Tokyo ~ Osaka (Tokkaido)
For a first tour, many people choose to do a Tokyo to Osaka, or vice versa course. This page will look at riding from Tokyo to Osaka (but the same info can be used for the reverse) following along the Tokkaido (look for a different article for going via Nakasendo or Koshukaido)
Sections of the Route
Getting out of Tokyo
Getting out of Tokyo can be one of the least enjoyable parts of a tour starting in a city.
Going over Hakone
Some may like the challenge of going over the huge mountains of Hakone but on loaded touring bicycle it can be a difficult slog.
Our preference is to take the old 246 route and skip Hakone to the north. Most sections of Route 246 have the old road still there and ont he far side of the river.
The Route 1/Route 732 over Hakone peaks out at around 850m (850 thankless meters as there is traffic and no scenery at all, several sections are quite steep for a loaded touring bike) where as the Northern Route (via old-246) peaks out at just 480m with an average 1.5% climb
Crossing Shizuoka
Crossing Shizuoka is the largest single section of getting from Tokyo to Osaka. Shizuoka is a very wide prefecture.
A 40km section of Shizuoka coast line does have a bike path along them and it was very nice. It’s definitely on of the hidden gems of the area. Shizuoka even put in some bicycle only bridges to get over the rivers (like the Shiosai Bridge pictured on the right)
There are also sections have have near deserted small roads along the coast.
Passing through Nagoya
Nagoya is known as a city for the car.
Unless you are actively trying to do Route 1 end-to-end. We recommend to skip Nagoya all together and use the ferry that connects Irago (East) to Toba (West) with 8 ferries a day (schedule, Japanese only).
The ride along Atsumi Peninsula to/form Irako port can be nice and is much less built up that the main Tokkaido Route. On the south side of the peninsula significant sections have a bicycle route along them but we haven’t ridden them to confirm their quality.
Getting to Kinki
There are a few ways to get from Toba towards Osaka, and all of them have some hills to them but not particularly significant. None of the routes seem to be particularly trafficy as most traffic sticks to Route 25
Route 166 – Pretty much a straight line route. Altitude 600m pass at the top
Route 368/369 – A bit more in the mountains than Route 166, has ups and downs along the way.
Route 165 – Lower peaks, but there are two of them so the climbing is about the same as the other routes. Some traffic, but also a bit of a detour from Toba so longer overall kilometers. Largely follows the Kintetsu railway line.
Route 163 – By far the least amount of climbing with one pass at 350m and takes you farther North, to central Nara City (which may be what you want!). Also passes through Iga, famous for samurai and might also be worth a visit on your tour
Entering Osaka
Our prefered way of getting into Osaka from the South is to follow the Ishi River and then connect the Kisu Old road and ride into town.
For those willing to take a more direct route with more traffic, Route 25 is also an option.
