I posted earlier in r/japantravel but this place might be more logical: Anyone visited Japan for a bike trip ? How did you manage getting a liability insurance ? I'm travelling with my bike to Tokyo for a month of touring and getting insurance in Japan looks impossible without being a resident and foreigner insurances (US) doesn't cover liability outside of US/Canada. Any guidance would be appreciated!

Can anyone tell me why we are required to have a bell on our bike but we're not permitted to use them to alert pedestrians of our approach from behind? To me, that's the basic function of bicycle bells.

anyone have any experience with the Minoura w-3100 repair stand? Looks sturdy but almost like a clothing rack kind of construction. The clamp seems interesting and i saw one youtube video review on it, seems good. Anyone have any experience using it and would you want to use it multiple times a day everyday?

I do a lot of brake bleeds so it would be nice if the mechanism that lets the bike rotate up and down would have to nice to use.

thanks!

Hello

I am visiting Japan for a cycle touring trip from the US. Unfortunately I can't take my bike with me on the plane, as Japan will be the last country I visit after several weeks of traveling around Asia. So I'll have to ship the bike to Japan using a service like Bikeflights.

Problem is: I don't know who to ship the bike to. What bike store in Tokyo would accept a bike shipment and store it for a few weeks until I get there? With the time zone difference, it is very difficult to call bike stores in Tokyo, and there are many many of them.

Can anyone recommend a reputable bike store in Tokyo that would be able to accept a bike shipped to them, hold onto it for 1-3 weeks, then rebuild it?

As an alternative, if anyone knows a mail accepting service in Tokyo that would be able to accept a large package from the US and hold onto it for around 3 weeks until I picked it up in person?

Many thanks!

Hi all, having completed my first Tokyo Bay loop last month, I've come across a few roads/bridges that I honestly have no clue whether or not cyclists are allowed on them.

Of course, common sense prevailing, if the roads are too congested/busy with heavy vehicles, I chose to ride on the sidewalk/pavement whenever possible. However, there were a couple of spots which left me wondering if cyclists are allowed on them in the first place.

For example, on this southeast-bound stretch of the Harumiohashi Bridge, or even in the opposite direction, at the time of my crossing, I saw no clear signage that cyclists are not permitted on the road, and checking back on Google Street View, I don't see anything of that sort too. However, when I was cycling up the bridge at around 5.30am, a motorcyclist passing by me called out to me in Japanese, and though I did not understand most of what he was saying, I caught the word 'abunai', which then made me assume that cycling on the bridge was either dangerous, or not permitted.

Since I do plan to return to Japan more in the future for cycling trips, and not wanting to break road traffic rules or generally be a pest to other road users, does anyone here have any tips/tricks that would help?

Thanks in advance!

Are there any mountain bike races in the country? I am searching but finding nothing relating to local races.

Hey all,

I'll be travelling to japan and cycling around Kyushu for 2 weeks with a friend. We'll be ending in Oita on the 11th of May and then he has to go home. I'll be in Japan until June 1 so I'll have about 19 days left to cycle on my own. I'll be bikepacking and have a tent with me. I have to end my trip in Osaka, but I can ship my bike back to the rental store from any hotel in the country. I'm considering taking the ferry from Oita to Matsuyama and then cycling around Shikoku counter-clockwise, ending with the Shimanami Kaido. I've heard the road between Onimichi and Osaka is not so nice, so I would just ship my bike back already in Onimichi and take the Shinkansen back to Osaka.

Does the ferry and Shikoku part sound reasonable in 19 days? Would it be too tight? I would bike at a casual pace, maybe around 40-50 kilometers per day. I am interested in seeing some of the temples in Shikoku and definitely want to take the Shimanami Kaido at a leisurely pace and enjoy the different islands. If this is unrealistic, would it be possible to skip the northern part of Shikoku by taking a train from the east side to Imabari and then continuing to the Shimanami Kaido?

Alternatively, I could skip the Shimanami Kaido and head west from Oita to Fukuoka and cycle north into Honshu, come down along the Shimanami Kaido, and end at Imabari. I would ship my bike back here and take the Shinkansen to Osaka to end my trip.

Does one of these options sound better than the other for those 19 days? Is one completely unrealistic? Feel free to suggest a better idea if you think there's an alternate option here.

