Bike ride across Japan's Seto Inland Sea - rider really needed an ebike and a spare battery

[Dewey]

Enjoyed watching fellow expat Brit Chris Broad's Journey Across Japan video blog series but the highlight was his bicycle ride across the Seto Inland Sea, you can feel this man's pain as he navigates the Shimanami Kaido cycle route, a series of steep hill climbs to ride across 6 bridges connecting islands - the views are beautiful, but man if ever a guy and his riding companion needed ebikes...

 

[Roxlimn]

That is exactly what I thought as well. I was wondering whether I could ship either of my ebikes to Japan for the purpose, but since bicycles there are registered, that adds another wrinkle to the plan that's already problematic because it involves shipping the battery. I think some rental shops do rent out electric bicycles now specifically for use on this stretch of touring. Maybe. I'd love more information on it, but I can't read Japanese.

 

[ebikemom]

There are many ebikes in Japan, and rentals for tourists. And you can't ship your battery.

Ruthy Kanagy leads personalized cycling tours in Japan. She grew up there and will be able to get you all of the information you need, if you would like to work with a professional. http://japancycletours.com

One time I spent a month in Japan and needed a bike (before there were widespread ebikes)--I bought a used bike and then sold it back to the shop a month later. Perfect!