Have never been to Japan and planning a self-guided tour with my SO. We're pretty athletic and have done one 80mi ride once and will be training for this trip. Any suggestions/recommendations would be great! Cumulative will be 593km split across 6 days, worried about the ascent from 4 to 5, and the last day (6).
by foyerhead
2 Comments
It’s difficult to say from a low resolution screenshot of a map. It’s probably feasible.
Bear in mind, you have not actually planned a bike tour from Kyoto to Tokyo… this is a tour from Kyoto to the middle of nowhere, although it might just about be in Tokyo Prefecture (which contains a surprising amount of countryside). Do you have a plan to get into central Tokyo or one of its airports by train?
Yes, the Nakasendo Trail. I planned to ride that in 2022 but a family health situation prevented it. If i recall as I planned it combined elevation was something like 23,000 feet of climbing. You are basically going to be climbing all the way from Gifu with various grade, up to 14%. It will be more challenging than I think you imagine, but totally doable. Pay careful attention to the time of year while riding, you do not want to do this from late Spring to early Fall. Plenty of resources online for you, here’s a similar map from RIdewithGPS: [https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46764539](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46764539)
EDIT: just remembered this cute couple who live and cycle in Japan and post on YouTube, for the feel of it:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kel4R2ibtw&list=PL6mz_uUREKnxK_r8PMYlT398Uv15UzsO5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kel4R2ibtw&list=PL6mz_uUREKnxK_r8PMYlT398Uv15UzsO5)