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Rides Around Tokyo

silkishuge

Warming-Up
Sep 23, 2011
56
0
Hi,
My wife and I will be visiting Japan for and spending quite a bit of time between Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. While we are in Tokyo, I was told that I have 3 days by myself while my wife visits some friends and relatives of which she has not seen in a long time. I am not invited as some of her relatives aren't too happy she did not marry a Japanese man.
Anyway, during my stay in Tokyo, I will be staying with my father in-law who has been kind to me and given his blessings when we got married. However, he would be working everyday from early till late. My wife would like if I could spend time with dad, but I did not want to impose and I decided to wander around on my own. My Japanese is not great. Actually, it is terrible and her dad speaks only Japanese, which would make it even harder for me to stay with him.
Anyway, I was planning to spend about 2 to 3 days touring around the Tokyo Countryside. I love climbing and would love to climb a few mountains while I am there. I read from the blog of YellowGiant, his route from Tokyo to Nagano on R299. I would love to do that ride or similar rides. What are my cycling route options? Are there any other recommendations? My plan was to ride out on one day up ~250km and ride back the following day. I plan to only ride in daylight. I am reasonably fit and can cover the distance even with a few ascents thrown into the mix. I prefer quiet roads with some nice country scenery and a comfortable bike friendly place to spend the night before the return trip to Tokyo.
I will probably be brining my own bike but buying and road bike locally might also be an option. I can sell it before I go. I was told this would be a good option. What do you think?

I also hope to meet some other cyclist during my stay.

Thanks
Jon
 
Welcome!

Hey Jon,
I got your PM, and will reply in the next few days.
In the meantime, try and find out where in Tokyo your father in-law lives.
It'll help with the planning on how to get out of the city.
T
 
Intro Info for Visitors

Over at the Positivo Espresso site we have tried to put together info for visitors and new riders. We will roll it out when the pages are "done", but for someone in central/western Tokyo I've drawn some tracks for routes out of town up the Tamagawa and toward the mountains. ...

http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/p/20-rides-near-tokyo.html

Also basic info re taking a bike on the train, maps, signage and hazards, etc., etc.

But I have not yet added the actual 20 rides ... and will not get to it for a few weeks. Still, the rides are plentiful and you can find lots of choices if you just search the TCC BBS, find some GPS tracks and descriptions, and look for others by the same riders on RidewithGPS, Mapmyride, Garmin Connect, Strava, etc.
 
Thank you

dgl2, This is why I am here. Looking forward to visiting with bike next spring and any info like this is very useful. That & the fine company here of course:)
 
Thanks JDD, I spotted that bike and it is exqactly the type of bike I was looking for except it is much too big.

Jon
 
Thank for the informative reply YellowGiant. Much appreciated. I love the blog by the way. Well written and it gave me confidence to be able to make the trip.

Cheers,
Jon
 
dgL2, thanks for the link. I think I have pretty much narrowed down my ride options. I will follow YellowGiants ride to Nagoya using r299 where I will spend the night and push off early the next day to Lake Biwa and Kyoto. My wife will be in Osaka so I can meet her in Kyoto. The problem is getting from Nagoya to Lake Biwa. I am still investigating a possible route.

Jon
 
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