Japan Bike: Nagasaki to Nemuro
12 years after leaving Japan, I've come back to reconnect with this incredible country, on two wheels.
Starting in the deep south at the old port of Nagasaki, I'm cycling across the four main islands to Nosappu in the North-East.
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Hoofdstukken
- Day -2: Rinko And Shinkansen · 1 pebbl
- Day -1: Seeing Nagasaki · 1 pebbl
- Day 1 - Main Ride · 1 pebbl
- Ariake Ferry · 1 pebbl
- Day 1: Campsite · 1 pebbl
- Day 2 · 7 pebbls
- Day 3 - Taketa to Usuki · 1 pebbl
- Day 3: Ferry to Shikoku · 2 pebbls
- Day 3 Part 3. Shikoku Begins · 1 pebbl
- Day 4 · 4 pebbls
- Day 5 · 6 pebbls
- Day 6 · 9 pebbls
- Day 7 · 5 pebbls
- Onto The Mainland! · 3 pebbls
- Day 8 · 5 pebbls
- Day 9 · 7 pebbls
- Day 10 - Maintenance And Recovery · 2 pebbls
- Day 11 Part 2 · 7 pebbls
- Day 12 · 6 pebbls
- Day 13 🗻 · 8 pebbls
- Day 14 On To Tokyo! · 5 pebbls
- Rest Week In Tokyo · 2 pebbls
- Day 15 · 5 pebbls
- Day 16
- Day 16/17/18: Tokyo Side Missions · 1 pebbl
- Day 17 Part 1 · 3 pebbls
- Day 17 Part 2 · 2 pebbls
- Day 18 · 4 pebbls
- Day 19 · 2 pebbls
- Day 20 - The North · 5 pebbls
- Day 21 · 6 pebbls
- Day 22 · 5 pebbls
- Day 23 · 4 pebbls
- Day 24 · 1 pebbl
- Day 24: Short Hop In Hokk
- Day 25 · 4 pebbls
- Day 26 · 5 pebbls
- Day 27 · 3 pebbls
- Day 28 · 5 pebbls
- Final Day · 5 pebbls
Day -2: Rinko And Shinkansen
The hardest bit of any bike tour is getting to and from your start and end points.
Today I'm bringing my bike on the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagasaki.
25 April 2024 - 10:54
Getting the bike and my bags onto the early morning train from Tokyo, I finally felt like this trip is more than just a daydream.
Day -1: Seeing Nagasaki
A day sightseeing and relaxing in Nagasaki before my journey begins.
I have long wanted to come here to see the Dutch and Thomas Blake Glover history.
It feels like a long way from Tokyo!
Nagasaki Sightseeing
Finally getting to see Nagasaki after many years of wanting to come here. Facing Shanghai across the sea, historically, Japan's gateway to foreign influence. There's a large Chinatown and old Dutch and British houses.
Day 1 - Main Ride
Day 1 starting in Nagasaki, with a hilly cycle to catch a small ferry.
First day of riding.
Riding southern Japan was everything I expected and more.
Smooth fast roads, eerie bamboo thickets, and mossy murky paths.
I bought fresh strawberries from a farmer at the top of the mountain, which powered me through the clifftop coast road down to the ferry.
Ariake Ferry
Short ferry trip
27 April 2024 - 15:34
Day 1: Campsite
Short hop from harbour to campsite. Incredibly steep and slippery though, this was the toughest part of the day.
28 April 2024 - 05:57
Day 2
Second day riding, over Aso Mountain
Sugaru Falls
Lion Curry 🦁🍛
Caldera
Day 3 - Taketa to Usuki
Catching the Usuki ferry, and on to Shikoku. A fair way to go after a damp, noisy night.
Usuki
Day 3: Ferry to Shikoku
Leaving Kyushu behind, from Usuki port - the very harbour where William Adams first set foot in Japan in 1600, the first Brit to do so.
Tsukumi Island
Usuki Historical Streets
I had a couple of hours to explore the quiet, historic and very rainy town of Usuki before boarding my ferry.
This is the town where William Adams (the inspiration for James Clavell's "John Blackthorne" in Shogun) first landed the Dutch ship Liefde, becoming the first Englishman in Japan in 1600.
I have always been fascinated by the Will Adams story. He is the original weeb!
I'm very glad to have seen this historic spot, albeit briefly.
Day 3 Part 3. Shikoku Begins
Heading inland into Shikoku, with a guesthouse waiting for me. I hear there's a great bar next door to it too...
Arrived just At Sunset
Day 4
Cycling to Kochi - this was a tough day wiggling through the mountains and tunnels. Running out of light I didn't make it to Kochi, but still made it to a town well after sunset.
Sexy Demon Mum
Steep Hills!
Long Tunnels
Day 5
Waking up to a very wet morning, I think my decision to stay in a hotel last night has been vindicated. Did some equipment maintenance and laundry etc, and sightseeing in Kochi. It was a short and wiggly drag through to the city, then beers with Nick
Sentaku!
Kochi Castle
Whale and Bonito
Day 6
Back into the mountains, this was a seriously tough day. It will be the one I remember most from this trip, with 2km of elevation gain through the wild hinterland of Shikoku. It feels like another world from Tokyo.
Typical Mountain Village
Tachikawa
Rapids And Gorges
Day 7
Out of the Iya valley and back to the city.... Via another giant mountain.
Crossing the double vine bridges in the dark last night was a special moment. This was another hard day of riding
Double Vine Bridge
The Col That Never Comes
Nice House
Onto The Mainland!
Leaving Shikoku - its lovely people and its preposterous mountains - behind. The only day where being flexible resulted in having to pay for an expensive hotel, with a spectacular night view of Wakayama castle, but I fell asleep before enjoying it!