2008 Autumn Bike & Hike in Japan (7 Days)
This is an adventurous getaway for travellers who want to work their body but still have time to relax and take in the beauty of Japan in Autumn. You will have an opportunity to see and learn about traditional country life in Japan - to taste the history and culture that are all but lost in modern metropolitan cities of Japan.
Description top
Ride through some of the most beautiful mountain areas of northern Nagano in all its autumn splendor. This trip will take you from metropolitan Nagano City, through traditional farm villages, and deep into the remote Akiyamago (Fall Mountain) Valley, famous not only for its beauty in autumn, but also for the harsh winters, short days, and steep terrain which have made it one of the most inhospitable (inhabited) areas in Japan.
Days include riding or walking - and, on one day, optional hiking - over a variety of terrain ranging from rolling hills, highland plateaus, and steep mountain passes. Of course, we have a support vehicle to help people up the hills (although we strongly suggest that everyone pushes themselves on the ride up - if only to better appreciate the ride down).
While the longest day is only 60km, the terrain on short days, and abundance of possible side trips, are enough to ensure that even the most hard-core get a workout. Those who like to relax sometimes can also catch a ride on the support van, or leave the bikes with us and walk the steep parts. The moderate distances allow plenty of time so that you can enjoy the culture and history of the area even at walking pace.
Meals include full course traditional Japanese dinners, lunches at local soba shops, or mountain-top picnics featuring fresh, organic, local, and macrobiotic (based on traditional Japanese diet that focuses on a balance between yin and yang foods) dishes. You will even have the opportunity to dine with local farmers and their families in their home. No matter where it is, though, we will be available to translate and facilitate conversation, as well as share the historic and cultural story of what you are eating, giving you a close-up view of rural life in Japan.
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Tentative Itinerarytop
This trip is planned for October 18-24 in the hopes of catching the fall colors at their peak - a time when we can expect mostly clear skies an cool temperatures ideal for riding.
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Day 1 Nagano City - Yudanaka / Shibu Onsen (45km)
You will be met at Nagano station, less than 2hrs from Tokyo by bullet train. After being fitted to your bicycle, a short but thorough safety talk, and introductions to your guides and your fellow travelers, its time to hit the road. It won't be long before we leave behind the flat urban landscape of Nagano City and find ourselves winding upwards toward the Shiga Kogen.
Along the way, we will stop at a supermarket for a thorough tour with our own Japanese food expert. You will learn what all those strange looking foods are, how they are used, and how production has changed over the years.
Continuing on, we begin to climb toward Yudanaka / Shibu Onsen where we will will enjoy the night at a traditional hot-spring ryokan inn where, after a well-deserved dinner, we make our rounds of the public baths in traditional cotton yukata robes and wooden geta sandals. Those with the strength left can get to know each other more over a cup of hot tea or sake, and your guides will give you the finer details of the coming days' routes.
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Day 2 Yudanaka / Shibu Onsen - Nozawa Onsen (60km)
You won't want to get out of your heavenly futon, but yoga and a morning bath will help make it more bearable. Once everyone is fed and energized by a traditional Japanese breakfast, we will head up a short trail to see the the world-famous "monkey bath", a nature preserve where wild Japanese macaques come to relax in their own private onsen.
From here, we begin our longest ride of the trip. Although it starts with a challenging up-hill, Much of the riding will be through rolling, well forested, gold and red mountain roads, followed by an amazing downhill cruise into Nozawa onsen. The area is now famous as a ski/hot-spring resort, but is home to a thousand years of pre-ski history which we will partake in as we dine on local vegetables and eggs boiled in the natural hot springs, and once again sooth our tired bodies as walk from public bath house to public bath house (Nozawa has 13 of them) in our yukata robe.
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Day 3 Nozawa - Sakae Mura (35 - 60 km)
Leaving Nozawa, we will take one of two routes to our next destination. One follows the Chikuma river down-stream through small farming villages to Sakae Mura, the other takes the high-road - while it is a more challenging climb, the downhill cruise is amazing. Despite being the lowest point in Nagano prefecture, Sakae Mura is known for its incredibly harsh winters. Sakae Mura holds the record for the most accumulated snowfall in Japan in one season (8m) and the architecture and lifestyle of the people reflect this harsh reality.
