Bike

Training & Rides

Cycle Routes - discover and download cycle routes which have been ridden and recommended by TnT members

Friday Morning Brick Ride+Run - early morning bike hill repeats followed by run around the Palace. 

Tokyo Cycling Club - organises rides through their forum

Half Fast Cycling - Facebook group for organising rides and discussing cycling in Japan

Rolling Japan - English-language website with cycling routes all over Japan. Each route links to Tabi-rin (Japanese) which has links to bikemap.net (worldwide, English).  KML files can be downloaded, but if you prefer GPX, you can click on the "Open in Bikemap Web" button, where you can download the GPX for each route.

Chiririn - Japanese-language website with cycle routes all over Japan; unfortunately there are no GPX files, but it is a good resource for finding new routes.

Tabi-rin - the Japanese Tabi-rin website is a good resource for discovering interesting places to ride. You can download KML files for your Wahoo or Garmin head unit. There is also a Tabi-rin International with just a few courses.

Shimanami Kaido - iconic ride across bridges linking Shikoku with Honshu [maps here] [Hotel Cycle]

Miura Peninsular - Google Map of rides around Miura Peninsula, showing "aid stations" (often at convenience stores) with pumps and basic repair kits. Souyo Camp is a small shop and cafe at the southern end of the peninsula which sells inner tubes and puncture repair kits.

Races

Off-Road Cycling: TnT now has a page dedicated to everything off-road, including off-road triathlon, MTB, gravel, cyclocross, and gran fondo

Mt. Fuji Hill Climb - classic race up Mt. Fuji held early June; several thousand competitors climb 1255 m over 24 km

Hakone Hill Climb - an excellent and challenging hill climb starting in Odawara. The race follows the Hakone Turnpike for 13.4 km  and climbs 1000 metres

Japan Cycling Federation - the JCF has event calendars for the races it governs, including  road, MTB, and cyclocross.

Tour de Yatsu-ga-dake (第35回ツール・ド・八ヶ岳) TBD - another epic hill climb with 1300 m of climbing over 25 km

Norikura Hill Climb - up the highest paved road in Japan (2720 metres)

Niseko Classic (June 10-12, 2022) - 70  & 140 km road races and time trial, all in age groups. 

Tour de Nikko (early Sept) - various options, including 100 km mountain challenge.

Tour de Okinawa (autumn) - various road races,  including 210 km citiizen race. Reported to be the best amateur road race in Japan. Video here.

Services & Gear

USED 

Biciamore - used cycles and parts; they have a well-organised online store with road bikes, parts, and clothing. There are also physical stores all over Japan, including in Tokyo (Minami Azabu, Kanda)  and Yokohama.

Buychari (バイチャリ ) - used cycles and parts; they have a Yahoo online store and a chain of shops; Yokohama Totsuka shop staff are very knowledgeable and helpful.

Cycle Paradise (サイクルパラダイス) - used cycle store; has a warehouse in Edogawa, Tokyo and a Yahoo online store

Cycly (サイクリー) - online cycle store selling used bikes and parts; store in Fujisawa

Road Bike Kawmann - used road bike store in Fujisawa

Tokyo Cycling Club - has a "Classifieds" section on their forum

CYCLING (Japan) - Sell, Buy, Swap - Facebook group for people wanting to do just that; you need to apply for membership)

Valley Bikes - Japanese site for used bikes (in Japanese)

Crown Gears - new and used bikes and components; their shop is in Shibuya, and they have a good online store. The menu categories are easy to use, and the best of all there is a choice of new or used for each category. The site is in Japanese, but it has an English button for machine translation of the whole website. 

GEAR & TECH

Quintana Roo V-PR Review - Slowtwitch  review of QR's new tri bike, the V-PR; includes detailed information about bike fit

Helmet ratings - independent helmet ratings from Virginia Tech. Lazer helmets are rated most highly. MIPS technology works!

Switch Aero System - quick release clip-on aero bars for road bikes; they let you easily attach and remove the aero bars 

Di2 Guides - this website is dedicated to helping you get the best out of Di2 gear systems.

Roadbike Channel - YouTube channel showing "dream builds" of pro bikes, including Kristen Blumenfelt's Cadex sub-7  bike.

SALES, RENTALS, BIKE FITS & SERVICES

Bike fits are also available from our friends at Tokyo Physio whose approach combines human biomechanics and cycling biomechanics.

GS Astuto - Tim Smith supplies wheels, frames, bike rentals , and more.  Astuto Shuku is a rider's house in Gumma which has simple accommodation for cyclists. 

Alpha - cycle store in Higashi Kitazawa run by Taku Sekine who is fluent in English. Taku rents gear, including hard cases, and does repairs

Road Bike Rental Japan - English-language company based in Osaka and Kyoto, but able to delivery nationally 

CycleTrip BASE Akihabara - bike rental, including some high-end road bikes

Grove Kamakura - cycle store near Kamakura station which has reasonably priced rental of Specialized and Cannondale road and mountain bikes

S'fida - cycle store in Hasuda, Saitama Prefecture; one of only three stores in Japan using the Selle Italia ID Match bike fitting system. You can get a bike fit before ordering a bike, and the system will tell you which bike size to buy.

Zwift Bike Rental Store - you can rent a smart bike at this facility in Shiba-koen for just 1,500 yen per hour.

Various

Bicycle Insurance - Keren explains the importance of bicycle accident in this forum post. Third party liability insurance is recommended for all TnT members.  It is now becoming mandatory in some places. Here is a detailed review (in Japanese) bicycle insurance in Japan; the top 10 are ranked.

Bicycle couriers - information on delivery services within Japan

Flying with Bikes - a summary of the rules for various airlines, bike cases, CO2 cartiridges, etc.

Steephill - pro cycling news, reports and links to race videos

Everesting Hall of Frame - fancy a challenge? "Everesting" means cycling (or running) the height of Everest in one activity.

Home Repairs - Park Tools has an excellent database of step-by-step instructions on how to fix your bike (including YouTube videos).

Japan Eco Track - downloadable cycle route maps for various regions of Japan (both English and Japanese), together with sightseeing information, etc.

Bike packer hostels in Japan - Google map showing hostels and cheap accommodation for cycle touring in Japan