Japanese Journey

In May 2023 I cycled around central Japan. Up to the snowy passes in Nagano, through the streets of Kyoto & Tokyo, along the Beaches of Tokushima and through the countless valleys in between. Japan truely is a unique gem on this planet. A thriving juxtaposition of tradition and modernity. Peaceful and chaotic, human and anonymous, kindness and frustration. I am grateful for the experience.

The food

I threw my vegetarian beliefs out the window, shut my eyes and embraced the cuisine. One of the most known things about Japan is its fantastic food. A land of ramen, sushi, yakatori and countless other specialities. But experiencing this as a vegetarian can be incredibly disappointing, once you leave the tourist parts of the big cities the choices are scarce. I found it easier to let it slide, however after 6 weeks I couldn't take it anymore and started craving the wide vegetarian options on offer in Berlin.

The people

The Japanese are incredibly kind and friendly, I continuosly ran into people excited to see me and eager to help. Ironically they will nearly kill you when passing in their cars. It was quite jarring to have a near death experience when cycling one of the large passes and then receive a round of applause from those very people when I reached the top.

The cycling

Good roads, vending machines around every corner, free camping, clean public toilets, convenient stores open all night, late night ramen, hot baths and beautiful scenery make the land of the rising sun a great place to cycle. Ideal for beginners and road cyclists. If you are looking for gravel or long sections which require the methodical planning of resupplies, this is probably not the place. If you like climbing mountain passes or cruising from city to city along the coast you'll get what your looking for here.

Map

Tracks

I used a few different existing routes to navigate around. Below you'll find what I actually rode and the gpx files that inspired me. Kudos to all the authors!