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Route advice

cyclejapan1

Warming-Up
Jun 17, 2012
6
0
Hello All,

I am planning a Japan coast to coast trip from Tokyo in the summer and was hoping to get some opinions on this route.

http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/coasttocoast

I have not cycled these places before, so hope for feedback on the planned route, like roads to use or not use, places to visit or sleep at. It seems the easiest route, with a climb of 1000m after Annaka and a 500m one north of Nagano. Not sure if I should head straight for the coast from Nagano. Could change the route if there is a better way.
 
At least for me, on a mac, your map is not coming thru...
 
I thought Macs were invincible..? According to most Apple users :cool:

Anyway, this route works pretty well as a coast to coast ride. I did essentially the same route 3 years ago

https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/blog.php?b=51

Make sure you get on the cycling roads as much as you can to get away from the traffic. The distance is about 350 km and there's not much climbing (for Japan) so you can cover a good distance fairly quickly.

AW.
 
works perfectly well on this mac. Your route is fine, What Alan said plus !. When are you planning on leaving and what time of the day?
 
It will be middle of July, so very early start each day is probably needed. Thanks for the blog link! Karuizawa looks a good place to stay, but I thought that I should take it easy at the start because I have not cycled for more than three days before. Is that Chikuma river bike road easy to find?

Any information about west coast roads?
 
Okay, dragged your link over to Chrome, and it works fine. (my safari settings might be to blame)

Minor comment/suggestion: Maybe try some inland roads instead of taking the coast all the way?
 
I'd second jdd and suggest using more inland-y rouds, although you might be restricted by time/distance limitations and a desire to avoid too much climbing.

I'd imagine that many parts of the coastal route, especially near cities, will be well trafficked and not scenic. I'm only guessing though, as the only coast roads I've driven on your route are around Akita City (which are indeed very grim, cycling-wise.)
 
I did a similar route in Sept/Oct 2010 as per the attached map below and as per my initial inquiry in 2009 of "Two Canadians to tour Tohoku." The part after Murakami north of Niigata is quite nice. I also did the "Coast to Coast" route to Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture as per the "Cycling Japan by Takashi Niwa: 10 of the Best Rides" and which I believe Alan W has blogged about. After Ueda, we rode to Yudanaka for one night and then along the Chikuma river to Ojiya via Nozawa Onsen for another night before reaching Niigata. Parts of the route along the Chikuma river were also pretty good. After Niigata, we stopped at Haguro San, which is part of Dewa Sanzen which I would highly recommend.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help. Just PM me.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAek/z8L0o6vFadY/s720/Japan bike route.jpg
 
Hello All,

I am planning a Japan coast to coast trip from Tokyo in the summer and was hoping to get some opinions on this route.

http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/coasttocoast

I have not cycled these places before, so hope for feedback on the planned route, like roads to use or not use, places to visit or sleep at. It seems the easiest route, with a climb of 1000m after Annaka and a 500m one north of Nagano. Not sure if I should head straight for the coast from Nagano. Could change the route if there is a better way.

I've ridden the coast along the sea of Japan for that entire segment and while it is generally good. Any segment that is route 7 will not be particularly fun due to truck traffic. (but are difficult to avoid, hence the heavy traffic).
 
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