Cycling routes Hokkaido-Kyushu

Hello,

I will be coming to Japan in early September to do a sponsored cycle ride from Hokkaido to Kyushu to raise money for the Tsunami Relief fund.

I would be very grateful for any suggestions for places to visit to plan my route.

I will be cycling through the areas affected by the Tsunami, but apart from that I have no specific agenda as yet. I have 3 months so there is time for a lot of cycling!

I have an idea that the Japan Sea side of the country is quieter and so perhaps better suited for cycling (though of course I have to be on the Pacific side to visit the Tsunami affected areas).

If there are any routes or places to visit you could recommend, I'd be very happy to hear from you.

Arigatou gozaimashita!

from Kyusyu to Hokkaido Blog
http://www.unframedworld.com/japan-by-bicycle-about/
take care

Thank you, 'guest', for the very useful link.

No one have a memory of a beautiful little town or village on such and such a road?

A place that never gets mentioned in the guides, but is all the better for it???

I'm keen to get off the beaten track (while still on asphalt)... all recommendations eagerly and gratefully received.

A nice cycling route.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3478.html

Nihonmatsu is a beautiful town in Fukushima. I'm so saddened that a historic ryokan had to end their work there.

I just saw a video of Minami Sanriku washed away in the tsunamis taken by an evacuee. That was the most horrifying and traumatic thing I ever saw. I kept on weeping like a child. The person who took it lost his cat, house, neighbors and his hometown in just one event.

Please go through the Tohoku area, as it's beautiful and the people are nice. Every town in Tohoku was nice and peaceful when I traveled in my university years. I loved chatting with locals in onsens and while waiting for the train. Please visit the safe areas of Fukushima Prefecture also.

I am still weeping as I write this. Some many decent people lost their lives, and people there are still suffering. Thank you for your courage to take up the challenge to cycle for charity.

Thanks for the Shimanami post... I was already thinking about that... Kyoto - Kobe - Okayama - Hiroshima and then across the bridge into Shikoku (kind of feel I should travel on all 4 'home' islands to consider I've done the trip 'properly'). And I love the Seto Naikai!!

On the other hand, I am wondering what the roads are like round the Seto Naikai coast and thinking they may be quite congested from Kobe westwards. I am also wondering about an alternative route heading north-west from Kyoto to the Japan Sea side of Chugoku because I've heard it's beautiful around there too... what I don't know is how hilly it is and what it would be like crossing over from the Japan Sea side to Hiroshima...

To 'Thank you'... could you possibly contact me by message please? It sounds like you have some knowledge of the Tohoku region and I would welcome some advice about travelling there.