I’ve just started planning a tour of Kyushu for next autumn. I’ll have 40 days to ride, middle of September to end of October (flexible depending on what you guys suggest). At the moment it‘s just 1333 km. I happily ride 100km days, but would like to average 60km/day to have lots of time to smell the flowers and take days off.

So, how should I adjust the route to get another 1000 km? I am totally uninterested in cities, culture, religion and history. Nature, forests, the sea, and sleeping under the stars mean so much more to me than things made by people.

Chugoku? Shikoku? (Not S. Korea). Another loop in Kyushu?

Open to any and all suggestions both in general and in detail. Thanks!

You should ride to the top of Mount Unzen. It's very cool. Watch the movie "Silence". It's set there.

You should also check out Mount Aso.

Last year I rode the entire length of Japan from Aomori to Nagasaki in 40 days, including big detours, crossing between the west and east coast multiple times, several mountain summits, and plenty of days off for sightseeing. It seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to spend your 40 days just on the one island.

But of course you will be able to go more in depth.

Thanks for the suggestions Yan. I haven’t been to Japan before, but I have a distinct feeling that it could become a habit. Hokkaido the summer after? 🧐

My thinking about staying mostly on one island is to get a bit away from going from A to B as I usually do, and roam about a bit more. I can even see myself going back around in the opposite direction, already revisiting places while on the same trip. The road always looks different travelling the other way.

I think you may be right. I've been three times and can't get enough. I agree with Yan that Mt Aso is worth the trip. Also check Nabegatake falls and Takachihio Gorge. If you prefer to be away from the crowds (not that there are many on Kyushu) there are also many islands worth exploring, like Tanegashima and Yakushima to the south, and the Goto Islands to the west.

Have fun planning. I'll be headed back myself next autumn, although to the other end, to see more of Hokkaido.

I suggest you do deep research into places to visit. That's just a route around the island missing almost everything. Aso is the second largest caldera on earth and has 5 mountains within its crater. If you missed that you can guess you missed most things. Spend hours on google maps looking at the photos embedded. Check YouTube though I would not limit it to people riding bikes. Check my own channel called waddo if you want. We are going there again this winter. I'd so half the distance and double the visiting.

I've been touring on my bike for the last 7 months.
What I've noticed is that my goals are now more biased towards visiting, hiking and sightseeing and less getting the miles in.
I totally dig riding my bicycle but I'm totally digging being part of the community for the afternoon and evening and observing the ebb and flow of the locals going about their daily lives or whatever.
I'm with waddo on this!

reporting from Bangkok