Rising Sun

 

Day 1: Your airport transfer will take you directly to our joining hotel, ready for the start tomorrow. Today you will meet your crew for your tour briefing and welcome dinner.

Day 2: We collect our bikes from Yokohama and soon hit the winding narrow roads of the Nakatsu River region for some beautiful riding. We ride north before reaching the wonderful 100 year old Takaragawa Onsen (hot Springs) to end our first night, on the road, in Japan

Day 3: Riding what’s known as the Romantic Road we enter the remarkable Japan Alps, a breathtaking landscape of mountainscapes dotted with traditional villages. We ride the highest point of the national road network in the Joshin’etsu Kogen National Park and visit the renowned snow monkeys before overnighting at a beautiful lodge in the Kamishiro Mountain area.

Day 4: Turning south we visit the amazing Matsumoto Castle (Crow Castle) from 1594 and home to Japan’s oldest keep. From here we ride what’s often described as one of Japan’s finest rides, the Venus Line, before turning west and spending the night at the traditional village in Hirayu spectacularly located in the Japan Alps.

Day 5: Some more superb riding today as we enjoy the wonderful Shirakawa-go White Line Road that’s only open for a few months each year and connects a string of UNESCO listed traditional villages that border the dramatic Hakusan National Park. Descending the mountains, we reach Awara where we stay at the magnificent Grania Housen.

Day 6: Leaving Awara we ride the coastline enjoying the superb Mikata Five Lakes Rainbow Line where we can see the 5 different coloured lakes. It's a cable car to the top of the mountain for breathtaking views of this magnificent region of lakes and mountains We continue along the coastline to Kumihama, yet another spectacularly located hotel with sweeping views of Kumihama Bay.

Day 7: Leaving Kumihama Bay we ride inland then onto the coast visiting the remarkable sand dunes of Tottori, the largest sand dunes of Japan. We then cross the Chugoku Mountain range via a series of quiet backcountry roads before entering the Hiroshima Prefecture. We will spend the next two nights at the port city of Onomichi surrounded by hills full of temples, and cats! allowing us time to travel to Hiroshima the following day by bullet train.

Day 8: Today we swap the bikes for something a little quicker, the Shinkansen (bullet Train) to Hiroshima. A city that for most people means one thing, the world’s first atomic bomb that destroyed 90% of the city and instantly killed 80,000 people. We visit the moving Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the UNESCO listed Atomic Bomb Dome before catching a ferry to Miyajima with its famous 6th Century Itsukushima – jinja shrine and its "seemingly" floating Torii Gate, one of the most photographed sites in Japan.

Day 9: From Onomichi we cross onto the island of Shikoku via the spectacular Shimanami Kaido, a series of bridges that connect 6 islands in the Seto Inland Sea, a favourite of pirates in days gone by. We ride onto Iya Valley, a remote landscape of incredibly deep gorges, rushing rivers, mountain forests & home to 800-year-old vine suspension bridges, not to mention a bizarre “scarecrow village”.

Day 10: We ride the spectacular mountains roads around Mt Tsurugi on narrow winding roads that are virtually empty. We cross onto the mainland via the mighty Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge of almost four kilometres and continue on to the former imperial capital of Japan of Kyoto. We spend two nights here allowing us time to visit this amazing city of shrines & temples.

Day 11: With a 1000 Buddhist temples & 400 Shinto Shrines a city guide is a must and we spend the day exploring this culturally rich and beautiful city. We visit the renown Fushimi Inari-Taisha, with its 1000s of Torii gates, and Kinkaku - Ju Buddhist Temple to name a few sights we shall see. We will also enjoy a wonderful Geisha show that introduces us to the mysterious 400 year old tradition.

Day 12: Departing Kyoto and the big city lights we are soon back on the byroads that wend their way along the Abo Valley. We take a lakeside ride along the top of Lake Biwa before ascending into the mountains of Central Honshu and riding its small back roads before arriving at our overnight stop of Gujo, scenically located at the confluence of the Nagara & Yoshida rivers.

Day 13: We ride the Kiso Valley today, a landscape of lush forests, clear streams and remote villages that formed part of what was known as the Nakasendo, an ancient highway from Edo (nowadays Tokyo) to Kyoto. We visit one of the best preserved of these villages, Magome. The ride continues north through the Central Alps before we get our first glimpses of the iconic Mt Fuji. Our overnight stay is at Yamanakako located on the shore of a lake bearing the same name with epic views of Mt Fuji.

Day 14: With views of Mt Fuji in our mirrors we cross onto the Izu Peninsula known for its stunning coastlines, Onsen and mountainous interior. We ride the spectacular Nishu Isu Skyline as well as more off the beaten tracks today as we explore the many winding roads through the peninsular and visit the wonderful Kawazu Seven Waterfalls.

Day 15: Our last day with see us ride the superb Izu Skyline and then the amazing Tsubaki Line before riding back into Yokohama to return the bikes. We shall have our farewell dinner and a chance to reminisce over what has been an extraordinary journey through the pages of history and via a breathtaking landscape of this magnificent & unique part of the world

Departure Day: Spend a couple more days in Yokohama / Tokyo or fly homestrong>