Why are we writing about craft beer and cycling ? Japan has a high number of cycling routes that will take you across the country. However, there are places where you can cycle to, grab a couple of beers, and most importantly, pack your bike up using a rinko bag. To take a bike on the train it needs to be covered completely so essentially it’s just a large bag or a piece of luggage.1
On November 1st 2024, the Japanese government tightened regulations on the usage of bicycles under the influence of alcohol. There was already a law that meant the police caught you drunk while riding a bicycle with a prison sentence up to five years, a million yen fine, and the bar owner losing their license. Cyclists found with more than 0.15 milligram of alcohol per liter of breath face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. 2
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.
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Advice for Craft Beer and Cycling Journeys
Some advice for riding in Japan:
- Unless there are signs indicating it’s okay to ride on sidewalks, you shouldn’t do so. In general, stick to the road. However, depending on traffic conditions, it may be fine to ride on sidewalks. When you do, the speed limit is 10 km/h. In general, riding on sidewalks is only for under 13-year-olds, those over 70 or the disabled.
- Ride in the direction traffic flows always. In 2013, due to an onslaught of cycling-related road accidents, the Road Traffic Law was revised. Since then, cyclists caught going against the flow of traffic would face up to 30 days in prison or a ¥20,000 fine!
- When you’re cycling, you shouldn’t be using your mobile phone or listening to music. Keep the distractions away so you can reach your destination safely.
- Riders under 13 years of age should wear helmets. As for adults, they are not obliged to.
- Unless there are signs indicating cycling shoulder to shoulder is allowed, it isn’t.
- Most of the routes below go past some convenience stores or supermarkets; however, it’s always useful to carry some money on you, just in case you come past a vending machine. Not all vending machines have been updated to allow for electronic payments.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Totsuka / Yokohama Bay Brewing Totsuka
This route takes you along two famous routes : Route 1, known as The Old Tokaido, and also the Kashio-gawa. The Tokaido route, which roughly means “eastern sea route,” was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
The Kashio-gawa begins in Kashio, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama at the confluence of the Akuwa River (阿久和川) and the Hiradonagaya River (平戸永谷川) and flows for 11 kilometers to the city of Fujisawa, where it merges with the Sakai River at the confluence known as Kawana.
But before you get there, you’ll end up at Yokohama Bay Brewing Totsuka, where you can sit outside with a couple of well made beers, and watch the trains pull in and out of Totsuka station. With three different train lines, plus the Yokohama Blue Line, you’ve got plenty of ways to get back home.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Hachioji / Shared Brewery
For this route, you’ll be going along the Tsurumi-gawa for the majority of the riding, and then joining up with the Kamakura-kaido. The Tsurumi-gawa originates from a spring in Kamioyamada- cho, Machida City, Tokyo , and flows into Tokyo Bay from its mouth in Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama City.
The shape of the basin resembles a tapir, so it is nicknamed the “tapir basin,” and tapirs are often used as mascots. Just don’t go swimming in it as the river is often ranked second or third worst in the annual water quality surveys. The Kamakura-kaido though is a generic name of a great number of roads built during the Kamakura period which, from all directions, converged on the military capital of Kamakura, with this route being known as The Kami no Michi.
Eventually, you will get to Shared Brewery for some fantastic well made beers with some you can take away. Hirayamajōshi-kōen Station is only a five minute walk away, so pick up some beers to drink on the train back into Tokyo.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Kamakura / Yorocco Beer Pub Sasameza
Kamakura is well known for its temples and hikes but have you thought about cycling here? It’s not much farther than Totsuka, and you’re following the same river except at the end you turn left and do a slow cycle through the back of the area. However, there is a hill that takes you past Ennoji and other temples. It’s a route I’ve done many a time and still enjoy it.
You end up going through the main road through the town, and in spring and autumn, it’s stunning. Take some time at the temples along the route – the bar is always going to be there at the end – and stretch those legs and muscles. You’ll end up at Yorocco Beer Pub Sasameza for a good few pints and for some, the best is yet ahead.
You’ll be taking the Enoden line, from either Wadazuka or Yuigahama, which has seen an upsurge in its popularity due to a certain manga, back to either Kamakura or Fujisawa. Go at the right time towards Fujisawa, stand at the front of the train with your bike, and you’ll have one of the best views, and sunsets, you’ll ever see.
Craft Beer and Cycling : Chigasaki / Gold’n Bub OR Pepown
For this route, instead of going left after Ofuna to get you into Kamakura, we’re going to keep following the Kashio-gawa down to the confluence with the Sakai-gawa, one of Kanagawa’s longest, and most popular, cycling paths along a river. It’s a pleasant ride, and riding along this part of the Kashio-gawa means you’ll pass the Ofuna Flower Centre, which is a wonderful place to stop off and meander around in Spring / Autumn.
As you ride along the Sakai-gawa, you’ve got two choices – the main ride or along the river banks. Both have prescribed cycle lines; the former with blue chevrons marked along the road, and the later with rules of the road being enforced. Eventually, you’ll get to Enoshima and follow the Pan Pacific route or the beach path all the way to Chigasaki.
Take a right at the entrance to Chigasaki Station road, and along you’ll ride to Gold’n Bub or Pepown – taprooms for the local breweries of Barbaric Works and Passific Brewing. Both of these are worthy of your time, and with JR Chigasaki less than a five minute walk away, you could do both and get some takeaway beers in for the train ride home.
- https://roadbikerentaljapan.com/how-to-take-a-bike-on-a-train-in-japan/?srsltid=AfmBOooO1ObX_fbuIsbATOYYPr2qlO9LqZ6niw_bSyV747W4QnXKJDrp ↩︎
- https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221103/p2a/00m/0na/019000c ↩︎
