Hello,

My girlfriend and I are planning to tour the island of Shikoku in May :-)

Buying bikes in Japan seems to make the most sense, but we are worried of how complicated and expensive it might be for us to find adequate bikes in a short amount of time...

We are looking for 2 basic touring bikes, of a size that would fit us (1.78 m and 1.73 m respectively). Basic, used bikes would be best as our budget is quite tight – maybe JPY 50,000, and in any case less than 60,000. We just need simple bikes to carry us and our paniers for a few weeks of gentle cycling. We would be happy to resell them at the end of our trip if someone is interested in buying them back. We would need to buy them in Osaka/Kyoto (preferably) or Tokyo.

Would anyone be interested in selling us touring bikes, or « renting » them to us for the month of May? Or could anyone recommend shops (especially in Osaka or Kyoto) that would sell or rent relatively cheap touring bikes?

Thank you very much for your help,

Regards,
Jeremy and Jennifer (Cambridge, England)

I am an ordinary cyclist (road biker) living in Tokyo. I wonder it would be tough work even for Japan resident bikers to make a plan of bike trip in Shikoku. Have you bought any guide service? Can you speak Japanese? Do you have a Japanese friend? How do you find accommodation? Why do you want to go Shikoku? You do not need to answer back all...

quote:

Originally posted by Toby:
I am an ordinary cyclist (road biker) living in Tokyo. I wonder it would be tough work even for Japan resident bikers to make a plan of bike trip in Shikoku. Have you bought any guide service? Can you speak Japanese? Do you have a Japanese friend? How do you find accommodation? Why do you want to go Shikoku? You do not need to answer back all...

I don't know about this..... I live in Hokkaido and not Shikoku but I do know more than a few people who have planed and done long bike trips around Hokkaido with out speaking any Japanese or having any Japanese friends here or hired a guide service and finding accommodation on the go should be such a big problem and if you carry a tent no problem at all.

There is such a thing as an adventure, isn't there.

BP

The bike tour in Shikoku in the Seto Island Sea is an awesome route. There are bike lanes on all the bridges and you can island hope all the way. Highly recommended.

We'll have a story on this in the Mar-Apr issue of Outdoor Japan Magazine, keep your eye out!

-G

Also, Freeride Adventures and Oka Tours do road tours....beware that roads that may look good on a map are not always great for cycling (some can be choked with congestion) so super important to talk to someone who has been there.