Japan 2024 Kyushu

Bikes. We rented two YAMAHA (YPJ-EC) E-bikes for 24 days from XB Planning, Osaka. The rental fee was very reasonable and worked out to be 26USD/day each. They were solid, nothing fancy, with removable batteries that charged quickly. We mostly rode them with the assist enabled and never had range issues but we were not doing huge daily distances (max was 87km). We had opted for sizes Small and Medium, mainly because we would rather ride bikes that are a bit small  and raised the seat posts accordingly, rather than bikes that were too large. We found Shinya, the owner of XB Planning, to be very helpful and we recommend him. We could contact him via WhatsApp if required during the rental period. XB Planning (road bikes, e-bikes and folding bikes) is conveniently located for ferries to Kyushu. Ferries to Shikoku leave a little further south from Wakayama. Kyoto/Nara/Biwa and Kii Peninsula are also easily accessible from the XB Planning location.

Route Selection. We had roughly three weeks. We had cycled Kyushu before and I wanted to focus on the eastern side and the south. I would like to have gone to the Goto Islands in the NW but that would have required more time. I also considered taking the ferry to Yukushima Island from Kagoshima for a combination of cycling and hiking, but I sided with the Satsuma Peninsula (SW of Kyushu).  So, I adopted an itinerary between the two Sunflower ferry terminals. It was, more or less, about connecting the dots, and I built a route using the Google Maps, Open Street Maps (RWGPS, Komoot, Gaia.gps use it as a base map) and checking with Google Street View to ensure low traffic levels. I stored the route and off-line maps on Gaia.gps. Kyushu is blessed with an extensive rural road system. The intent was a relaxed, lifestyle trip with modest daily distances; we were tourists on bikes. 

Top Choices. We had so many excellent riding days including the following:  riding south of the Kuju Mountains, the areas NE and SE of Mt Aso, riding to the crater rim of Mt Aso was cool, the Gokase River roads from Takachiho, the #22 along the Omaru River in Miyazaki was nice and super quiet. Further south, the #220 South Miyazaki coast was beautiful, the #33 into Miyakonojo was fine riding, Miyakonojo itself was memorable, #1 into the Ebino Plateau was fine, but our ride east from Kirishima Onsen to the Green Hill Hotel was excellent. The Makurazaki coast on #220 was sublime riding, and reading the tea leaves on the Nansatu Panorama Line and then down into the the Ikeda Lake crater was a positive surprise.  The roads west of Ibusuki on the old volcanic crater, all seemed good. 

Accommodation:  I primarily used Google Maps to locate options (i.e. search on hotels, accommodation, vacation rentals). It seems that more and more Japanese accommodation options are available on easy-to-use portals such as Booking.com.  In addition, I booked with Trip.com, Agoda, AirBnb, and  Japanican,  I made most of the bookings well ahead of time. In most cases, I could reschedule with a few days notice. In some more popular places and also on Saturday nights, accommodation can be tight. I looked for houses (mostly on AirBnb) along the route where we could stay a couple of nights.