I was thinking about going for the trail or at least a part of it by bike at some point, but I wondered if anyone here has done something similar before? I’m not religious and would rather do it for the experience and to get to know Shikoku better. I’m not sure whether this would be considered offensive to practicing buddhists in any way and I don’t want to disturb people in their religious activities. But it seems like some people have done this by bike before, so maybe it’s ok (looking at the paywall of a Japan Times article)?
I’m a moderately fit cyclist, I’ve done multi-day tours before years ago but not in Japan. So I’m also a bit unsure about steepness and weather conditions. Roads are probably in a decent condition (?) My options are an urban foldable bike (I kind of like that idea) or renting a decent one (probably better in reality).
Oh never mind, I just found this super detailed blog by a Taiwanese traveller specifically dedicated to this:
http://cyclinghenro.weebly.com/
Super detailed, most info in English, including even elevation profiles, maps, … I think it covers all my needs related to the trail itself.
Still, I wonder whether it’s a good idea to try this with a foldable… :)
My relatives have made many month long trips here and always cycled. I’m talking about trips like Kumamoto to Osaka and farther.
They’ve always Brough their own bikes from abroad. Put it this way, the first year was the only time I saw them with folding bikes (albeit they were pretty small, but I’m not sure the size you’re talking about). Since then, they have always brought hybrid GIANT bikes.
Thanks, maybe it would be best to try it on a shorter weekend trip or so to get a feeling for how it works on actually steep roads outside Tokyo. I’m still not a big fan of electric bikes somehow (and don’t own one either), although this may really be one of the cases where they make total sense :D
If you’re in Tokyo, the trails along the Tamagawa are fun to ride for day-trips. There are paved trails (with a few gravel bits) going pretty far north, and then, if you want to see how things go on steeper stuff, you can get on roads and do the killer climb up to Okutamako if you want to go further.
This trip is an out-and-back about 80km each way, 160km total, but you could do something like this and break it up into a couple days. If you go a teensy bit further than shown on the map you could put your foot over the line into Yamanashi-ken