Japan Cycling Trip – April/May 2023

Highlights of our Japan cycling trip (April 26-May 6, 2023) above in this video recap by the talented Patrick Fagan, and below through pictures and commentary.

We traveled to Japan for a cycling trip with Santana Adventures. This was our first bike trip via boat – actually a cruise ship (the Star Breeze) with around 300 passengers and 200 staff. As Santana started as a tandem bicycle company, about half of the passengers were on bicycles built for two. Most days, we disembarked from the ship in the morning, rode during the day, and needed to be back on the ship by late afternoon; the ship moved during the night, usually arriving at the next port around 7am.

Our itinerary differed slightly from this map due to port restrictions, but we hit most of these stops, on 3 of the 4 main islands of Japan: Honshu (where Tokyo is), Kyushu, and Shikoku – the smallest of the 4. The 4th island is Hokkaido.

Nara, ancient capital of Japan in the 9th century

Sunday afternoon in Nara park. The Japanese have been cooped up for three years and were out in force. As we were on a group tour (think big buses going where other big buses go…) we didn’t get a lot of great pictures. To get a better idea of Tokyo, Kyoto and other non-cycling parts of Japan, our 2014 trip commentary and pictures were much better! (start with Tokyo and go forward for several posts, but one of my favorites is towards the end: A Baker’s Dozen).

Some other views from the Park.

Unlike our prior visit in 2014, in Osaka, people focused on their phones was extremely commonplace

Scenes from Osaka.

Assembling our bikes (with >100 other riders) and ready for Day 1 riding.

Our ride today was on the Shaminami Kaido Bikeway, a mostly protected bike path that island-hops its way across the Seto Inland Sea. We crossed seven suspension bridges from island to island.

We had gorgeous views the entire day.

The next day’s ride included a kilometer of 12% to 15% grades with the reward of this garden of azaleas in full bloom.

Our ride ended in Shimonoseki, known for its pufferfish (blowfish) which contain a highly potent neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin in their organs and skin. Improper preparation can be life-threatening and result in a rapid onset of paralysis which typically begins in the legs and progresses to the respiratory muscles.

Mark is excited for fugu (Japanese word for blowfish) until…….uh oh.

During our nightly recap/preview meeting, we were entertained by Joe Okada, who is dubbed as the ‘Last Samurai’. At age 93, Joe is the oldest licensed English-speaking tour guide in Japan.

Joe operates four days a week solely in Kyoto with his ‘Cool Kyoto Walking Tour‘ in which he dresses up as a samurai while he takes his guests to numerous interesting local hotspots. At the end of the tour, he usually showcases his samurai sword-wielding skills which he has mastered for years — pretty impressive!

Our one day in Busan, South Korea was rainy and cold, and we (like most other riders) decided not to ride. We spent an hour walking around Busan until we saw Texas Street and decided that was a sign to get back on the boat. We’re adding it to our list of countries we’ve been to – but just barely. (Mark: 85, Shauna: 84 :))

A couple days of peninsula riding with lots of coastline. We came across one section of beach that looked a lot like parts of southern California, both because of its geography and its surfers.

We stopped by a famous out-of-the-way shack which made the best custard we have ever had. It had a touch of salt – which they harvest from the sea in front of the shack – and melted in our mouths with just the right amount of caramel.

Our favorite ride so far, a loop from Karatsu, included a bridge to a little island (turn-around loop) and back across the bridge with a hike at the end that led us to a dramatic gorge down to the water.

The end of this ride brought us to a market known for its calamari. A street full of shops that cooked calamari in many different ways. Only problem…..the market closes promptly at 12:00 noon and we got there at 12:15pm. Only one shop was open and it cooked calamari one way – by grilling. We were looking forward to fried calamari but were happy to have it cooked any way after 55 miles.

The famous Hamanoura Rice Fields.

We loved seeing the smiling faces and hearing the “hellos” from all of the elementary kids we saw along the way. Almost as satisfying as the chocolate dipped churros served by the Spanish restaurant on board the ship.

This is one of the smallest “castles” in Japan, Kitsuki. It was once the home of the Shogun for that particular area.

It is not unusual to find some pretty terrifying samurai roaming the halls of the castle.

Our next to last day of riding turned out to be our longest (76 miles/ 3,800′) and most beautiful, taking us to Japan’s highest waterfall …

… which we got to going up and down and up and down many stone steps …

… and to the world’s largest torii gate. Different types of torii can be found at Shinto shrines, but whatever their size and shape, they all act as a symbol to mark the transition from the normal everyday world to the sacred. In other words, as you pass through the torii, you are entering the realm of the gods, so it is respectful to walk through in a reverent manner.

To get to the torii gate, we rode what we considered to be the best ride of the trip. Beginning from the town of Shingu (which means “real or genuine Shinto shrine), we followed along the Kumano River for about 20 miles to Japan’s largest torii gate. Above is Santana’s hand drawn map of the day and views along the way.

And then … at the beginning of the final day while biking out of the shipyard, we came to an intersection and Mark had unclipped his left foot but because of the sidewalk slope and riders on his left, he leaned right and fell against this fence with his right arm stretched out trying to catch himself. His momentum and weight were too much and he hyperextended his right arm against the top of the fence. He thought he tore one of more of his rotator cuff tendons, but …

… he actually fractured the top/head of his humerus. That is actually good news relative to tearing any rotator cuff tendons. In the short-term, however, he needs to wear a sling for six weeks with no riding. Of course, he thinks four weeks will suffice and though he’ll miss the riding in France, he’ll be ready for Croatia.

We went ahead and rode that day and had these incredible views of Mt. Fuji. Wow!

And finally … repacking our bikes for the next phase of our trip.

Bye-bye Japan, thanks for the gorgeous cycling and hospitality!