WOR Japan: our first tour - a beautiful ride

It’s only been 1 week back in Australia and I’m already missing Japan and counting the weeks until our October tour…!!

Our inaugural WOR Japan tour was a huge success. Four years late (due to you know what…!), a group of 12 finally met in Osaka - the start location for our 10 day Shikoku and the Shimanami Kaido Tour. Many of the group knew eachother from previous tours, but it was great to welcome a number of new riders to WOR.

Bright neon lights, street food with an “eat until you drop” motto - a fun place to start and meet the group with our welcome dinner, drinks and briefing in Dotonbori. We feasted on traditional Osaka cuisine of okonomiyaki and takoyaki, washed down with crisp beers, chu-hai and sake. Our beautiful traditional Japanese hotel a peaceful respite from the neon lights as the group experienced their first onsen and tatami mat flooring. A few had arrived early to make the most of their Japan trip - with overnight or day trips to nearby Kyoto and Nara.

Day 1 we rolled out of Osaka on a loop ride to visit Osaka Castle - thrilled the sakura (cherry blossom) still blooming - it became a real highlight of this Tour along with the range of spring flowers and colours. We cycled over the bridges of Osaka harbour, along the Yodo river and enjoyed our first konbini (convenience store) lunch - with a few laughs learning how to open the onigiri (well done Paul you got there in the end!). A shinkansen ride (a highlight in iteslf) with ekiben for lunch, whisked us a way from the city to Shikoku - one of Japan’s 4 main islands. Well regarded for its natural beauty, mountains, rivers and sacred 88 Temple Pilgrimage - and a perfect cycling destination.

We had a fun first night eating the famous Kagawa Udon and visited the beautiful Konpira-san shrine - climbing the 785 steps to the main shrine worth it for views over the landscape incredible at dawn or dusk. Don’t ask what happened late at night on the hotel bikes… and Sheena, do remember to watch out for the roadside holes!

We rolled out of Kotohira through farmland, visiting our first michi-no-eki (cyclists rest stop and food havens! ) and with our first short climb on beautifully smooth and almost deserted roads. We arrived in the striking Iya valley with a spectacular onsen hotel awaiting us for our first night - the group dinner something to remember - enjoying local river fish and tofu roasted over coals. The boys looked impressive in their yukata and coats. The next morning breakfast was just as special - and by the end of the tour I was very used to eating rice, miso, eggs, pickles and fish for breakfast, so much so I am now missing it.

Historic vine bridges (scary or not?), our first “steep pinch” (with Viv zooming by!), and tiny riverside roads weaving through bamboo forests featured as we made our way to the coast, the first of the 88 Temples (and unfortunately a day of rain). We warmed up in the onsen and feasted on tuna no tataki - seared bonito tuna with views of the ocean. You will just have to join a future tour to learn more… as I’m not giving away all the secrets.

The Shimanto river was peaceful and stunning rolling riding - the beauty of the roads and iconic chinkabashi bridges, the carp flags flying (to celebrate upcoming Children’s Day on the 5th of May) a highlight. You know you are somewhere remote and special when the locals take photos of YOU.

After a very fun night spent in a local izakaya on the Shimanto river getting to know the locals (and Loretta and Karl sharing their food!) and learning how to extract a fish bone from a small river fish by gently massaging it with chopsticks! Later at night our Japan tour couldn’t get any more real when we felt the vibrations of a 6.6 on the Richter scale earthquake!! We gathered outside and awaited further instruction - but all was well and we went back to bed. I’ll never forget Dave’s message passed on to the group from his roomie “tell my family I died doing what I loved”…. he stayed in bed avoiding the commotion!

We continued through green valleys, farmland and wilderness - small villages along the way with visits to a miso and sake brewery. Watch out for the snakes!!! In fact - Japan has numerous poisonous snakes and I later read that 10 Henro (pilgrims) are taken by snakebite each year - the infamous mamushi! We also saw a lot of kites flying above us as we cycled along, plenty of fish in the rivers - and the cheeky tanuki came out from time to time…!

Uchiko was a perfect stop for rest day as we relaxed in our gorgeous traditional Inns. A beautifully restored historic district and various activities (paper making, kabuki theatre, kite museum, sake tasting workshop) kept everyone entertained. Well done Cathy on being the only person to take on the optional loop/rest day ride. (And I guess kudos to the Crew - Taka and Alfie who rode over 100km seeking the steep climbs!).

Uchiko also proved itself worthy of some fun nights - an izakaya dinner with local food, sake and beers for some (thanks Karl!) and a fine omakase experience for others (John, Rhonda, Dave, Frank and Russel) - who enjoyed some beautifully crafted sashimi. We also enjoyed a yakiniku night - with some delicious wagu - for some a welcome change from the seafood and vegetable focused diet.

The final 2 days riding were incredible - the famous Shimanami Kaido - riding on dedicated cycle paths across 7 striking suspension bridges connecting islands dotted across the Seto (or Setouchi) inland sea. A cyclists paradise - bike lanes on the bridges, blue lines to follow around quiet island roads an a steep climb to Mt Kiro / Kirosan to test the legs. A highlight of the day for Dave and Frank was a visit to the public onsen overlooking the ocean - followed by the local craft brewery in their yukata! Could the end of the day get any better? .. well our gorgeous ryokan couldn’t be more homely and caring, with origami on the pillows after we returned from a seafood feast - the tai meshi (sea bream rice) a favourite for me.

We arrived in Onomichi on a high - a final night together (with some fun speeches and even performances thanks to Dave, Frank, Loretta and Karl) and final toast over a final glass of umeshu (plum wine). Well deserved and congratulations for all on completing the Tour (particular kudos to Frank on his comeback ride) and joining us on this inaugural (and hopefully first of many) WOR Japan tours - a perfect place for cycling, eating, drinking, relaxing and learning about the culture, history and people of Japan. Arigato gozaimasu Japan. We will be back (in October)….

Thanks to our Crew - Alfie who keeps our bikes rolling smoothly and dealt with a few challenges along the way (John and Rhonda seemed to cop the most of it unfortunately). Taka - a new addition to the WOR Team felt like part of the family immediately and brought a sensitive, warm and relaxed Japanese element.

For more photos, make sure you check out our Instagram account and Instagram Japan Highlights Story.