Why Cycling Abroad From Sendai to Narita
For me, Japan is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Japan has so much to offer to the foreigner tourist: great towns and cities, beautiful countryside, mountains, history and food. Above all, these are the Japanese people that are most special and welcoming.
Although this trip takes only 8 days, it is a real lifetime experience. Besides the scenic views, the small country roads and the food, these are the people, the Japanese famous hospitality that will buy your heart. I can promis you that after finishing cycling from Takayama to Kyoto you will say Arigato!
Our Cycling Trip From Sendai to Narita in Brief
Trip Information
| Origin | Sendai |
| Via | Fukushima |
| Destination | Narita |
| Distance | 373 Km |
| Cycling Level | Moderate |
| Map (Komoot) | Download the planned route |
Sendai to Narita Trip Details – Day by Day
Pre Departure Day
Ofter arriving to Sendai you can spend the night at the Dormy Inn Sendai ANNEX Natural Hot Spring.
Day 1 (first cycling day)
After breakfast, we start our 62Km bicycle ride north of Pairs. We ride along paved and unpaved bicycle roads, as well as local streets. On our way, we visit the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent Van Gogh died, on Jul 30, 2020. Our final destination is our small hotel near the town of Gaillon-Sur-Montcient, just 3 Km north of La Saine River, about 49Km west of Paris.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 2
On this day, we ride along the Saine River. Besides riding on some beautiful bicycle roads, we will visit Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny. We spend the night near Romilly-Sur-Andelle, just on the La-Andelle stream, 2 Km north of the Saine River.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 3
We continue riding along the Seine River, in some of it’s parts we are riding along La Seine à Vélo. Most of our ride today is south of the city of Rouen.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 4
We continue riding along the Seine River, in some of it’s parts we are riding along La Seine à Vélo. Most of our ride today is south of the city of Rouen.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 5
This is the last day of riding along the Saine River. After visiting the charming and famous city of Honfleur, We finally reach our hotel, lays near the Atlantic ocean.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 6
On this day we visit several places related to WW2.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Day 7
On this day we visit several places related to WW2.
|
Here you can download the Planned Route.
Trip Preparations
Bicycles
Renting bikes in Japan was a complicated task. As our trip was a relatively short, we thought that it would be best to avoid bringing our bikes with us and to rent touring bikes locally. However, it was very difficult to find a bicycle store or a bicycle rental agency that is renting any bicycles other than simple city bikes suited for urban day trips.
Luckily there was one positive answer to our unusual Email request. It was from Sam, who runs with his business partner Kevin a successful bicycle renting business in Osaka: CycleOsaka.com. Sam arranged us three quality Trek bikes that were perfect for our needs.
The Bike
‘Kampai’ with Kevin from CycleOsaka.com
Accessories
The bikes came equipped with rear racks to hold our panniers; In addition, the handlebars were equipped with quality ergonomic grips. Other than these two additions, the bikes did not have any extra accessories.
We’ve brought with us panniers, to carry most of our personal stuff. In addition, two of us also used handlebar bags to carry handy items, such as video camera and wallets.
Clothing
Although the month of May was not supposed to be too rainy, in Japan there is always a possibility of rainy days. Luckily, public laundries are very common, so you can count on washing your used clothes at the end of each riding day.
On most of our riding days the weather was dry so we did not have to carry any rain resistance clothes. Each of us brought two or three sets of bicycling shorts, two bicycling shirts, two pairs of socks and three under wears. In addition, one set of cycling gloves was sufficient, as well as cycling head skull cap.
Personal Equipment
The list of personal equipment to carry in such trip is long, and includes personal papers, money (most ATM machines accepts all major credit cards), video and still cameras, mobile phones (I suggest to carry with you an external battery chargers), first aid kits, bicycle repair kits and a travel size Kleenex moist wipes.
Note: for more information on how to prepare yourself to a touring trip you a invited to visit my page about bicycle touring preparation.
How Did We Carry Our Bikes on the Train?
In Japan you are not allowed to carry your bicycle on a public transportation if it is not being stored inside a bicycle bag or a travel case. The good news is that you can wrap your bike with plastic bag, and even carry it with you on your rear rack to be used later on, if needed. Just remember to bring with you a utility duct tape. Take a look:
Before
After
How Did We Navigate?
The planning Phase
For planning our bicycle trip in Japan we searched for maps that are made specifically for cyclists. To our surprise we did not find any cycling maps, at least not ones that are covering the area of our trip (mainly Gifu prefecture). The only option was to buy maps that are designed for motorcyclists, called Touring Mapple (you can buy them on eBay). A list of all Touring Mapple maps can be found here.
Instead we used Google Maps for planning our trip: it was enough for our needs.
Finding Our Way
Since the introduction of the GPS system, navigation has become so simple. We used an off line GPS navigation program called MAPS.ME, which was perfect for our needs. In addition, we used enlarged printouts maps of our final destinations, taken from Google Maps.
What’s Next
If you like this multi-day, self-guided touring bicycle trip from Sendai to Narita, you are invited to contact me and get more detailed information, including variations to the basic trip, tips about the best season to travel and much more advice from my and other travelers experience. You are also welcome to check out some of my own bicycle trips to get an idea of this type of exciting cycling style.
Useful Links
Tips and Tricks
Going by Train (from Kyoto to Takayama)
Going from Kyoto to Takayama by train takes about 4 hours. In Japan you are not allowd to take the bikes yith you on the train, so the easiest way is to wrap the bikes in a nylon strip, and carry them into the train.
Renting Bicycles in Kyoto
There are several places where you can rent bicycles in Kyoto. I can suggest you take quality bikes that will fit this type of touring trip from CycleOsaka.com. Kevin and Sam have a bicycle rental business in both Kyoto and Osaka.
Weather
What’s Next
If you like my Takayama to Kyoto self-guided bicycle trip, you are invited to Contact Us and get more detailed information, including variations to the basic trip, tips about the best season to travel and much more advice from my and other travelers experience. You are also welcome to check out some of my own bicycle trips to get an idea of this type of exciting cycling style.
Useful Links
- CycleOsaka.com
- JapanCycling.org
- BikeToursJapan.com
- KanCycling.com
- KinkiCycle.com
- Takayama Weather
- Gifu Weather
- Hikone Weather
- Kyoto Weather
https://www.holiday-weather.com/milan/october/2020/#calendar
More Pictures
Bicycle Trip in Japan – The Movie
Mark Twain
Comments
Sendai to Narita by Bicycle — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>