DAY1
Non-Cycling Day

After arriving in Kumamoto 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. 50km

We start the adventure in Kumamoto and make our way towards Minami-Aso. Beautiful viewpoints are scattered on this climb, such as the Ozaka and Tawarayama viewpoints. After our climb, we have a fantastic descent into the main Minami-Aso area where we will visit Shirakawa Suigen, a place home to one of Kyushu’s purest mountain springs. From the Spring we head eastward to a special shrine called Kamishikimi Shrine which houses an ancient holy stone arch, which will grant us power for the rest of the tour! And with that we head to our accommodation and end our first day.

DAY3
approx. 60km

For our second day, we start with a climb and make our way to Nisemoto Shrine, a shrine that has strong ties with the Mt. Aso area. We then make our way south and cross into Miyazaki Prefecture. Riding through the mountain paths and back roads, we reach Unoko Falls, a beautiful waterfall, where we take a brief rest as we head towards Takachiho Town, a town with central to Japan’s mythology. We hang up our helmets here and spend the night in this mountain town of the gods.

DAY4
approx. 72km

In the morning we take a visit to Takachiho Gorge. Legends say that this area was where Japan’s creation gods made the whole of Japan. We then go to a mountain called Mt. Hiei where we start our cycling for the day. We descent the mountain and make our way through the mountains and head to the oceans of Hyuga Town, a hotspot for surfers of Japan. As we ride by the coast, we pass through Hyuga, and make our way to Mimitsu Town for our well-deserved rest.

DAY5
Non-Cycle Day

Today is a non-cycling day, giving us the chance to explore Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Shrine and the Aoshima Area. We take a train straight into the heart of Miyazaki City and have some free time to explore and enjoy some great food. We then make our way to Aoshima, which is an island connected to the mainland via bridge. We will stay in Aoshima for the night and will be refreshed for the coming days of cycling.

DAY6
approx. 66km

We are back on the saddle and will head south, riding the coastal road to a special shrine, Udo Jingu. This shrine is within a huge seaside cave, with a special ritual that determines if you will receive luck from the gods. From Udo Jingu we head further south until we reach the cities of Nichinan and Obi, towns where the samurai called home and where we will call it a day.

DAY7
approx. 40km

Today we head further south along the eastern seacoast, and reach the most southern point of Miyazaki Prefecture, Cape Toi, which if we are lucky, will be able to see the local horses graze on the cliffs of the area. Once we have experienced Cape Toi we make our way west and head to our accommodation nearby Kushima Town and relax.

DAY8
approx. 70km

Continuing our journey west, we cross in Kagoshima Prefecture and make our way to Kanoya. Kanoya is located in the heart of the countryside in Kagoshima Prefecture. It has a unique shrine centered around foxes, which is a great place to stop by. We have the chance to freshen up in Kanoya before transferring to the ferry to a town known for sand spas, Ibusuki.

DAY9
approx. 40km

Today is a cooldown day where we get to ride around Lake Ikeda. Lake Ikeda is known for having a sea monster living within its waters. Maybe if we are lucky, we can catch a glimpse of it. After our loop of Lake Ikeda, we head back to Ibusuki, freshen up and take a special train, the Ibusuki Tamatebako, to Kagoshima City where we will stay for the night.

DAY10
approx. 67km

The next day, we start with a Shinkansen (Bullet train) ride to Izumi, a town which is known for cranes. We head west and head to an island called Nagashima. Connected via a bridge to the mainland, Nagashima is a beautiful island that has great ocean views. We ride until we hit Nagashima port, where we catch the ferry and cross in Kumamoto Prefecture’s Amakusa and ride up to our accommodation for a relaxing night.

DAY11
approx. 57km

We head north and get to experience the Amakusa’s beauty. Amakusa is known for its rich history with Japan’s hidden Christians and its beautiful ocean views with roads hugging the edge of the island to show Japan’s western seas at their best. We ride though the scenic town of Sakitsu which is next to a beautiful cerulean sea and make our way up to our accommodation where we can hang up or cleats and helmets and enjoy the sunset by the sea.

DAY12
approx. 60km

Into the mountains we go for the start of this day. We ride to Amakusa City via the mountain and forest roads. Once in Amakusa we have lunch and continue to the north of the island to catch yet another ferry to our next destination, Shimabara, where a legendary giant used to call home. We ride to a hotspring to freshen up and go to our mountain top destination on Mt. Unzen, called the Mountain within the Clouds, via car and end our day.

DAY13
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 cof 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 our final night in Nagasaki City.