Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 10: Nara to Kyoto

    Our tour has reached Kyoto, remarkably with only minor injuries and not a single puncture in the more than 11,000 kilometers the cyclists covered collectively since setting out from Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on the morning of October 1. The group battled a barrage of rain on the most prominent of climbs on Mount Aso and Koyasan, but got through unscathed each time. The tour drew to a close in a journey between the two ancient capitals of Nara, where participants frolicked with the deer roaming freely through the city and saw its lauded Great Buddha at Todaiji, and Kyoto, where the group lunched at Inari Taisha Jinja. Only a farewell…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 9: Koyasan to Nara

    Glorious weather almost a complete turnaround from the previous day was the hallmark of the penultimate day of the 2019 Kagoshima to Kyoto cycling tour. Sunny skies greeted the riders as they roused from their sleep in a chilly Koyasan temple. Riding remained cold and rugging up was the order of the day with the first 20 kilometers of the ride a rousing descent from Koyasan onto the plains of Wakayama Prefecture. Riders maintained a steady pace following the outstanding bicycle tracks along the Kinokawa River joining Wakayama and Nara prefectures. Riders passed through some wonderfully quaint mountain villages, rustic farming neighborhoods and winding roads, many barely traversed by other…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 8: Wakayama to Koyasan

    Japan, the land of the gods, threw everything at the Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto on Day 8, but the riders came up trumps, scaling the queen stage unscathed. Despite persistent drizzle, the tour made it to the World Heritage List site Koyasan without injury or incident. The tour’s first flat even still remains unclaimed! Following the previous day’s travelling exertions, it was back on the bikes from Wakayama. Almost half of the day’s ride was occupied on a beautiful cycling track with barely anybody else using it. The track ran along the Kinokawa River and offered some nice views of the waterway, as well as distant mountains. Looming over cyclists, however,…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 7: Matsuyama to Wakayama

    A moving day allowed the tour riders to freshen legs ahead of the trip’s biggest climb, but that didn’t mean it was an easy day. Riders had a free morning in Matsuyama before assembling around midday to catch a bus to Tokushima. Activities engaged in during the morning included watching a festival, visiting Dogo Onsen hot spring and climbing up to Matsuyama Castle to check out the views of the city. The bus trip to Tokushima was largely uneventful and after about two hours, participants marched on to the Nankai ferry for the journey to Wakayama, leaving Shikoku in their wake. The ferry trip lasted about two hours and the…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 6: Uchiko to Matsuyama

    Shikoku’s glorious mountains seemed less and less attractive at times while pounding the pedals to push on upward even higher, but a wonderful descent followed on the final day of riding on the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. Leaving Uchiko later than most starts, it was a steady climb upward for the remainder of the morning. The strenuous efforts of the climbs were rewarded by priceless views across seemingly endless mountain ranges, whose splendor was enhanced by the brilliant sunshine and cloudless skies. More climbing continued after lunch (the day would eventually top 1,100 meters of elevation). An exhilarating and lengthy descent followed, though, winding downward through mandarin patches…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 5: Beppu to Uchiko

    Glorious sunshine greeted tour participants as they woke in Beppu, coincidentally on the morning the Wallabies, Australia’s national rugby team, would be playing a World Cup match in the same city. After a quick breakfast the entire tour assembled and hurtled off down the hill toward the beachfront. A ferry ride from Kyushu to Shikoku awaited, and the team rode onto the huge ship, tied up the bikes and moved upstairs for the long ride. Repairs and adjustments were made to bikes on the boat trip, but upon alighting, cyclists immediately rode off up the river until reaching a mountain standing in the way of the path to the destination…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 4: Kurokawa to Beppu

    Glorious weather greeted the tour today, paving the way for some amazing riding. The group set out from the gloriously quaint hot spring resort town of Kurokawa. Slowly but surely, the riders wound their way through forested areas, driving ever upward until reaching the Kuju ski ground, the highest point of the entire tour at 1,140 meters above sea level. Despite reaching the tour’s literal high point, it wasn’t all downhill from there. Travels along undulating roads followed over the next 30 or so kilometers along beautiful thoroughfares such as the Yamanami Kaido. The group inched ever downward, though, until reaching the hot spring town of Yufuin. Following a delicious…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 2: Hinagu to Ozu

    The tour’s drive into Kyushu moved northward on its second day of riding, and first when inclement weather came into play. Rain fell about halfway through the 72-km leg, drenching riders, but fortunately not resulting in any injuries or accidents. The trip was largely along the plains of Kyushu, following rivers and train tracks through to the industrial city of Yatsushiro. From there, it was a trip along similar terrain through the areas hit by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes and onto Ozu. The tour next moves into the mountains with the long-awaited assault on Mount Aso. Brommie performed superbly, but will face bigger demands hitting the hills.

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 1: Izumi to Hinagu

    The tour kicked off on the bikes with a ride through a samurai household neighborhood in Izumi and then moved its way through mandarin groves while heading toward the coast. Riders reached Minamata, which gave its name to one of the world’s best-known instances of industrial disease. Despite it’s bleak and tragic past, Minamata is quite quaint. From Minamata it was a trek around the glorious Ashikita Coast. Roads were almost traffic free and the journey was peaceful and quite with wonderful views of the seas and Amakusa Islands in the distance. The rode drew to a close with a tough climb and descent back down to the coast and…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day -1B: Haneda to Izumi

    Izumi is one of Kagoshima Prefecture’s–and Japan’s, for that matter–little gems. This little town in the heart of what was the Choshu domain that would usher Japan into the modern world from the latter half of the 19th century now markets itself largely around the tens of thousands of cranes that migrate there during the colder months. But Izumi also has plenty of history, including a district of samurai houses, and wonderful natural surrounds. Enough of the tourist stuff, though, because Izumi is the start of the Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto run by the indefatigable Japan Biking and Pedal Pedal Bicycle Tours. Kangaeroo has worked the tour before and never really made…