Tokyo Loop

日本夏2026年 - Tokyo Loop
May 28, 2026
Tokyo Loop-  53.8 Km
Start 8:40 AM
Finish 3:13 PM
Total Duration 6:32
Moving Time 3:35
Stopped Time 2:57
Ascent 285m
Descent 290m
Tour Total  54 Km

The long overnight flight to Tokyo was uneventful—always a small victory. I landed at 5 a.m., bleary but energized, and took a taxi to the hotel where I reassembled my bike, piece by piece, easing back into the rhythm of the road.

My first stop was my favorite café called Saison, where I ordered a cappuccino and a flaky pain au chocolat. The morning had already turned hot and bright. I was in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey, quickly realizing that Tokyo’s summer doesn’t wait for you to catch up. Sunscreen became essential armor.
From there, I rode to the Arimasuton—better known as the “Zombie Fish Building”—a surreal, hand-built concrete structure created over two decades by architect Keisuke Oka. It feels less like architecture and more like a living sculpture, organic and slightly unsettling, as if it grew rather than was constructed.
Heading northeast, I passed Tokyo Tower, its bright red frame cutting into the skyline. By then I was getting the hang of riding on the left side of the road again—adjusting to awkward right-hand turns, learning patience at crosswalks, and rediscovering the fluid way locals alternate between sidewalks and streets.

I continued on to the so-called Weird Vending Machine Corner near Akihabara. I’d heard it had lost some of its former charm—and it has—but vending machines are such a defining part of Japanese culture that it still felt worth the detour. The machines, a bit worn and eccentric, offered a strange, nostalgic glimpse into that world.

On the east side of the city, I visited Matsuchiyama Shoden, a centuries-old Buddhist temple known for its daikon motif, symbolizing harmony and good fortune. Piles of fresh daikon—Japanese radishes—were stacked as offerings, an unusual but quietly beautiful sight.

Then came my first mishap. I missed a turn and tried to make a quick U-turn on the sidewalk. I misjudged the pavement—different in texture and height than I’m used to—and went down hard. Nothing serious, but I scraped my left elbow and picked up a few bruises. A quick reminder: even on familiar ground, details matter.

I carried on to Ueno Park, Tokyo’s answer to Central Park, and visited the ornate Ueno Toshogu Shrine. Sitting beneath a centuries-old camphor tree, I let the stillness settle in—a welcome contrast to the constant motion of the city.

Avoiding the crowds of Shibuya and Shinjuku, I pedaled west toward Koenji, where I stopped for an excellent sashimi and udon lunch at Mekiki no Ginji.

By late afternoon, my phone battery was nearly dead, so I relied on my Wahoo to navigate back to the hotel. The ride took me through a mix of quiet residential streets and wide, traffic-heavy boulevards—Tokyo constantly shifting between intimate and immense.

Tomorrow is another day in the city—another chance to adjust, explore, and endure what promises to be even hotter weather.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
Greetings, friends! Summer is here—which means it’s time for another bike tour… back to Japan. I actually rode around Okinawa and Amami this past January—904 km over 10 days—but the effort didn't seem blog worthy. This tour will focus on parts of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu that I haven’t yet explored. Along the way, I’ll meet up with friends and even team up with a cycling partner for a stretch across Shikoku. The journey begins with an ambitious goal: attempting to ride up Mount Fuji via the Fujinomiya Line, the most difficult road bike climb in Japan. From there, I’ll follow the Pacific Coast route all the way to Wakayama. In Shikoku, I’m trading coastlines for climbs, focusing on the rugged mountainous interior. Then it’s back to Honshu, heading west to Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefecture, before crossing over to Kyushu and making my way to Fukuoka. From there, I plan to loop around Kyushu’s western coast. The bike is tuned, the bags are (almost) packed—and I’m ready to roll. Th...
Read more

日本夏2026年 - Tokyo Bigger Loop

Image
May 29, 2026 Tokyo Bigger Loop - 88 Km Start 7:24 AM Finish 2:31 PM Total Duration 7:09 Moving Time 5:21 Stopped Time 1:48 Ascent 560m Descent 573m Tour Total  142 Km Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/386637790 I slept well in my hotel room in Tokyo and woke early, the city already humming. My first stop was Saison—cappuccino and a pan au chocolat—before rolling out into the heat. The night before, I’d mapped a wide loop to conserve phone battery and push into neighborhoods I hadn’t yet seen. Heading toward the harbor, I passed through Shinagawa and the shrine where I’d welcomed the New Year back in January. From there, the route slipped into a cluster of sleek, sterile office towers before opening onto the waterfront, where artificial islands stitched together by elevated expressways form a kind of concrete archipelago. I traced the shoreline as best I could. In Ginza, I rode past the Kabukiza Theatre and Tsukiji Hongwan-ji Temple, then crossed the sweeping Tatsumisakura B...
Read more

Other Tour Logs

• Unicycle NYC Bridge Tour • Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail Unicycle Tour • St. Petersburg Bridge Tour  • Rusty Crank Coast 2 Coast Bicycle Tour • RC Trans Northern Tier Bicycle Tour • To the Bottom of the World • COVID CROSS • Southern Tier Part 1 • Southern Tier Part 2 • Southern Tier Part 3 • Western Express 2021 • TransMexico • TransMexico 2 • The Great Divide (NOBO) • Silk Road Mountain Race • 日本夏2024年 • 日本夏2025年 • Baja Divide • Chainweel Diaries Interview
Read more