Nasu to Nikko by Bicycle: Onsen, Rice Fields & Shogun Country — 6 Days

A gourmet cycling route from Nasu's highland resort to Nikko's World Heritage shrines, riding through terraced farmland, cedar avenues, and mountain onsen villages.

This six-day cycling tour connects the highland resort of Nasu with the historic temple town of Nikko, tracing a route through some of the Kanto region's most productive agricultural land and most historically significant terrain. Nasu's aristocratic past — the area has hosted imperial summerhouses and elite ranches for over a century — has made it one of Japan's more serious food-producing regions, with dairy farms, wagyu cattle operations, and fresh vegetable growers clustered across the highlands. From there, the route descends through terraced rice paddies, onsen villages tucked into the deep mountainside of Shiobara, and the Nikko Cedar Avenue, an ancient samurai road flanked by cedars roughly 400 years old. The journey ends at Lake Chuzenji, reached by climbing the switchback Iroha-zaka slope above Nikko. Accommodation across the five nights prioritizes long-established ryokans and resort hotels in each locality, several of which have hosted heads of state and foreign dignitaries. Meals are a central feature of the itinerary: kaiseki dinners, a full-course farmhouse lunch using ingredients sourced on-site, fresh soba and tempura at a century-old mountain restaurant, and dairy-farm café stops for cheesecake and rice-flour ice cream. A support van accompanies the group throughout, handling luggage transfers, mechanical support, and rider resupply. Daily distances range from 30 to 70 kilometers at a moderate riding level, with e-hybrid bikes available for those who prefer assistance on the ascents.