Hi all, I'm planning to do a loop of Tokyo Bay somewhere towards late-April, just before Golden Week, and would like to seek your advice on my route to see if there're any recommendations from folks who've done it before: direction (clock-wise, anti-clockwise), places to avoid, places to stop and eat (apart from conbinis), etc.

I will be flying in to Tokyo with my bike from Singapore, and will be basing myself out of Ikebukuro.

My tentative plan is as follows:

• start at around 5-6am to beat any morning hour traffic
• ride east towards Chiba
• southbound towards Kimitsu
• board Tokyo Bay Ferry from Kanaya Ferry Terminal
• alight at Kurihama Ferry Terminal
• ride north towards Yokohama and Tokyo

My RideWithGPS route is linked above, and would much appreciate any tips and comments from folks here, especially since this will be a solo ride for me.

Thank you!

Hi fellow redditors !
I posted earlier on r/hiroshima to ask for advices but it might be quite logical to post here :
I'm planning to do Hiroshima (April 5th) > Tokyo (April 20th) by bike, and in order to do that I will rent a cheap bike in Hiroshima that I will customize with my baggage racks and equipments.

(I have been to Japan twice and always bought a bike on Craiglist that I sold before leaving, and did little bike trips around Tokyo, Fuji, Sagamihara, but my knowledge doesn't go further than this area)

For the moment, my route looks like the image above, I just set a starting and finish point so it is totally random.

https://preview.redd.it/meyd3f6hg1bc1.jpg?width=1527&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af609ca248f944ce0040dd72a18ca88b29d2d0cc

My question is :

Do you have any general advices, beautiful sceneries to pass by, good tips to stay at cheap places or camp overnight ?
I'm taking every pieces of knowledge you have in order to compile it into something great <3

Thanks in advance !

Hi all, my monkey brain has come up with a crazy idea to go on a solo road bike ride of about 190KM around the entirety (or most) of Tokyo Bay during end-April next year.

My question is, are there any services in Tokyo that I can engage, in the event that I am unable to complete the ride for any reason whatsoever (weather, mechanical, etc)?

P.S. I'm not a resident of Japan.

Are there any gravel cyclists in the Osaka/Kansai area?

Can anyone recommend a bike shop for wheel building. Within Tokyo or Saitama area. Thank you

I'm looking around for a used endurance road bike. Can anyone point me to some good places to shop online? I tried using Mercari but there doesn't seem to be a good way for me to filter for what I'm looking for. TIA!

Just ran into trouble on a new bike build and having only just moved to Tokyo, I could do with a contact at a local bike shop to help me solve a problem.

Does anyone have any contacts or recommendations?

I speak a number of languages but may have to resort to Google Translate.

It's quite urgent as I have an expedition coming up.

Calling all (bicycle) riders...

Just moved to Tokyo (Setagaya-ku) from Hong Kong and have a road bike, mountain bike and bikepacking bike.

I'm looking to get out whenever I can and love hills.

Any information on potential rides or meet-ups would be gratefully received.

Feel free to DM me. I'm getting a large car so can help with transportation.

Multi-day rides, Grand Tours and bikepacking also very much welcome.

Hi everybody. I'm a PhD student who works on improving sports safety gear to reduce impact injuries/pain in sports like bicycling.

You can help me by filling out a very short (1-2 minutes) survey here:

https://forms.gle/wMceEFrgcnVC4TWg7

I appreciate your time in advance!

Hi all, my wife and I are planning to head down to Japan around October next year, to try cycling the Shiminami Kaido route, and perhaps even take part in the cycling event there.

We'll be bringing our bikes down in bike boxes, and as a result of that, our travel options would be constrained by the fact that we'll be lugging around two bike boxes, as well as, hopefully, one large luggage.

So far, two potential travel options have presented themselves:

#1 - Imabari

- Singapore Airport -> Haneda Airport
- Haneda Airport -> Matsuyama Airport
-- Matsuyama Airport -> Limousine Bus to Matsuyama City
-- Matsuyama City -> Limited Express to Imabari City

OR

-- Matsumaya Airport -> Rent-A-Car to Imabari City

​

#2 - Onomichi

- Singapore Airport -> Haneda Airport
- Haneda Airport -> Hiroshima Airport
-- Hiroshima Airport -> Rent-A-Car to Onomichi City

Has anyone travelled with their bikes to ride on the Shiminami Kaido before, and how did you accomplish it?

