Japanese cuisine is usually one of the main highlights of any trip to Japan. It is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes usually prepared with seasonal ingredients. Seafood is very common, and usually grilled or deep fried. Sushi and sashimi aside, other staple dishes include soba or udon noodles, sukiyaki (meat, fish and vegetables cooked in broth) and yakiniku (grilled meat).

Some of the included dinners are taken at Japanese style hotels or ryokans (traditional guesthouses), which may serve a kaiseki-style dinner, a multi-course meal including a dozen tiny dishes prepared with locally sourced seasonal ingredients. When food is not included, your leader can recommend the best local eateries and arrange some group meals for a full immersion in the varied and excellent cuisine of Japan.

You may also find it beneficial to bring cycling snacks with you from home if you have high-energy bars or gels you like to use during a ride. For those who wish to contribute, a kitty is normally arranged and will be used to provide snacks and drinks during the rides.

Worth knowing

Food for certain diets (including gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan) is minimal or non-existent in many areas of Japan. The group meals arranged by the tour leader are in traditional eateries where the choices of vegan dishes may be limited to simple salads or boiled rice. However, there are several vegan restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo. Please let us know before travel of your dietary requirements.

Most stocks, which are common in Japanese cuisine, contain animal products and even vegetable tempura is mostly fried in the same oil as meat or fish. While some substitutions may be possible, strict vegetarian or vegan meals cannot be guaranteed. Those who can consume dashi stocks typically have fewer issues, but for those concerned, we recommend bringing supplementary food items.

Climb a forested ridge to walk to Gujo Castle, a graceful timber keep overlooking canals and rooftops. Enjoy hilltop panoramas that reveal the geometry of waterways and terraces etched into the valley below.

Learn how the fortress, founded in 1559, guarded trade routes threading the mountains. This optional activity is bookable on tour at additional cost and offers a tranquil, history-rich start to the day amid birdsong and morning mist.

Explore Kanazawa by bike on a guided city ride through the atmospheric lanes of the Nagamachi Samurai District, where earthen walls and narrow canals shelter former warrior residences. Continue to the serene Kenrokuen Garden to admire teahouses, reflective ponds and the iconic Kotoji-toro stone lantern.

Gain insight into Maeda clan wealth and tastefully restrained aesthetics that shaped this rival to Kyoto. The loop blends heritage streetscapes with sculpted landscapes, revealing how samurai culture, artistry and horticultural ideals interwove to create one of Japan’s most refined castle towns.

Ride a dedicated coastal path to the Sea of Japan, passing fishing hamlets and windswept coves as you cycle the Sea of Japan coast. En route, visit a preserved Edo-period shipowner’s residence to glimpse merchant life along the Kitamae shipping route, from storied ledgers to lacquered interiors.

Learn about the Kitamaebune coastal trade that once fueled regional fortunes, then continue toward Kyukamura for a golden close at sunset at Oshima Bridge, where the surf’s low thunder and salt air set a contemplative tone for the evening.

Follow the rugged Echizen-kaigan coastline, weaving past lava-black headlands and sea caves while gulls wheel overhead. The route brings cinematic horizons, dramatic cliffs and cascading waterfalls, balanced by quiet inlets where boats bob against weathered piers.

Arrive inland to ride into Echizen, the city of artisans, a place renowned for washi paper and fine cutlery. The shift from ocean vistas to craft towns reveals Fukui’s twin identity: maritime resilience along the shore and meticulous handwork flourishing just beyond the breakers.

Step inside Takefu Knife Village, a cooperative where master smiths share forges and whetstones. Join an exclusive factory tour to watch billets glow and sparks fly as artisans forging blades hammer, temper and polish steel into kitchen knives prized across Japan.

Uncover Echizen’s 700-year blade-making heritage, rooted in samurai swordcraft and now refined for culinary precision. The rhythmic clang of hammer on anvil, the scent of quenched steel and the deft hands of veteran makers illuminate a living tradition of exceptional craftsmanship.

Glide along gentle grades as you ride the former Hokuriku railway line toward the Sea of Japan. This rail-trail delivers smooth pacing through farmland and woodland, threading forest-lined cuttings and tunnels once carved for steam locomotives.

