Having cycled from Soya to Sata, here is a list of things I wish I’d known before I left. Hopefully this will be useful if you are planning a similar adventure.
Route Planning
No-one wants to be in heavy traffic on narrow roads. Key to route planning is finding the best roads, with the fewest cars and the prettiest views. Rindo Rob wrote this fantastic article on the subject.
My motto was to cycle on roads slow enough to say good morning to the farmers. This meant getting out into the fields as much as possible, finding the ‘old road’ or ‘Milk Road’ if it existed and, above all, avoiding the single main road between towns or through the mountains, if possible.
There are lots of helpful people on the Japan Cycling Navigator Facebook group you can ask for advice. Bike Map, Komoot and Strava Heatmaps are worth a visit in the planning stage too.
If you’re using a navigation device like a Garmin, make sure it has a map of Japan loaded. My Garmin didn’t which was big mistake!
Respect your jet lag (I flew from Europe) and allow yourself short distances for the first 3-4 days.
If a non-cyclist gives you route advice, you should give it less weight as they have probably only driven along the road (speaking from bitter experience).
I went north to south, starting in early May. If I did it again I would go south to north, starting in spring, or late summer. I would try to cycle with the good weather, and the easiest cycling and best roads (imo) are in Kyushu. I’d also hope to have the wind at my back in Hokkaido, the hardest place to cycle in my experience due to its high winds and desolate terrain.
Packing List
I didn’t camp and virtually every place I stayed had free or cheap (200 yen) washing facilities. I should have taken just one set of cycling kit – shorts, short sleeve top, leg and arm warmers.
I bought a merino wool top and socks to reduce the pong factor and because they dry overnight. Expensive but worth it.
I brought two water bottles and only needed one. There are loads of convenience stores and roadside drink dispensers. You can always strap a drink to your saddle bag.
I brought spare parts specific to my bike that I wouldn’t have found easily in Japan, in particular a rear derailleur hanger (essential), chain links and a chain tool, and brake pads. I didn’t take spokes but maybe should have. I learnt to fix most things on my bike.
Make sure everything packs small. Before you leave, my advice is to wear the minimum of your cycling gear, and make sure you have space for all your other kit in your bike bags. I had a pretty spiffy waterproof, but it spend most of the ride tied to my waist. Not optimal.
I had some pretty long days and brought a battery pack to charge my Garmin and lights. The best ones show you how much charge you have left, which is super useful.
My three most essential items were my phone, money belt and wallet. I checked I still had them every time I left a place. Don’t lose your bike lock key. Better, take a combination lock.
Travelling
Singapore Airlines has a generous 30kg baggage allowance, which includes bikes in bags.
If you get a Visit Japan QR code you’ll sail through airport security much faster, and have to answer far fewer questions.
I didn’t bother reserving seats on the Shinkansen as the ‘bike space’ behind the rearmost seats in a carriage was often stuffed with luggage. It’s cheaper to just by a non-reserved ticket at the machine. On the train, I stood in a doorway and listened to the announcements as stations approached and moved to the other side of the corridor if I was going to block the door. The conductors just ignored me. Great!
I used the Ekispert website for trains, which was accurate enough, and the Navitime app for buses. You can enter the stop in romaji, but will have to know the kanji to select it. Navitime is extremely accurate.
You can buy a ‘rinko bag’ to take your bike on the train from any Montbell, or other camping shop. I brought a Swiss Federal Railway bike bag and it was fine.
All local buses accept bikes in bags too, no hassle.
Budget
You can easily spend as little as 4-5,000 yen a day on food, drinks and snacks. As a guideline:
Sandwiches/rice balls – about 350 yen
Drink from a shop/machine – about 120 yen
Energy bars/sweets – about 200 yen
Bowl of ramen – about 1,000 yen
Beer – – about 500 yen in a restaurant
Also, think about the more expensive items you might spend money on: Bear spray (a bit more than 10,000 yen), a night in a ryokan (the same), a nice dinner (how nice is nice?) but about 5,000. Shrines, temples and other sights, normally less than 1,000 yen. Train/ferry travel. Hot springs, normally less than 1,000.
I stayed in a mixture of hotels, BnBs, ryokans and minshukus. I spent about 7,000 per night. You could probably spend less by skipping ryokans. Accommodation sometimes included breakfast, and even more occasionally dinner. Japanese breakfasts are brilliant to cycle on.
Buy sun screen from convenience shops. Pharmacies will charge you 3,000 yen.
Japanese paper money still made from paper, so they rip easily when they get wet or you sweat into them.
Tunnels
Don’t stress. Tunnels are more of a nuisance than a danger. You can always drop the yellow google man to find if there is a pavement to cycle on (not forgetting to check the on-coming traffic tunnel if there is one).
Noise bends and amplifies in tunnels. To know if a vehicle is coming from behind or in front, turn your head 90 degrees.
Garmin always exaggerates to gradient in tunnels. It’s rare that they rise beyond 4-5%.
As a rule of thumb, short tunnels don’t display the length of the tunnel, long tunnels do (with exceptions!)
Definitely bring a reflective top for the tunnels. Make sure you have a good back light.
Mentality
Your mental attitude is important, especially if you are cycling by yourself. I followed Mark Beaumont’s advice and ate something if I felt down or tired. I tried to avoid the things that drained me, such as heavy traffic, sketchy navigation, or rides which are too difficult.
