Welcome back to our short series about craft beer and cycling in Japan. If you haven’t already done so, go back and take a look at part 1, where we cover short rides from Yokohama station to various brewpubs and taprooms. Beer is a fantastic drink – that’s why we created a blog to cover it – but it tastes even better after a long ride out, and a potential soak in the bath later.
For this entry, we’re going to look at longer rides, with the range of them being from 40 km to around 80 km. For the average cyclist, this will take around four hours to do, if you factor in some stops along the way. We’ve got some advice for getting your distance up a bit later on to help with these beer and cycling routes.
We’ve done a fair number of cycling routes across Japan, and the following are routes that will take you around and leave you at a bar or brewery, with access to a train station nearby. I’ve personally ridden all of these routes and can attest to them being good for a range of abilities. All of these routes start from Yokohama station, and the GPX routes are also included, so feel free to download them and edit them to suit yourself. Finally, all of the bars are within a 10 minute walk to the nearest station, so you can push your bike to the station before packing it up in a bike bag.
Table of Contents
Advice for Craft Beer and Cycling : Improving Stamina
You’ve done some shorter rides, but you’re looking to build up the distance to get a bit farther afield. Here’s some useful advice that has helped us along the way:
- Hydration. Rule of thumb is generally 1 bottle (approx. 600-750 ml) per hour of riding. When you get to riding over 2 hours, start using electrolyte drinks. There’s no need to spend lots of money on powders or tablets. I use one bottle of water, one bottle with Aquarius or Pocari Sweta, and I tend to alternate between the two while riding.
- Fuel. Again, after you get to the point when you can ride for 2+ hours, start thinking about taking a break for food. Take a Snickers with you, or make your own. I sometimes grab an onigiri or two along the way
- Goals. Start small and work up. Set goals by time or distance, whatever works for you. Set an attainable goal, reach it, celebrate. Repeat.
- Data. Get a bike computer or use your phone/smartwatch. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars, you can get something simple for around $50. It will be helpful for you. Also, use an app like Garmin Connect or Strava to track your rides and progress.
- Gear. Proper clothing makes a difference. Take some basic tools and a spare tube with you, and learn how to use them. Front & rear lights/flashers for visibility if you’re heading off early in the day, or going through tunnels.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Kaisei / Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer
So you’ve made it to Totsuka but you still want to go a bit further afield. Well how about a nice cycle along the beach? The Pan-Pacific Cycle Route, often called the Pacific Cycling Road, is a 1,487-kilometer (924-mile) bicycle path that follows the Pacific coast of Japan. It starts in Choshi, Chiba, and goes around the coast of Japan through Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Mie Prefectures, ending in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture.
Of course, we’re not doing the whole route here, but joining the course at Enoshima as you follow the Kashio-gawa to join the Sakai-gawa, and down. As you go along the Pan Pacific route, you’ve got the bike path next to the beach that you can also use to avoid the cars if necessary.
We’re then joining the route through Oiso, and back onto the Old Tokaido route as we get into Odawara, before joining up with another river route called Sakawa-gawa. Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer is at the end of this ride, with Kaisei station a few minutes walk away, which can whisk you back into Odawara for a train back to Yokohama, or up to Shin-Matsuda station where you can get an express train back into Tokyo.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Tachikawa / Sakamichi Brewing
For this route, we’re heading north along the Old Tokaido – sense a pattern here yet – before joining up with one of the most popular river routes – the Tama-gawa river ride. The path is serene and well sign-posted, but make sure you keep an eye out for people walking against the flow of the bicycles. This river flows through the Greater Tokyo Area, on the dividing line between Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures.
In Tokyo, its banks are lined with parks and sports fields, making the river a popular picnic spot. There is a plethora of wildlife found along the river with Japanese cormorants, kingfishers, white wagtails, eastern spot-billed ducks, grey herons, little egrets, Japanese white-eyes, mandarin ducks, and black-headed gulls are among birds often seen at the river. Various types of ducks have made a comeback after the 1969 designation of the river as a wildlife protection zone.
Follow the river all the way up to Tachikawa and you’ll ended up at the original Sakamichi Brewing location, for a decent selection of beers, and Tachikawa station ready to whisk you back home. Make sure though you get something to eat here as you’ll no doubt be in need of something. Sakamichi Brewing do let you bring some food in, but be kind and take the rubbish with you.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Miura / White Dog Brewing Uraga
For this journey, we’re making our first foray into the Miura Peninsula, a large area of land. It is known for being hilly, growing of fruit and vegetables, and historically, the site where Commodore Perry’s black ships forced the opening of Japan’s ports. We’re going to be passing through Kamakura again, it’s a nice little route to follow. However, we do have to cut across Yokosuka, so it’s advisable you have some confidence riding through tunnels.
The route itself is quite hilly, so make sure you’ve got some climbing legs on you. But going back to the advice in the beginning, it’s about building up your stamina for long rides like this. To make it a nicer ride though, towards the end, we’re going to explore Mikasa Park as well as Verny Park in Yokosuka, before heading along the beach front known as Mabori Beach, which has some art work along the route.
As you get into Uraga, there’s even more history to explore, but you’ll pass the last stop on the Keikyu Mainline that is Uraga station. White Dog Brewing Uraga is less than a five minute walk away, so you could leave your bike at the station, and then come to the bar. While there isn’t much food at the bar, there are a decent number of taps of beer, and with a few takeaway beers, you’re sorted for the train journey back. Just make sure you get an express train.
