Osaka to Tokyo

[Pmousley]

Hi, we are visiting Japan for the first time in April my wife & I are on a bike/cruise ending in Osaka and need to get back to Tokyo Int Airport. To make the most of our visit at the end of the trip we are thinking of cycling Osaka to Tokyo we would be on a loaded tandem, would it be worthwhile trip - not all main roads & traffic. Or if we went somewhere else to explore & cycle can a tandem be taken on the trains. Any advice would be greatly welcomed and is there a cycle route map available online Many thanks for any help or information.

 

[jdd]

This site has a couple alternatives--direct, or roundabout thru the mountains:

http://www.japancycling.org/v2/cguide/part5/

Japan Cycling Navigator:Course Guide:Part1

 

[Pmousley]

Jdd, many thanks for the info and links to the LOJ, looking at the the references to #route numbers, for instance the section Koyoto to Iga route #163 is this a cycle route number ? if so where can a get a online map please.

 

[microcord]

@Pmousley , I've just noticed that you asked about taking your tandem on the train.

First, it's not legal even to ride a tandem on public roads in various areas of Japan. See the thread "U.S. visiting cyclists - where/how to get bicycle liability insurance?".

I'd guess that the frame of your tandem can be disassembled thanks to couplers of some kind. If it can, then yes you'd be able to take it on the train. However, it would have to be fully covered, and how easily you could carry it would depend on the train and the route. (Plus of course there are what might be called humanitarian considerations. Even if no regulation prevents people from carrying bikes in trains during morning rush hour, they shouldn't do so.)

If the frame of your tandem can't be disassembled, then no you can't take it on the train. (And transporting it in any other way would be a major challenge.)

 

[microcord]

PS, @Pmousley , the areas where riding a tandem is illegal still include both Tokyo, where you say you want to go, and Kanagawa, which you'd probably want to traverse when nearing Tokyo. I've occasionally heard of people riding tandems where doing so is illegal and getting no reaction from the cops worse than simple incredulity; however, I'd guess that if you got into an accident while riding one where you shouldn't, you could find yourself in serious trouble.

 

[kiwisimon]

Jdd, many thanks for the info and links to the LOJ, looking at the the references to #route numbers, for instance the section Koyoto to Iga route #163 is this a cycle route number ? if so where can a get a online map please.

Japan National Route 163 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Roads in Japan are mostly National roads or Prefectural. They are all numbered and called route something. Just like 66 in the states.
Not cycling roads sadly but are generally very safe for cycling, drivers mostly aware of and alert for cyclists.

 

[Half-Fast Mike]

Roads in Japan are mostly National roads or Prefectural. They are all numbered and called route something. Just like 66 in the states.

This is true for about one-sixth of the road network. The vast majority are local roads with no numbers or names, and traffic/life is typically slower there.

Numbered roads generally go from one place to another, so they're useful for navigation. But they're also where the motor vehicles are, as the drivers trying to get from A to B.

This can be useful to know. For example, if OP+1 follows the Nakasendō (which I'd prefer any day to Tōkaidō) there are many sections where the original (now demoted or even un-numbered) post road still exists, running parallel to the modern, slightly straighter, national route. It will take you to the same place, but on a bike it will be a much nicer experience than sucking up the truck fumes.

Dotted red line much nicer, but arguably less efficient, than Route 19:

I've occasionally heard of people riding tandems where doing so is illegal and getting no reaction from the cops worse than simple incredulity; however, I'd guess that if you got into an accident while riding one where you shouldn't, you could find yourself in serious trouble.

I've know several couples - both visitors and Japanese - who have ridden all over Japan with their travel tandems with no hassles. The legacy anti-tandem legislation was designed to dissuade school kids etc. from giving lifts to their friends using a bicycle built for one (and to avoid the obvious predictable tragedies that result). No one will get stopped and fined for riding a properly designed tandem even in Tokyo, Kanagawa etc. where it's technically prohibited.

 

[Pmousley]

Many thanks to you all for the input of information, are the possible 7 sections of the LOJ route from Osaka to Tokyo available in a Garmin format tried Ride GPS with not luck.

 

[Half-Fast Mike]

Many thanks to you all for the input of information, are the possible 7 sections of the LOJ route from Osaka to Tokyo available in a Garmin format tried Ride GPS with not luck.

There is a map at the bottom of the Length of Japan page, the second link in @jdd's post above, that lets you download a GPX file. Is that not what you want?

Japan Cycling Navigator:Course Guide:Part1