If it’s your first time to Japan, you’re going to experience culture shock, which is incredibly draining mentally. Plan for it. Go easy on yourself.
If you’re planning to cycle with someone, make sure you’ve done long distance rides with them in the past. Are they going to lift you up when you’re both tired, or drag you down?
Do the things that perk you up. I shared my google location with friends and family and they loved keeping in contact this way. I always carried sweets. I was careful about my sleep. I made opportunities to talk to people.
Japanese
It’s definitely worth learning some Japanese. People are going to want to chat, or give you important information. The more Japanese you learn, the more you’ll get out of the experience. I have intermediate spoken Japanese and can read about 1,000 kanji. I regretted not being more fluent. I recommend italki for spoken Japanese, and wanikani for kanji.
Can you go to Japan with no Japanese and Google Translate? Much easier in the cities, pretty tough in the countryside. There are specific travel concierge services for cyclists in Japan which you can find online. (Fortunately, I could phone-a-friend if I was in a pickle).
To make the universal sign language gesture for ‘bike’, put your hands in front of your chest, make fists and simulate pedalling.
Making Friends
I travelled alone, so it was important for me to find people to speak to everyday. The best ways I found to strike up conversation were to:
Go to an independent coffee/pancake/cake shop. The owners tend to be social people, good at making conversation and have good information.
Go to an onsen. Someone is going to talk to you (not always welcome, mind you!)
Go to a restaurant and sit at the counter (not a table). Men don’t cook much and it’s normal to eat out by yourself. Don’t look at your phone, someone will chat. (I don’t know if a single woman would experience the same as me in this situation. I’d like to think they would…)
My trick as I cycled into town in the evening was to look for a place to eat. I’d stick my head around the door of somewhere promising and ask about what time it was open until. This gave me the chance to quickly sample the atmosphere before deciding whether or not to come back later.
Take up smoking – smokers have the best chat. Sorry, but it’s true.
If you sit anywhere with a bike, someone will likely talk to you.
Most of the hosts at my accommodation were too discrete to talk for very long, but the ones who did were brilliant.
Bears
Bear attacks are increasing in Japan, particularly in the Tohoku region. However, I could only find one instance of a bear attacking cyclists, who surprised it in a forest early in the morning. There is an excellent article on Hokkaido Wilds about bears and bear spray, which is worth reading in its entirety, and also the discussion in the comments below.
Opinion is mixed on whether bear spray is worth it – you’re the only person who knows whether you want it or not. I bought bear spray and kept it in a drink bag on my handlebars. I saw two bears, and was pleased to have it. Keep in mind that spray is going to be pretty useless in a high wind. Avoid cycling at dawn and dusk when bears are most active.
The Japanese use bear bells, but no one has been able to test their efficacity. They are also really quiet on a bike unless you deliberately shake them. I took a bell and shook it if I was going around a corner on a quiet road. Not sure if it was useful, but it gave me something to do.
A few times I wished I had a rear-view mirror.
Bike Geek Stuff
Having ridden moderately long distances before, my number one consideration was to be comfortable on my bike. Small irritations on a short ride become major handicaps when I’m cycling everyday. I suggest the following:
Look up ‘bike fit’ videos online – there are loads. In particular, think about whether your saddle is at exactly the right height, and at the right angle (normally parallel to the ground). Make sure it’s kicked forward or back so that your knee is over the centre of the pedal. Make sure you have a good saddle for the size of your bum and it’s comfortable over long distances. If you’re wearing cycling shorts, make sure they are tight to your butt and without creases. Pack chamois cream anyway.
Most people use the reliable and almost puncture-proof Schwalbe Marathon tyre for bike-packing, especially useful if you’re carrying a lot of weight over the back tyre. Speaking to some bike packing friends, they are an excellent choice.
I used 40 mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M, because they have reasonable puncture resistance, low-ish rolling resistance and I could run them tubeless at lower pressure for added comfort. Maybe not the perfect tyre for the trip, but extremely comfortable.
If you’re running tubeless, make sure you can fix them whatever the problem. I can fix most things on a bike, but when I had tyre problem I couldnt fix, I couldn’t easily find a Japanese mechanic who had experience with tubeless tyres. In the end, we whacked in an inner tube.
I used SPD clips and, after a lot of research, bought Specialized RIME 2.0 cycling shoes. They were one of my best buys. Really comfortable, good power transfer, and easy to hike in. A perfect all-rounder.
Do a few long rides with all your kit before you leave. You’ll have a chance to test everything in a safe environment, and also accurately asses how far you can cycle with all that extra weight.
If you want to train, possibly on an indoor bike, I got the most benefit from Zone 2 sessions and sessions where I was forced to cycle at different cadences.
Resources
I’m a bookseller, so I read a lot before I left, both about Japan and about cycling long distances. In particular I would recommend:
Endurance, by Mark Beaumont. Everything you need to know about cycling long-distances. Pretty much essential reading.
The Ride Far Blog for a deep dive into preparation. Not everything is relevant, but some useful information there.
Embracing Defeat, by John Dower. The classic book on Japan following WW2.
Ficiton choices are almost endless. I happen to love Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura, Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, Shogun by James Clavell and Inaka: Portraits of Life in Rural Japan by John Grant Ross.
If you’re interested in reading about my preparation and what happened while I was in Japan, then the sire index is here.
The Himedomachi Cycling Club 