Hop on and cycle through Japan on our E-Bike tours

On the Shimanami Kaido, in Imabari you’ll stay in a modern, stylish hotel with spacious rooms and all the conveniences needed for a restful night. On Omishima Island, your lodging has a relaxed, friendly atmosphere that captures the laid-back island lifestyle. 

On the Michinoku Coastal Trail, you’ll stay in a mix of carefully selected places, including modern western-style hotels and traditional ryokans, complete with tatami mat floors, cosy futon bedding, and relaxing onsen facilities. You can read more here about what to expect from a traditional Japanese ryokan, as well as our guide to Japanese hot springs (onsens).

Shimanami Kaido is Japan’s most iconic cycling route. Spanning the shimmering Seto Inland Sea, the main route runs 70km between Honshu and Shikoku. Most of our trips allow you to follow the longer Osusume Course (132km) – a scenic coastal route that allows you to slow down and fully admire the scenery. 

Yes! If you’d like to add a city break after your biking or hiking trip, you can choose from our Japan extensions in Kyoto, Tokyo, Naoshima, and Nikko.

E-bikes make it far easier to cycle long distances with assistance from electric motors (referred to as ‘Pedelec bikes’). They are a joy to ride and have opened up cycling again to many people. They are not electric motorbikes though and don’t have a throttle – you still have to pedal and get a workout! 

You ride an e-bike as you’d ride a regular bike. You’ll still be pedalling, changing gears, and braking – the main difference is that there is assistance from the motor at speeds under 25km/h, and that level can be varied with the touch of a button. You still have to put physical effort in, but less so than with a regular bike, and you can ride at a relaxed and enjoyable pace. 

You can choose between different levels of assistance: you may want light assistance on a flat section, none on a downward slope, and the highest assistance going up steep hills. Being battery-powered, there is no significant motor noise. The display panel shows your speed, distance, and battery life along with other useful statistics, depending on the exact model. 

If you are new to e-bikes, start slowly with the e-bike in the lowest level of power assistance. Increase the power once you get going and get a feel for it. Begin with short rides to get used to the e-bike’s weight and balance, and practice making smooth and controlled turns.

In essence, e-bikes make cycling accessible to a very broad range of people and have proven quite revolutionary in encouraging people to ride. However, that does not mean you should attempt a multi-day bike trip if you are a non-cyclist who’s never ridden bikes. If you are new to e-bikes, or have not ridden for a long time, then opt for tours with flatter terrain.

The average daily distance on our Japan cycling tours is 30–45km a day (riding longer than 50km without experience can become uncomfortable as you are not used to the longer hours required on a bike). Many of our Japan tours are customisable, and there’s flexibility in daily distances to tailor them to your wishes. 

Finding your way along the trails has become a lot easier with our exclusive navigation app but you should still be prepared to use a mixture of wayfinding with road and trail signs, our app and a backup paper map for the best results each day. The app shows your location in real-time without any internet connection needed and is best for confirming you’re still on the correct trail if you have any doubts. The app has many great features, including local weather forecasts, the location of each night’s accommodation, safety information, videos, and a unique audio feature that can tell you about places and points of interest as you approach them on the trail. 

The ease of navigation can be different from trip to trip depending on how many turn-offs are needed or whether the trail is relatively straight and easy to discern. It’s not uncommon to overshoot a turn-off in the course of a day’s ride but you can quickly recover by checking your position on the app and seeing whether you are still on the marked route. Some routes are very well signed and riders can navigate just using the signage, checking now and again on their app as a backup. Some common sense and basic route-finding skill is needed with every form of independent travel, and cycling trips are no different.

We offer cycling adventures in France, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Portugal and Spain.