You will have plenty of time for small country road detours, or an optional ride (or lift in the support vehicle) to the top of a mountain with views of the Japan Sea to the North and Akiyamago to the South. From the top of the mountain, the most adventurous can choose a dirt-road down through the Sakae ski area. Those content with a smooth cruise can take a paved road down. Both come with breath-taking views.
Following an afternoon of walking, biking, or just relaxing, we will move on to one of the villages hot baths, followed by homoe-grown, home-cooked meals at the homes of locals, where we will get a peak at what life is like in a rural Japanese farming village.
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Day 4 Sakae Mura - Akiyamago (50km)
From Sakae Mura we will get an early start on our journey into the infamous Akiyamago Valley, known for its long, harsh winters where only the strongest survive. Indeed, if we look closely we can still see remnants of villages that have disappeared in winters past. The remaining villages are sparsely scattered over amazingly steep terrain. Despite being deep in the shadow of the 2000+ meter Mt. Torikabuto and hence subject to short days, Akiyamago is brilliant in the fall - as testified to by its name, which means "Autumn Mountain".
Along the way we will have an opportunity to stop and chat with a local wood-carver, try fresh-from-the-forest wild mushrooms like you have never tasted, and explore two wonderful museums depicting traditional life in the vally - Much of which has remained unchanged until dam construction began in the 50s. As night-falls, we will reach reach our destination deep in the valley - a historic onsen inn with 100 meter long covered paths necessary to make the bungalows accessible in winter when everything is covered with 5 metres of snow.
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Day 5 Akiyamago - Mt. Naeba (hike)
An early breakfast is followed by a full-day hike with plenty of breaks to enjoy the amazing views. While the trail is climbed each year by thousands of people of all ages, this time of the season is one of the least crowded, creating the illusion that it is all our own. At the mountain hut atop Mt Naeba (2145m), one of Japan's "hyakumeisan" (famous one-hundred mountains) a warm meal, futon, and one of the last sunsets of the hiking season awaits.
In the event that early snows make the hike too dangerous, we will have plenty of other great back-up options to fill the time.
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Day 6 Mt. Naeba - Koakazawa
Waking up early, we will catch the sunrise and an energizing breakfast before beginning the hike down to the highest point accessible by paved road where we will have your bikes waiting for another exhilarating downhill cruise, with a chance to see wild monkeys playing in the trees.
We will arrive at Koakazawa, a tiny farming village said to have been settled by fallen samurai soldiers at the end of the 12th century. Those who survived did so by developing unique farming and hunting methods that remained relatively untouched by modern times until dam construction started in the mid 1900s.
Here we will have a unique opportunity to perform a valuable community service by helping the village to preserve a traditional thatch-roof house. Weather permitting, we will join them to harvest the kaya straw used for the roof, followed by a bath and a chance to practice your local Japanese dialect over a traditional dinner.
Day 7 Akiyamago - Sakae
Your last day will be another amazing bike ride from your inn back down the other side of the Akiyama Vally.
After breakfast, we will take a short ride further up the vally to the end of the road. Here we will enjoy a hot spring bath in the river - hand-dug by yourself with no walls or buildings to block your view. (of course swimsuits are the norm in this bath). From the there, the deepest point in the Akiyamago Vally, we will begin our decent into civilization through some more of the most beautiful scenery Japan has to offer.
The trip will officially end with a small sayonara ceremony near the train station, where everyone will be able to catch a ride to wherever your next adventure awaits
Requirements top
This course requires only two things from its participants - an average level of physical fitness, and above average curiosity and enthusiasm.
Curiosity & Enthusiasm
The number one requirement to get the most out of this course is curiosity and willingness to explore. At One Life Japan we see ourselves as "facilitators", rather than guides. We are anxious to share our knowledge with you, but this is not a passive bus tour. We provide the opportunity to meet people and see places you normaly wouldn't, but it is also up to you, as a participant, to define what you want to take away, and then to take the initiative to reach those goals. We want to be there to support you all the way.
