Samurai Bike Tour

The Samurai Tour travels through three distinct parts of Japan and immerses us in its spectacular history, culture and landscape.

The Honshu Stage explores the enchanting Noto Peninsula and the Japanese Alps. The Shikoku Stage takes us across the smallest of Japan’s main islands to truly discover the road less travelled. The Mt Fuji Stage travels across Japan through the Alps, around Mt Fuji, to the shores of the Pacific.

Our routes follow ancient and meandering roads, which tend to be smooth, narrow and with very little traffic. The Honshu (the main island) stages offer a smorgasbord of culture and history, from castles and classic gardens to landscapes and towns left mostly unchanged for over 400 years. The Noto & Izu peninsulas evoke the ancient Samurai warriors of days gone by. The Japanese Alps, with its heavy winter snowfalls, prevented some villages from modernising are frozen in time. These living ancient villages are now UNESCO protected and allow us to see how life was lived for hundreds of years and the architecture that made life in such a challenging environment not only possible but highly productive and comfortable.

Kyoto, famous for its temples and garden, is where we spend our rest day between the Honshu and Shikoku Tour. On the Shikoku Island stage, we will cycle through the magnificent Iya Gorge and tackle Mt Ishizuchi, Western Japan’s highest peak at 1982m (6503ft). Enjoy thrilling descents, pass terraced rice paddies, traditional thatched-roof houses, and ancient villages clinging to the mountainsides.

The tour culminates with the spectacular Shimanami Kaido, a series of suspension bridges that connect small islands, offering stunning views of the inland sea and linking Shikoku back to Honshu.

Shikoku is also famous for its pilgrimage of the 88 temples associated with the Buddhist priest Kuka, known as Kobo-Daishi. Modern-day pilgrims, called ‘Henro’ by the locals, still tackle the 1200-kilometre route, many of them sporting traditional white clothing, sedge hats and kongō-zue walking sticks.

Throughout the tour, you’ll stay in a mix of Western-style hotels and traditional Japanese Inns, known as Ryokans. These mountain inns may be different from what you’re used to, with rice-straw mat floors and futon beds, but their charm and authenticity are unparalleled. Most of them also have natural hot spring baths, perfect for relaxing your muscles after a day of exhilarating cycling.

Highlights

• Explore the ancient Samurai roads and learn about this fascinating period in history.
• Indulge yourself in the natural hot springs offered by most of our accommodations.
• Discover the unique tastes of Japanese cuisine that are distinct and varied across the islands.
• Experience the delights of Japanese style inns that offer a very different hotel experience to what you might be used to.