The Japan Bike Tour

This was an incredible itinerary, carefully curated for navigational ease, while maximizing opportunities for rich cultural exposure and beautiful Japan scenery and nature.. The hotels, onsens, restaurants, excursions and offerings were clearly selected with such intention, it felt like every leg of our trip was a VIP experience. Highlights of our adventures included a traditional matcha tea ceremony, sake brewery tour, interactive samurai ninja museum, rooftop yoga, morning meditation, elaborate & delicious traditional multi-course Japanese meals, feeding and interacting with the revered, free-roaming ‘bowing deer’ of Nara, a technologically impressive and super tasty AI-sake bar, visiting beautiful temples and monuments, and sleeping in a historic Buddhist temple and former Japanese royalty summer house. The bike was incredible quality (I came home wanting to buy the same one), the nav GPS mapping was user-friendly, the route was easy to follow with clear options for adding-on optional detours or suggested stops that you could skip/include, and the cycling paths that the routes lead you through were remarkable - well maintained paths, peddling through beautiful scenic views ranging from gentle, rolling countryside hills to coastal cliffs with expansive ocean views, mixed in with vibrant city pathways. One of my favourite parts of each day was relaxing in the restorative onsens at our hotels - a welcome retreat at the end of a long day of cycling! I was always excited to arrive at the next hotel and see what the onsen experience was like there, as each was so different, but always delivering the rest & rejuvenation needed for the next full day of adventure. OCycle Japan is so much more than a cycling tour - it is an immersive, cultural experience. Arigato Shelley & Masato for creating this journey with such care and attention, your love for cycling and Japan really shows!

My partner and I decided to do this tour together and it was incredible! If you have any FOMO related to not getting to see all that Japan has to offer, than this is the adventure for you. On this tour you get to experience everything form quaint little countryside towns to the hustle and bustle of cities like Kyoto and Osaka. I loved the variety of cycling on this tour as it varied between weaving through cute little side streets to long stretches of open path along rivers and ocean. The GPS’s that attach to your bike make navigating this journey solo incredibly seamless. We also loved the variety of accommodations that we got to stay in along the way! Whether it was a traditional ryokan or a more “western” hotel, the experience, atmosphere and perhaps most notably the above and beyond hospitality was absolutely lovely. Each hotel also had unique onsen facilities which were an incredible perk to have before or after a long ride. Something that surprised me was just how good the food was. All of the morning breakfasts were great but the two dinners provided had to be some of the most unique and delicious dinning experiences I’ve ever had. We felt completely spoiled! Each day of cycling was filled with activities and places to see with some major highlights in addition to some smaller “side quests” all of which were apart on the gps cycling route making everything easy to locate. This is where the self guided part of the tour really worked for us as it gave us full autonomy of what to do and how long we wanted to do it before hopping back on the saddle. Shelly and Masato, the owners of Ocycle were super helpful before and during the trip for answering all of our questions in addition to preparing us for everything along the way. The tour has only been up and running for about a year now I think however you would never be able to tell with how dialled in and seamless everything was along the way. I can’t recommend this tour enough!!!

This incredible cycling tour made my first trip to Japan unforgettable, offering such a unique way to experience the country. There are so many hidden gems to explore as you cycle through small towns or cities less travelled by visitors. This tour brought us through many temples and shrines that I wouldn’t have discovered or have been able to visit otherwise. You also visit some of the most popular destinations, such as Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nara Park, Daibutsuden, and Osaka Castle. We also loved the self-guided aspect of this tour, as it allowed us to explore each destination at our own pace. The cycling route was well-planned, with various sites marked along the way, yet the experience still felt very personal. Through this tour, we experienced many different sides of Japan. We biked through a preserved Edo-period merchant town, along the Kansai coast, through patches of beautiful bamboo forest, and more. Most of the time, we cycled on bike paths, back roads, or in the countryside with little to no traffic. It was easy to navigate the route with the map programmed into our cycling computer! During this tour, we stayed in traditional Japanese Ryokans and Western-style hotels. Each hotel had its own unique charm, and we had a great experience with all the accommodations. Shelley and Masato Hayashi, the owners of O Cycle Japan, went above and beyond to ensure that we were well-prepared for each day of cycling. This made the self-guided aspect of the tour very comfortable, as they ensured that our bikes were fitted correctly and we were familiar with the cycling computer. They also provided many recommendations for sightseeing and restaurants. Overall, they were committed to making sure we had a great cycling adventure in Japan. Not only was this my first trip to Japan, but it was my first cycling tour, and after this amazing experience, I look forward to many more. I cannot recommend this tour enough!

