Category: Japanese Alps

• Cycling & Hiking: Oshika – Sampukutoge・大鹿 – 三伏峠

  

  I’ve been wanting to combine cycling with hiking for a while now and decided that this weekend was going to be the time to actually try it out. This is the hike up to Sanpukutoge (三伏峠) on the Nagano/Shizuoka border in the Minami Alps. On a clear day Mt.Fuji is clearly visible so it would…

  Sean

  July 7, 2019

  Cycling, Hiking, Japanese Alps

  Adventure, adventure cycling, アウトドア, ハイキング, Central Japan, Cycling, cyclingjapan, 長野県, fromwhereiride, Hiking, Japan, Japan cycling, Japanese Alps, landscape, Microadventures, Minami Alps, mountains, Nagano, outdoor adventure, outsideisfree, Sanpukutoge, Shizuoka, Southern Alps, 日本, 三伏峠

• Cycling, Hiking, Photography: A New Direction

  

  You may or may not have noticed that there haven’t been many posts in 2018. While I’ve been spending more time than ever outdoors in the Japanese countryside cycling, bike packing, mountain biking, and hiking, cycling in the Australian countryside, or back ‘home’ in the U.K., the name Bike Packing Japan has often felt restrictive…

  Sean

  December 31, 2018

  Bike Packing, Japanese Alps, Microadventures

  Adventure, Bike Packing, Cycling, Japan, outsideisfree

• Cycling & Hiking: Mt. Norikura

  

  Mt. Norikura (乗鞍) is considered a right of passage for many cyclists in Japan. It’s the highest road in Japan and only bicycles, taxis, and official buses are allowed up.

  Sean

  October 14, 2018

  Bike Packing, Cycling, Hiking, Japan, Mt. Norikura

  Bike Packing, bikepackingjapan, cyclejapan, Cycling, cyclingjapan, fromwhereiride, Gifu, Hiking, Japan, Japanese Alps, Microadventures, mountains, Mt. Norikura, Nagano, Norikura, outsideisfree, 乗鞍

• Cycling & Hiking: Mt. Norikura – Bike and Hike to 3026m

  

  Mt. Norikura (乗鞍) is considered a right of passage for many cyclists in Japan. It’s the highest road in the country and only bicycles, taxis, and official buses are allowed up. It’s sometimes called Japan’s version of Alpe d’ Huez with plenty of switchbacks, 1200m of elevation gain from the Norikura Heights car park, and…

  Sean

  October 14, 2018

  Bike Packing, Cycling, Gifu, Hiking, Japan, Mt. Norikura, Nagano

  Bike Packing, bikepackingjapan, cyclejapan, Cycling, cyclingjapan, fromwhereiride, Gifu, Hiking, Japan, Japanese Alps, Microadventures, mountains, Mt. Norikura, Nagano, Norikura, outsideisfree, 乗鞍

• Bike Packing: Gokayama – Takayama – Nakatsugawa

  

  Friday evening after work I hitched a ride with a friend and his wife to Gokayama (五箇山), a world heritage site, high in the mountains in Toyama prefecture (富山県), about 3 hours north of Nagoya.  Arriving around 11pm we all chose to sleep at one of the Michi-no-eki (道の駅) that you can find everywhere throughout…

  Sean

  April 23, 2018

  Bike Packing, Japanese Alps, Microadventures, Mt. Ontake, Toyama

  Adventure, adventure cycling, Bike Packing, cyclejapan, cyclingjapan, fromwhereiride, Gifu, Japan, Kaida Kogen, Mt. Ontake, Nagano, outsidesfree, ridejapan

• Bike Packing: Agematsu – Mt. Ontake

  

  I did a short bike packing trip from Agematsu (上松) to Mt. Ontake (御嶽山) recently, catching the late afternoon train from Kachigawa (勝川) north of Nagoya to Nakatsugawa, where I changed trains to Agematsu. From there I rode just under 40kms west towards Kaida Kogen (開田高原) before finding shelter in a small picnic area at the…

  Sean

  October 16, 2017

  Bike Packing, Cycling, Japan, Mt. Norikura, Mt. Ontake

  Adventure, Agematsu, Bike Packing, bike packing Japan, Camping, Cycling, 長野県, Fairdale, fromwhereiride, Hunt Wheels, Japan, Japan cycling, Microadventures, mountains, Mt. Norikura, Mt. Ontake, Nagano, outsideisfree, routes, touring, 御嶽山, 上松

• Bike Packing: Matsumoto – Hafudake – Kusatsu

  

  One of the benefits of living in central Japan is that most places are within a reasonable distance in relation to cycling and bike packing, and with the JR Chuo line (中央線) running from Tokyo (東京) to Nagoya (名古屋) around the Minami Alps it doesn’t take much time and effort to get out into the…

  Sean

  October 25, 2016

  Bike Packing, Cycling, Gunma, Japan, Japanese Alps, Microadventures, Nagano

  Adventure, adventure cycling, Bike Packing, Central Japan, Cycling, 群馬県, 長野県, Gunma, Hafudake, Japan, Japanese Alps, Kusatsu, Microadventures, mountains, Nagano, Nagoya, Onsen, touring, Type II adventure

• Cycling, Camping: Nomugi Pass & Mt. Norikura

  

  It’s no secret among cyclists in Japan that Mt. Norikura (乗鞍岳) is the highest road passable by bicycle in the country. Some call it the Japanese Alpe d’Huez but I think comparing mountains is somewhat silly. All mountains differ, and all mountains have the potential to change character within minutes. Most road bike cyclists start…

  Sean

  August 31, 2016

  Bike Packing, Cycling, Gifu, Japan, Mt. Norikura, Nagano

  Bike Packing, Camping, Central Japan, Cycling, cyclingjapan, 野麦峠, Gifu, Japan, Japanese Alps, Matsumoto, Mt. Norikura, Nagano, Nomugi Pass, touring, 乗鞍岳