Couldn’t have made it without being inspired by countless threads on Reddit (big thx). So feel free to ask anything.
You can check out every part of the trip on instagram (@ courrierfrom ), from the first airplane to the last ferry (best routes, campsites and mostly eating spots cause we’re very gourmet). We’re currently planning our next trip : Tokyo to Hokkaido !
Stats :
26 stages
2100km
20600d+
18 camp spot
8 hotel / hostel
1 train
10 ferries
1 flat
Way too many Konbini breaks
Started in August 2025
Our route ( 2nd picture ) :
- we wanted to check out the Japan sea so we went from Lake Biwa to Ine before taking a short train to Kyoto.
- we wanted to check out Shikoku as well as the Shimanami Kaido : we did the Shimanami Kaido up and down before continuing Shikoku’s coast, and took a ferry to reach Kyushu.
- We took the ferry from Kagoshima to Okinawa (28h long rough trip) and then took another one to go back to Amami Island, and another one back again to Kagoshima.
- We created 38 GPX files (every part of our route, mentioning when we camped / stayed in hotels / grabbed ferries) on Komoot (go to our saved itineraries) : https://www.komoot.com/user/5233105526077?ref=imk-qr (user : Courrierfrom ) .
Highlights :
- route from Obama to Ine on the Japan Sea (Takaham is a surfer paradise and campsites are amazing)
- perfect campsites on the small islands in Setouchi’s bay (especially shodoshima, meji jima and Ogi jima – don’t miss the craziest lighthouse campsite)
- Amami Island (even if you don’t go all the way to Okinawa, you’ll find the most beautiful beaches we saw and a deep mangrove forest).
Accommodations :
- « Free » campsites are quite easy to spot if you’re desperate. Just lookup for city parks and be discreet. Disclaimer : you’re not allowed to do that but it seems tolerated (setup late, leave early).
- Campsites are quite expensive in Japan : we stumble a lot of campsites « offering » 20USD a night for a tent space without shower. City campsites are way cheaper (~ 4USD a night). You can check out these two maps that are a good start if you’re planning your trip :
- Map of Free Campsites in Japan 2024
- https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1ZBVjXbJKXFgt7AFBFQlSn5Zx3to&hl=en_US&ll=43.22337713034743%2C145.7516496986417&z=7
- Hotels are regularly sold out : during the week, even in medium size town, hotels can be fully booked. A lot of them don’t have websites so be prepared to scroll on maps and go ask to each hotel if there’s rooms available. Sometimes, if you don’t want to spend a night in a sketchy love hotel, be prepared to pay for up to 80USD for a random room in a 3* hotel. During the weekend, they often double/triple the prices. Another alternative when available : 24/24 manga cafe/kissa (overnight packages range from 6 to 20USD).
Food :
- it’s depends where you’re from but it’s not that cheap compared to Europe for instance. You can go the hardcore way and survive off cup noodles and spend probably less than 10USD a day. Or go the gourmet way (like we did) : 6USD for breakfast, 12USD for lunch, 12USD for dinner (thats 30USD/day for 2 gourmet, eating at bakeries in the morning, small restaurants and cooking when we were camping).
- Go to the nearest supermarket around 7-8 PM : they discount many ready-to-eat items (often up to -50%) but locals know the drill and are waiting eagerly to catch the best deals. You can see that in Konbinis too, but not as much.
Our setup :
- Two gravel bikes (one tubeless – no flat / one with tubes – 1 flat)
- Each bikes = two 12L forks bags (one with cage + rivets / one with topeak no rivets cage – had to tighten it a few times but they did the job) / one 13L front bag / one 14L saddle bag / one medium size frame bag. One of the two bikes got almost every bit of equipment from Amazon (Rihnowalk and Topeak = they did the job perfectly).
- We got almost every camping gear (tent, sleeping stuff, cooking ustensiles) at Trefac Outdoors in Tokyo (amazing second hand shop).
- Cool hack : if you packed too much stuff and you got a hotel / friend waiting for you somewhere, use Japan Post or Yamato to send stuff across the country for fairly cheap (we once send 8kg from Okinawa to Tokyo for ~25USD).
by Courrierfrom