We had a wonderful trip with O Cycle Japan in early May 2024. I have done several cruise cycle tours, but this was my first self guided tour staying at hotels. I have been to Japan previously, primarily using the excellent train system to get around. Doing a cycle tour was a fantastic way to really see a portion of the country at biking speed rather than train. The bicycles provided were of good quality and the organizers were there to ensure everyone was properly fitted. The distance per day varied from a short day of 20k, which gave us the afternoon to visit the Samurai Ninja Museum in Kyoto, to 70K, with most days being around 60k. The route was a great mix of riding through the back streets of large cities and small town, farming country and great cycle paths along the river. There was virtually no time spent on busy roads. Every day there were several interesting places to stop and visit; castles, temples, shrines, pagodas, , saki museum, Panasonic Museum, etc. Some of the sites were very small and there were few people and other were the major attractions in the area, i.e. Fushimi Inari, Wakayama and Osaka castles. The two dinners included in the tour were traditional multi-course Japanese dinners, amazing food and experience. The designated hotels were all good quality and had onsens, very much appreciated after a day of riding. Breakfast was included very day at the hotel. They had some western food, but we also tried various Japanese dishes as well. Overall, the route was very well planned, the experiences along the route were interesting and many would not be accessible if you were not cycling, the hotels were good with some great dinning experiences.

This tour is one of a kind. You can enjoy stunning views while riding and each spot you stopped. If you are a foodie, you will love the meal everywhere you stay. It has a recommendation plan each days but also you can built it on your own pace, place you want to go, and food you want to eat (lunch and excluding dinner days). The cycle computer displays the destination and recommended points along the way, so even if you are not familiar with the area, you can reach your destination by bike with confidence. After the tour, I fell in love with japan even more. The organaizer Shelley and Masato are very attentive and friendly that making the tour more enjoyable and memorable.

The best bicycle trip tour I've ever had. If you join this tour you'll see authentic, raw, and beautiful Japanese countryside. The big difference about this trip from others is that the one of the owner is Kansai person who knows this area inside out!! Even Japanese,, me was so impressed by the routes, facilities and accommodations etc.. You won't regret joining this tour:)

If you are looking for a cycle experience in Japan, this is your tour! Detailed organization, both comfortable and traditional accommodation, good restaurants recommendations. All of this cycling in gorgeous japanese landscape. Masato and Shelly are very kind. Satisfied about this experience.

O Cycle Japan is O-mazing fun! My husband and I completed the bike tour in April 2024. We had not been planning on a trip to Japan but saw this tour and thought we would give it a try as it sounded really interesting. It was and more! We opted for the e-Bikes, our first time using them and it was fun! The route takes you from city to city on bike routes and back roads with a lot of variety in scenery and terrain. The sites are incorporated into the route so that by the time you reach your hotel, you have seen everything you need/want to see in the area, and you can just relax and enjoy a great dinner or head to the onsens (hotspring baths)! The breakfasts and dinners included in the tour were delicious! Shelley and Masato Hayashi, the tour owners, provide exceptional service: they are organized, helpful, responsive to needs, kind and charming! Masato is from Japan so he has a lot of first-hand, thorough knowledge about the area. This tour was the best bicycle tour we have done by far! I highly recommend it!