The Norikura Skyline is the road leading up to Mount Norikura from the Gifu side (west) and it opens mid May, while the Norikura Echo Line is the road on the Nagano side (east), which opens start of July. Since it was late May, there was still heaps of snow at the top and there … Continue reading Japan Day 39: Cycling the Norikura Skyline
After listening to thunderstorms and rain last night, I was pleasantly surprised by the clear weather this morning. My mission was to ride up Norikura Skyline, a 14km stretch of road that rises 1000m up to the 2700m point, making it the highest road in Japan. It was an epic ride and it's in a separate … Continue reading Japan Day 39: Riding Honokidaira to Hirayu Onsen
Today's ride was short, but I chose the Honokidaira Ski Area because it's close to the Norikura Skyline, the highest road in Japan, peaking at 2700m above sea level. Assuming that the weather is okay, I plan to ride my bike up to the top tomorrow and see Mount Norikura for myself. However I had … Continue reading Japan Day 38: Riding Takayama to Honokidaira
The weather wasn't looking great in the morning, lots of grey clouds and a fair amount of humidity, like it wanted to rain at any moment. My weather forecast said that the rain wouldn't start until the afternoon, so there was enough time to make it to Takayama without getting soaked. After getting up a … Continue reading Japan Day 36-37: Riding Shirakawa to Takayama and Rest Day
Today's ride was surprisingly easy, it was mostly downhill with a few tunnels along the way and hardly any traffic. I just rode along Route 156, which took my along Miboro Dam, part of a hydroelectric plant, however after it was built it flooded some villages and shrines. Two giant cherry trees were taken from … Continue reading Japan Day 34-35: Riding Hirugano to Shirakawa and Rest Day
Before my actual ride out of the city, I went for a morning guided tour of Nagara River with cycle-cruise and had fun riding downstream, seeing cedar forests and rafts on the river, eating icecream, skipping stones and trainspotting. It was nice to ride without all my gear on the back and to have my guide, … Continue reading Japan Day 33: Riding Gujo Hachiman to Hirugano
I reluctantly left my lovely airbnb place and headed north towards the mountains. My host already had some eggs ready for breakfast and I bid them farewell and signed their guestbook before getting on my bike. The first 10km were very flat and afterwards the incline was fairly gentle, aside from a steep part with … Continue reading Japan Day 32: Riding Gifu to Gujo Hachiman
Today was my last long ride before I headed to the alps and I took my time along the scenic route of Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. There were lots of people fishing along the water and boats cruising around, so it felt like I was going through a coastal town. The … Continue reading Japan Day 30-31: Riding Kyoto to Gifu and Rest Day
Today's ride was much easier, the first half was along a low speed road with minimal traffic and the second half had a riverside pathway and some designated cycle lanes leading into the city. I left around midday and it was a tad warm, but I arrived around 3.30pm and made a new friend at … Continue reading Japan Day 26-29: Riding Nara to Kyoto and Exploring
The ride to Nara was short but absurdly steep, that super peak was 400m of elevation across a 2km stretch, consequently it took me an hour to push my bike up that section. The downhill section was pretty terrible because the road had these circular indents in the ground, I'm guessing it was to increase … Continue reading Japan Day 24-25: Riding Osaka to Nara and Rest Day
Jenny on Wheels 