan where to cross between the islands, etc.
To give you an example, if you start north of Sapporo and go to Osahamanbe, you have two options. First is to pass by Otaru, Iwanai and a bit along the sea. That is roughly 160 km long, on the incline, it’s going up and down about 740m each. Second option is to pass by Sapporo, pass a bit in the Shikotsu-toya National park, and just next to lake Toya. While it’s about as long, now you have 2000 m both up and down. So, would you want to plan it, or you will just assume when you get to a big mountain ?
As for attractions, for sure you can see what you find on the spot, in that case always search for tourist information places to have an idea of what an area have to offer. With no plan at all, I would just be afraid to completely pass quite close to super interesting city and just miss it because you did not know about it.
I live in Japan and tour in Japan. Less is more. Mountain roads with less traffic are hard but the best option. I would average 40km a day and always include site-seeing if your really want to enjoy the country. You can check my youtube channel (waddo) to see what happens when you focus on experience rather than distance.
Well, u/NiceProfessor8271 I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the granddaddy of sites, [the length of japan.](http://www.japancycling.org/v2/) For some separate/discrete places of interest the you may (or not) want to touch on, [try this other site.](http://www.kancycling.com/KANcycling/Welcome_to_KANcycling%21.html) Also take a look/google Tokyo Cycle Club–there are some rider reports on touring.
I live in Japan and cycle tour in Japan.
You would be better off having a tent, there are some areas, especially Hokkaido where you will have trouble finding accommodation. You can wild camp with relative ease.
I would also avoid the northern tip to the southern tip thing unless you have a year to do it. It’s a gimmick and will force you to take busy, ugly, polluted coastal roads whereas you should try to take empty mountain routes. I realise most people ignore this suggestion.
You can watch my tour vidoes on youtube if you search “waddo” and see what happens when you plan a sightseeing route rather than an “I did all of japan” route.