DAY1
Non-Cycling Day

After arriving in Yamaguchi we will meet up with the guide in the evening and the guide will brief you on the following 13 days of riding. We will have a welcome dinner at the hotel.

DAY2
approx. 74km

We start the adventure with a quant ride on a cycling road from the hotel to Akiyoshi Cave, home to an ancient water dragon. Then, heading north through forest paths until we reach and take a pit-stop by a coast highlighting the Sea of Japan. We reach our destination, Hagi, a samurai town where we will stay for the night.

DAY3
approx. 65km

For our second day of riding, we will ride back to Yamaguchi City, following rivers that will take us through mountain paths. Once we conquer the climbs, we will descend on a road that has the beautiful Rurikoji Temple. From the temple we follow the Ichinosaka River that runs through Yamaguchi City and merge onto the cycling road that hugs the larger Fushino River all the way to our destination, Shin-Yamaguchi.

DAY4
approx. 54km

We have an early day as we catch a morning Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to the neighboring city of Tokuyama, where we will catch a ferry and reach the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita Prefecture. From the port we have a nice mountain greeting us with nice challenge as we climb to the temple at the peak of the peninsula, Futagoji (Temple of the Twins). From the temple, we take the backroads and descend into another samurai town called Kitsuki, a great castle town to explore before taking a train to our destination, Beppu, the hot spring capital of Japan.

DAY5
approx. 60km

From Beppu, we make our way into the mountains and ride through scenic mountain and forest paths. The climbs are wroth it as we ride through mountain roads that highlight the cascading peaks of Oita Prefecture’s various mountains. We mark the end of the day at Taketa, a small, charming mountain village where you can hang up your helmet and cleats and have a chance to explore.

DAY6
approx. 60km

We continue westward from the village of Taketa and take forest paths to the fantastic Ameushi Falls. A waterfall with a fun name, meaning “Yellow Cow”. From the falls, we continue west and make our way into Kumamoto Prefecture, where we enter the Heart of Kyushu, Mt. Aso. The day ends as we descend into the town of Aso and have a chance to relax on Kyushu’s largest volcano.

DAY7
approx. 40km

Starting the day gentle until we are greeted with a climb, we have a shorter day of riding where we stop by a town called Minami-Oguni and take a break at a well-known cyclist café. From there we ride to one of the most famous hot spring towns in all of Japan, Kurokawa, where we can have refreshing day leisurely exploring the ancient hot spring town that have famous hot springs dating back the samurai era.

DAY8
approx. 75km

After a relaxing day in the hot spring town of Kurokawa, we make our way back to the Aso area and ride down into a town called Kikuchi, known for the purity of its waters via the Kikuchi River. From Kikuchi, we ride to our next destination of Ozu Town where we can freshen up a bit before we head to Kumamoto City via train and end our day.

DAY9
approx. 40km

The day starts early as we ride our way to Kumamoto Port and catch the ferry to our next and last prefecture, Nagasaki. When we reach Nagasaki’s shores we will make our way to Mt. Unzen, the mountain shrouded by clouds. Since ancient times, Mt. Unzen was regarded at a mysterious mountain which the gods would gather. Mt. Unzen is actually a volcano which is famous for the hot springs within which produces white clouds. The day ends on top on Mt. Unzen where we can relax in the clouds of the legendary mountain.

DAY10
approx. 50km

We start this day with a great descent down Mt. Unzen’s “Dragon Road”, going downhill on a windy road that is shaped like the back of a Dragon. We head into the town of Isahaya where we grab lunch and coffee before we head to Nagasaki City via car for our city ride. The ride within the city will be one to remember, with one last push to a viewpoint where the whole of Nagasaki port will greet us, and us visiting Suwa shrine before we head to our hotel and look forward to a night in Nagasaki City.

DAY11
approx. 62km

Today we start with a Shinkansen (bullet train) ride which takes us to Saga Prefecture’s Takeo Town. We go westward, entering the Kurokami area, where the mountains here also house many legends. As we make our way northwest we enter Okawachiyama, a hidden village within the mountains known for pottery. From Okawachiyama, we head north to Karatsu, where Karatsu Castle with greet us as we wind down in the seaside town.

DAY12
approx. 60km

From Karatsu, we ride through wind swept trees of in Niji no Matsubara and continue onto a seaside road as we cross into Fukuoka Prefecture. Our destination today will be the popular and beautiful Itoshima. We will be hugging the ocean for most of the day and pay a visit to great places such as Totoro’s Tunnel and the Holy rocks of Futamigaura before we head to the middle of Itoshima for our night’s stay.

DAY13
approx. 15km

For our last day, we make our way to Fukuoka City where we will ride a ferry to a nearby island called Shikanoshima. We have a 10km loop around the island to ride and will end things at a cyclist café. Taking the ferry back to the city we will head to Tenjin, the center of Fukuoka City and have some free to explore the city before having out night festivities.