P.S. We're aware that there are bike rentals available around the two cities, but we're planning more bike travels in the future, and will be learning from the lessons on this trip.

Edit 1: We will probably not be incorporating bike-packing into this trip, and thus, are looking to base ourselves out of a hotel in one of the two cities, heading out directly to ride from the hotel each morning.

Anybody have experience with Daichari or Hello Cycling? Are the bikes in good shape? What happens if you have a flat or something between stations?

If i bring my own bicycle (which I bought second hand) to Tokyo and cycle there, how should I get it registered and an insurance?

I have no proof of purchase or a ticket from a shop.

If I enter Japan with my bike, do I have to register it right away?

I will be in Japan for a year starting this fall. I am wondering if anybody has some advice, or can help with some information.

I will be flying in Narita(probably) and staying in Saitama. I was considering purchasing a bike as the first thing I do and ride it to where I am staying in Saitama. But I hear that I have to fill out a bicycle registration with the local police station as well as purchase insurance. Does this render my plan moot?

Would I need to check in with the place I am staying before I can purchase/register a bike?

Also, is there any other thing that a new cyclist in Japan is commonly unaware of?

Thanks in advance!

Hello all, I'm looking for information on the best way to travel japan by plane with a bike. I have a nice gravel bike and was looking for hard cases around online, without any luck finding any here in Japan. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Hi! I’m looking for some advice on bike rules in Japan. It’s a too niche a question for google, so hoping someone on here might be able to give me a steer.

I’m moving to Tokyo shortly, and plan to bring my long tail e-cargo bike Benno Boost-E. It’s an EU model, so 25km/h max.

I use it as a second car, often with one or both of my children (4YO and 6YO) sitting on the back tray, with safety rail (but not a child seat).

I understand that Japan has strict rules on child restraints for bikes. As a foreigner on a strange looking bike, am I likely to run into trouble with authorities on school drop offs and casual weekend rides with my children on the back?

Hoping someone may have some insight to share!

Thanks in advance.

I once saw a hard roof shell/windshield thing you see sometimes on mopeds for a bicycle. It looks goofy but would be useful for the rainy season and etc. anyone know what I’m talking about?

I will be doing a casual ride around West Tokyo tomorrow morning.

https://sporra.cc/app/ride/detail/73

Sign up here (free) if you want to join!

English follows Japanese

Googleを使用して日本語を翻訳しました。

こんにちは！

私はあなたと同じスキルレベルの他のサイクリストを見つけることに取り組んでいるスタートアップの一員です。 StravaまたはGarminのライドデータを使用して一致を計算します。

このアプリには他にもいくつかの機能がありますが、私たちが行っている最大のことは、人々がRideWithGPSルートを使用して乗り物を作成し、他の人が一緒に乗ることができるようにすることです。

機会があれば、サイクリングコミュニティの他の人からフィードバックをもらいたいです！

ウェブサイトは https://sporra.cc で、アプリはありますが、アプリのRides部分はまだ完成していません。

------

Hello!

I am a part of a startup that is working towards finding other cyclists at your same skill level to ride with. We use ride data from Strava or Garmin to calculate a match.

The app does have some other features as well, but the biggest thing we're doing is allowing people to create rides using RideWithGPS routes and find others to ride with them.

If you have a chance, I'd love to have feedback from others in the cycling community!

The website is https://sporra.cc, and we have an app, but the Rides part of the app isn't done yet.

So recently I was in an accident and my front wheel got pretty damaged so I need to look for a 700c disk brake and quick release ready wheel, any clue where I can get it ? Living in Osaka at the moment but I doubt any stores will have it

Hi everyone,

Nice to join the /bikejapan subreddit. I live in Osaka and often cycle around Osaka, Minoh, Kyoto, Nara and around Wakayama a bit.

There is a lot of great cycling around and I hope everyone is able to get out and explore a bit. I recently did an Osaka to Minoh route and it was amazing. I found the route from the below blog:

Osaka to Minoh route >

Does anyone recommend any routes in Kansai? I'm keen to hear about some new routes if you know any.

Anyway, enjoy the cycling and be safe in the heat!