“As Long As There’s A View”: How Cycling in the Rain Still Makes For a Perfect Day in Japan

Camille Remi Kirby is the Content Creator on the 2025 Journey to the East Cycling Adventure.

Upon posing the question of “what is your perfect day on a bike?” to 2025 Journey to the East rider Richard Hughes, from Australia, he simply replied “Well, yesterday would be a good contender.”

This “yesterday” he speaks of was our journey from Matsuyama to Kochi, two smaller cities connected by beautiful rolling green hills and river valleys. After days of rain and a canceled ride day due to a mini typhoon system, it was a glorious time to get back on the bike. As the riders navigated narrow roads covered with foliage, pristine water splashed down below from a rumbling river after days of rain. Each corner called for a sweeping new view of the river down below and a new puff of mist spreading over the hills. Yet still cold and rainy, those stop-for-a-picture lookouts seemed to keep the riders thrilled.

This question of one’s perfect day on a bike has become a hot topic on a tour that is plagued by rain and clouds. The term “perfect” had to be stripped away and reconsidered; every day we’ve had to embrace the elements that make cycling classically miserable. But it seems like TDA riders are cut of the same stone, at least on this specific trip and year. Every one can find something that made their ride day perfect, and not a single day has been deemed “not a great ride day.” Sure, it’s raining cold droplets, but herons have been flapping their wings beside me every kilometer or so – something like that makes up for the uncomfortableness.

The same goes for our climbing, which is steep and long. Going up means the better the view, so the theory stands that a good view point can make up for challenging riding. Richard says that sometimes it’s “just about the views.” Maybe these gorgeous outlooks possess a hidden sort of magic, as it’s hard to find a rider not smiling during a steep climb or in the pouring rain.

On a ride from Iya Valley in the mountains to Kotohira on the coast, we came across the Unpen-ji Temple, number 66 on the 88-temple Shikoku Pilgrimage, a trip that takes Buddhists by foot to visit these temples dispersed across Shikoku island. To visit the temple, riders had to climb an additional 800 meters off track, in the cold and the heavy fog. Despite the conditions, almost every rider did the extra climb. They walked the ground of the temple hidden away in dense foggy forest, getting soaked but enjoying it. Stops like these energize the riders, feeding off of the magic of Buddhist temples and spiritual sites. Catherine Hodges, from New Zealand, put it this way: “You end the ride with more energy than you started with.”

Another Journey to the East rider from the U.S., Brian Rodgers, looks for a narrow track with no false summits as his perfect day of riding. A mix of shade and sun will do it for him.

Jenny Walker, from the U.S. too, is here to see Japan but not necessarily determined to ride every kilometer of it. Her perfect day is one that pushes her out of her comfort zone, pushes her one more kilometer then she’s used too. If she can get half way up the main ascent, that’s a win. She is simply enjoying her time in this miraculous, gorgeous hilly country. She wanted to see Japan and knew traveling via bike would be the best way, so for her every day she’s riding is the perfect day.

Sure, every day isn’t perfect. Flat tires have been had, chains have fallen off, we’ve had a couple of falls, and the rain just keeps chasing us, but no one seems to mind over here on the Journey to the East. What matters to our riders is that they’re seeing Japan in the best way possible – via bike. They’re embracing uncomfortable riding in one of the most gorgeous landscapes in the world. How could you get more perfect than that!

RELATED
TOUR

Journey to the East

While South Korea and Japan are close neighbors, their lands and cultures are completely unique. Cycling across these countries, one after the other...