How do you cycle Japan end to end, from Cape Soya to Cape Sata?

To cycle Japan end to end, you link Cape Soya at the top of Hokkaido to Cape Sata at the southern tip of Kagoshima's Osumi Peninsula on a route of your own. MLIT's National Cycle Routes do not join the two capes into one signed line, so most of the way through Honshu and Kyushu you ride ordinary roads. The routes give you signed, serviced stretches to string along the way, from the 1,487 km Pacific Cycling Road to the 70 km Shimanami Kaido. Ride Hokkaido at ridehokkaido.com covers the island, and this guide picks the ride up at Aomori. Ride it north to south from September, or south to north in spring to stay ahead of the rainy season.

We built this from MLIT's list of National Cycle Routes, our own route files, JMA's rainy-season normals for 1991 to 2020 and the railways' bike rules, in October 2026. Route lengths are the organisers' published figures. The seasonal advice is our reading of JMA's normals, and the dates show what an average year looks like.

Which routes can you string together between Aomori and Cape Sata?

These signed routes lie along the natural lines south. Each length is the organiser's published figure.

Route	Where	Length (published)	Why it fits an end-to-end ride	The catch
Fukushima Hamadori Cycle Route	Fukushima's Pacific coast, Shinchi to Iwaki	179 km	The Pacific line south through Tohoku	A few narrow tunnels, and some roads stay closed to bikes under evacuation orders
Tsukuba-Kasumigaura Ring-Ring Road	Ibaraki	176 km	A car-free old railway line on the way to Chiba	A loop, so you ride only part of it heading south
Pacific Cycling Road, from stage 1 to stage 6	Choshi in Chiba to Kada port in Wakayama City	1,487 km	Six prefectures of the Pacific coast in one signed line	Two ferries, across the mouths of Tokyo Bay and Ise Bay
Akinada Tobishima Kaido or Shimanami Kaido	The Seto Inland Sea islands	Shimanami 70 km	Island bridges between Honshu and Shikoku	Each runs across the sea, so plan where you rejoin the mainland
Ama-Ichi	Amakusa, Kumamoto	152 km	The Amakusa islands on the way south through Kyushu	Narrow bridges between the second and fifth crossings

A rider who prefers the Sea of Japan coast can swap the Pacific line for the Toyama Bay Cycling Route at 102 km and the Tottori Uminami Road at 152 km. The Ishikawa Satoyama-Satoumi route between them runs 517 km, and on the Noto peninsula it still carries closures and detours after the 2024 earthquake. Check Ishikawa Prefecture's road map before you go and ride with care for towns that are rebuilding.

Long gaps sit between these routes, through northern Tohoku and from Wakayama to the Inland Sea. Our collection of National Cycle Routes lists all twelve with MLIT's lengths.

Who covers the Hokkaido part of the ride?

Ride Hokkaido, our sister guide, covers every place on the island, from its towns to its onsen. Cape Soya and the roads south to the strait belong to that site, and this guide starts again at Aomori. A rider skipping Hokkaido can begin at Shin-Aomori, which Hayabusa 5 reached from Tokyo in 178 minutes in the 2026 timetable on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Check the bike rules of whichever ferry or train you take across the Tsugaru Strait before you book it.

When is the best season to cycle Japan end to end?

September to November north to south, or April to early June south to north. JMA's normals for 1991 to 2020 put the start of the rainy season (梅雨, tsuyu) around 30 May in southern Kyushu, 5 June in Shikoku, 7 June in Kanto and 15 June in northern Tohoku. It ends around 15 July in southern Kyushu and 28 July in northern Tohoku. A spring rider who leaves Cape Sata in early April has about ten weeks before the rain reaches northern Tohoku, computed from those normals.

Region	Rainy season starts (JMA normal)	Rainy season ends (JMA normal)	What else to watch
Southern Kyushu	Around 30 May	Around 15 July	Aso's crater area closes at volcanic alert level 2 and above
Shikoku	Around 5 June	Around 17 July	Typhoons in late summer and autumn
Kanto and Koshin	Around 7 June	Around 19 July	Summer heat and humidity on the coast
Northern Tohoku	Around 15 June	Around 28 July	Zao's mountain road, further south in Tohoku, shut for winter on 4 November 2026

An autumn rider heading south meets the typhoon season on the Pacific coast, which runs through late summer and autumn, and should check JMA's warnings and the ferry operators' notices each morning. Our route file for the Pacific Cycling Road gives August means between 25.5 °C at Choshi and 27.4 °C at Irago on JMA's coastal stations, with high humidity, which is the main reason to avoid midsummer. Mountain roads close from the end of October: Norikura's high roads take their last traffic on 31 October 2026, and the Zao Echo Line shuts for the season on 4 November.

JMA moved Aso from volcanic alert level 3 to level 2 on 1 September 2026, and at level 2 the ground around Nakadake's first crater stays closed. The Aso caldera ride sits well outside that zone. Check JMA's page for Aso before you ride, because the level can change within a day.

How do trains and takkyubin help on a ride this long?

The Shinkansen skips a gap and takkyubin moves what you are not carrying. Every Shinkansen takes a bagged bike up to 250 cm and 30 kg. On the Sanyo and Kyushu lines, book a seat with an oversized-baggage area for the space behind the last row. On JR East's lines north of Tokyo there is nothing to book. Hakata to Kumamoto took 32 minutes on Mizuho 601 in 2026, and Shin-Osaka to Fukuyama for the Inland Sea took 61 minutes on Nozomi 101. Our guide to bikes on the Shinkansen sets out each line's rule.

Yamato will carry a bike you box yourself within 200 cm and 30 kg, and a 200 size parcel from Kanto to Kyushu cost ¥6,540 cash on 11 October 2026. Ship the empty box to your last hotel near the finish and you can pack the bike there for the trip home. Smaller bags go cheaper: Yamato's 160 size from Kanto to Kyushu cost ¥3,630. Our takkyubin guide has the sizes and the Sagawa suspension that followed its September 2026 breach.

Quick answers

Is there an official end-to-end cycle route in Japan?

No. MLIT's twelve National Cycle Routes do not join Cape Soya to Cape Sata, and riders link them with ordinary roads. The longest of them is the 1,487 km Pacific Cycling Road.

What is the best time of year to cycle the length of Japan?

Spring from April riding north, or autumn from September riding south. JMA's normals put the rainy season's start around 30 May in southern Kyushu and 15 June in northern Tohoku, so a spring rider leaving the south in early April has about ten weeks before it reaches northern Tohoku.

Where does a Cape Soya to Cape Sata ride start and finish?

A Cape Soya to Cape Sata ride starts at Japan's northern cape in Hokkaido and finishes at Cape Sata on the Osumi Peninsula in Kagoshima, at the southern tip of Kyushu.

Can I skip part of a Japan end-to-end ride by train?

Yes. Every Shinkansen takes a bike packed as rinko, within 250 cm and 30 kg. On the Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, book a seat with an oversized-baggage area for the bike bag.