Moderate Physical Fitness
The course is designed to be moderately physically challenging and take advantage of Japan's abundant natural settings. Ideally, participants should be able to cycle from 30 to 70 kilometers per day. We have planned a relatively short course in terms of actual kilometers, but there are a few challenging uphills. There is always the option to catch a ride in the support van, but we try to encourage participants to push themselves on the uphills - making the downhills and bath that much more rewarding.
What to Expect (A Sample Day) top
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While each day is different, with its own unique activities and highlights, a typical day might look like this:
7:00 Wake Up / morning dip in onsen bath / Yoga
8:00 Traditional Japanese Breakfast
9:00 Discuss Days Plan over green tea or coffee
9:30 Stretch & Depart on days route
12:00 Picnic lunch overlooking beautiful scenery (followed by a nap?)
13:00 Ride on. (passing through mountains, small villages, or cities)
15:00 Stop to explore an interesting museum, chat with farmers, or learn to make soba - then continue on
18:00 Arrive at your inn, get settled, prepare for bath
19:30 Traditional local full course dinner / discuss the days findings
21:00 Take an evening stroll
22:00 Retire to your comfortable futon for a well deserved sleep
Pricing and What's Included top
All-inclusive Bike Tour
We design our all-inclusive tours so that you wont have to look at a credit card for the entire duration:
7 days: 230,000 JPY/person Register
The all-inclusive prices include:
Bikes: Our cross country touring bikes are specially customized make your trip the most comfortable and enjoyable possible. Our frames are sturdy, stable, and light-weight, fitted with ultra-comfortable seats, handle bars and grips. Pannier saddle bags allow you to easily carry warm clothing, water, snacks, and any souvenirs you pick-up along the way.
Accommodation: You will be staying in family run inns in small mountain villages and popular onsen towns, as well as one night with local farming family. Every night offers a hot-spring bath, comfortable traditional cotton yukata robe, and a oh-so-heavenly futon on a traditional straw tatami floor. One of our main concerns when choosing accommodation is the friendliness and openness of the owners and staff, and we will be there the entire time to translate and facilitate communication
Meals: Perhaps the most important part of any trip to Japan is the food. While the well-known sushi and sukiyaki are available, we seek out local, traditional meals that have developed in the region over the centuries defining and being defined by the local culture and history. Wherever possible we choose fresh, local ingredients grown by farmers we know - you will even get to meet some of them. Lunches will either be at local restaurants or luxurious picnics with macrobiotic, traditional vegetarian and zen foods overlooking beautiful mountain valleys in their full autumn splendor.
Entrance Fees: All museums, baths, festivals, and any other entrance fees are covered so you are free to go anywhere and do anything your wanderlust takes you.
Guides & Communication Facilitation: You have the option of riding with bilingual guides that have studied the area and culture and are anxious to share as much as you want to hear, and probably a lot you didn't even know you wanted to hear. (Of course, we will shut-up if you ask nicely). Alternatively, you can strike our on your own with scheduled meeting points. Either way, we will be available every step of the journey, whether you are trying to communicate with your host for the night, the old man at the vegetable stand, or trying to find a certain color of kimono for that perfect souvenir. We also provide printed translations of important museum exhibits and explanation of various foods and interesting cultural artifacts found along the way. A highlight of the tour is a trip to a supermarket where our guide and professional chef points out interesting foods and explains how they are used and their history.
Support Vehicle: Not only do we carry your luggage and have elaborate picnic lunches waiting at the perfect lookout point, but we also carry people when needed. If you would rather spend more time at a museum or napping on a mountain top while the rest of the group rides on, our support vehicle will help you catch up. Want to walk instead of ride? The support vehicle will take your bike to the next meeting point. Had enough up-hills for the day? Our support vehicle will carry you to the top leaving you to enjoy the cruise down.
Maps: We have made easy to follow English maps with important landmarks and points of interest highlighted. We even give you a pen to keep notes on the map of the one of a kind encounters and experiences you have along the way.