Roll into the historic port town of Tsuruga, a harbor long connected to trade and travel between Kansai and Hokuriku. The gentle rail-trail gradients make for an easy, scenic day, while station relics and wayposts evoke the romance of early modern transport across coastal Japan.

Trace a sweeping circuit to loop the Five Lakes of Mikata and the inlets of Wakasa Bay. Calm lagoons mirror passing clouds while sea breezes carry the scent of pine and brine; occasional overlooks reveal layered blues where lakes meet open water.

Ride through Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Park, learning how differing salinity tints each lake a distinct shade. Between fishing hamlets and wooded promontories, the interplay of coastal ecology and human livelihood creates a quietly compelling landscape of lakes shifting in color.

Walk the mountain hamlet of Shirakawa-go, where steep thatches and timber beams define gassho-zukuri farmhouses. Step inside preserved dwellings when available to see smoky hearths and vast attics once used for sericulture, surrounded by vegetable plots and riverside paths.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, the village’s steep thatched roofs built for heavy snow speak to centuries of self-reliance in a secluded valley. Traditional craftwork, clear streams and mountain silhouettes frame a rare portrait of rural Japan kept remarkably intact.

Tackle the tour’s most challenging ride, a sustained climb through cedar forests and farm hamlets to highland vistas above Miboro Lake. Crisp air and bellbird calls accompany the effort, rewarded by sweeping alpine descents into the Hida basin.

Arrive in Hida Takayama’s old town, nicknamed Little Kyoto for its latticed merchant houses and sake breweries. The day pairs athletic satisfaction with traditional atmosphere, revealing how mountain routes shaped trade, taste and tenacity in Japan’s northern heartlands.

Follow the Hida Seseragi Highway, a cyclist-loved route beside swift mountain streams, passing shrines, paddies and cedar mills. Roll into Gujo-Hachiman, a riverside town famed for latticework streets and clear canals that thread between homes.

Celebrate water culture on a gentle walk along the town’s pristine waterways, still used daily by residents. Timber bridges, stone wash basins and a castle-crowned ridge set a lyrical scene in a community where summer dance festivals and spring snowmelt define the rhythm of life.

Spin beside jade-clear waters as you cycle the Nagara River, renowned nationwide for pristine flow and seasonal cherry-blossom tunnels. Pause in Mino, a historic town celebrated for Mino washi paper used in shoji screens and lanterns.

Continue to Gifu at the foot of Mount Kinka, where rivers, foothills and castle lore converge. The route balances leisurely riding with cultural texture, connecting artisanship, waterways and the broad plains that nurture central Japan’s towns and traditions.

Glide through Japan’s cultural capital as you cycle the Kamo River to the ancient forest of Tadasu-no-Mori and Shimogamo Shrine. Continue to Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) with its raked sand garden, then follow the Philosopher’s Path and Nanzen-ji beneath a graceful brick aqueduct.

Encounter Kyoto’s layered elegance—from Heian-era ritual to Zen contemplation—before moving through lantern-lit alleys in Gion, where geisha traditions persist. Stone lanes, temple bells and riverside breezes compose a ride that marries contemplative beauty with living heritage.

Ascend by ropeway or hiking trail to visit Gifu Castle atop Mount Kinka, a strategic eyrie tied to Oda Nobunaga’s unification campaigns. Museum exhibits trace samurai tactics while terraces open to wide views over the Nagara River and plains.

Appreciate the city’s geography from this storied height, where ridgelines, waterways and castle towns interlock. This optional visit is at additional cost, bookable on tour, and pairs well with an evening glow across the river valley when time allows.

Discover Tokyo’s historic heart as you join a guided orientation walk through Asakusa to Senso-ji, the city’s oldest Buddhist temple. Approach along the Nakamise shopping street, where stalls sell rice crackers and paper charms, and pause by the incense burner before continuing into the cultural greenery of Ueno Park.

Hear how this riverside quarter evolved from merchant Edo to modern Tokyo, with shrines, museums and seasonally blooming cherry groves shaping the district’s character. Expect vivid street life, vermilion gates and the resonant clang of prayer bells framing your first taste of the capital’s timeless spirituality.