Japanese Temple, Mountain Forest and Food Tour

Our 2025 cycling tour to Japan offers a dynamic road trip cycling from one town to another in fully escorted, small group led by English speaking guide. Our tour is 7 days and 6 night plus travel to and from Japan. It is designed to allow a short break from Australia and takes the Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays.

The tour has been carefully planned and has been based on the idea of experiencing interesting aspects of Japanese culture while we ride. This tour has a particular focus on high quality meals but also incorporates temples, culture, nature, onsens, life in rural Japan and exercise. We will be biking through less travelled areas in the rural mountain region north of Tokyo. Our route takes us through wonderful scenery and enables us to experience traditional Japanese culture and food along the way. We will be visiting historic towns and will be staying at long established hotels and ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) with relaxing onsens. We are hoping that you will discover the heart of Japan on this epic ride.

Take in the spectacular scenery of mountains, high country and rural farmland and villages (some still using thatch on their roofs) as you ride through Japan’s beautiful central alps. Our food will focus on eating high quality Japanese foods, staying in hand picked Japanese ryokans (traditional inns) and relaxing after the days’ ride in hot natural spring onsens. Some of the food that we will be trying will include keiseki dinners which feature dozens of dishes incorporating local produce, seasonal ingredients and regional specialties. Some of the unique dishes will include shabu-shabu and sukiyaki using the finest Nasu wagyu beef. In the Nasu mountains we will eat fresh river fish which will be grilled, sautéed or prepared as sashimi. We will also be tasting locally produced cheeses, ice creams and home made soba noodles and tempura. We will be riding through many areas where these food are grown or made. North of Tokyo is called the Kanto region and is known as the rice bowl of Tokyo. Rice = sake = many famous brands to taste. We will also be serendipitously cycling past a craft brewery, and finally, we will have the opportunity to taste the surprising local wine.

Bill will be travelling and riding with you but it will also include an English speaking Japanese guide on the cycling days. Our riding will be fully supported with luggage transfers, mechanical support and backup vans. We do not recommend brining your own bike as they can be difficult to carry on Japan’s busy public transport system. The tour includes the cost of bike hire (road bikes or e-hybrid bikes).