{"id":111736,"date":"2026-03-02T15:34:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/?p=111736"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:34:38","slug":"kyoto-bicycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/en\/kyoto-bicycle\/","title":{"rendered":"KYOTO BICYCLE<br>From Kyoto\u2019s historic streets, <br>over mountain passes, <br>to the scenic coasts of Tango."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u203bThis article is a re-edited excerpt from content originally published in the November 2016 issue of the magazine\u00a0<\/a>PAPERSKY no.52<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takashi Chiyoda, founder and buyer of the outdoor gear shop Moonlight Gear in Iwamoto-cho, Tokyo, is a central figure in Japan\u2019s alternative outdoor scene. He\u2019s helped define the culture of ultralight hiking (UL) and fastpacking, not only through his impeccable eye for gear, but by actively taking to the field and sharing his experiences. Interestingly, his recent social media posts have been less about hiking and more about bikepacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually got into the outdoors through mountain biking,\u201d explains Chiyoda-san. \u201cBack in my senior year of college, I bought a mountain bike, more for the look than anything else. But I realized pretty quickly that unless I actually used it, I wasn\u2019t going to pull it off. I had time on my hands, so I started riding all over the place. That led me to hiking, and eventually to ultralight gear. Now it\u2019s even become my job. But to be honest, mountain biking is still what I love most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I enjoy most is pushing my bike up a mountain at night, camping at the summit, then flying down the trails at sunrise. That whole camp-and-downhill style really hits the spot for me. But until recently, I didn\u2019t want to mix cycling with UL. I\u2019d drawn a line between the two. Cycling was my hobby, UL was my work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Riding along the coast of the Tango Peninsula with views of the Sea of Japan. Chiyoda-san, the strong rider, was always leading the pack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Chiyoda, what finally brought the two worlds together was the rise of a new outdoor culture: bikepacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout five years ago, I started seeing photos on overseas sites. Bikes rigged with these strange-looking bags. Before long, bikepacking had become a real movement in the West. Then brands started popping up with slogans like \u2018Ultralight Bikepacking,\u2019 and I thought, \u2018This is something we need to be talking about.\u2019 After that, I was hooked. Like a fish returned to water. Now it\u2019s bikepacking all the time,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
On the way from Arashiyama to Kameyama, we took shelter from the rain at a teahouse just before the mountain pass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, it wasn\u2019t straightforward. Bikepacking as a concept evolved in places like the US, where the terrain is often wide and flat. Trying to adapt that approach to Japan with its steep, mountainous landscapes meant navigating a lot of unknowns. It took time to find a way to \u201ctranslate\u201d the method for local terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI kind of took it upon myself to define what bikepacking could be in Japan,\u201d Chiyoda says. \u201cAt first, I felt like it had to cover long distances or stick to unpaved trails. As if it didn\u2019t count otherwise. I think I was a bit too rigid about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut then I started trying different styles, circling the Noto Peninsula, pass-hunting across Yatsugatake, island trips on Izu \u014cshima and other places. The feeling of each journey would gradually settle into my body. Now I think it\u2019s totally fine for bikepacking to take different forms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Riding unpaved roads through the rainy mountains of Kyoto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The trip PAPERSKY planned turned out to be a slower-paced journey than what Chiyoda-san usually takes on, but that shift brought its own rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI normally go for one or two nights, maybe three,\u201d he confesses. \u201cAnd to make those short trips feel worthwhile, I end up pushing myself, trying to go farther, do something harder. But this time we had six days, so we had the space to do things like light a fire on the beach or take it slow in the morning over coffee. It reminded me that slow trips are great too. Even though we still covered good ground and climbed a few passes, it all felt pretty relaxed. I think that\u2019s really thanks to having such a light pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A parting photo with the proprietress of Kurachu, the boathouse inn that hosted us.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A luxurious lunch at HOLIDAY HOME, a hotel in Kumihama.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This trip wasn\u2019t just slower-paced, it stood out for the people we met and parted with along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the first day, getting to ride Vincent\u2019s \u2018home mountain\u2019 with him was great. He was telling me, \u2018Kyoto Prefecture has got tons of trails. You can ride down this one, that one,\u2019 and I honestly got a bit jealous. And the visit to Otokomae Tofu Shop! I realized factory tours are totally fair game for bikepacking. I had a genuinely great time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking with locals is always one of the best parts. Like the baker up in the mountains, or the folks running Bokkatte where we stayed on the second night. I loved hearing about why they moved there. That kind of conversation adds life to the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with bike travel, you\u2019ve got to climb a tough pass or two to even get to places like that, right? When you show up like that, I feel like people really appreciate it, like, \u2018you actually came all the way out here?\u2019 I think that\u2019s why Aki-san from Bokkatte ended up joining us for part of the ride. I nearly died on a few of those climbs, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Setting up a tarp in a hurry before sunset at the campsite in Kotohiki Beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
All of us slept together under one tarp during the trip. This night, we camped right in front of the Sea of Japan at Kotohiki Beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
After a steep climb, we reached Ouchi-toge Ichijikan Park, an incredible viewpoint overlooking Amanohashidate, one of Japan\u2019s three most iconic scenic spots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oh, yes. The biggest struggle, and the most unforgettable part of this trip, was the endless mountain passes. When you\u2019re riding through Japan, where most of the country is mountainous, there\u2019s no avoiding them. But something changed after crossing so many. We realized we didn\u2019t hate them anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how brutal a climb is, the end will always come. And just like with hiking, reaching the top feels good. Simple as that. If you\u2019re debating whether or not to take the long way around or go over a pass, trust me, the day always feels more meaningful if you take the pass. At some point, while gritting my teeth on yet another climb, I started thinking, maybe it\u2019s the same with life. Whether it\u2019s a day or a lifetime, pushing through the hard parts makes it feel worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Climbing pass after pass beneath a bright sky, with the Sea of Japan glimmering beside us.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
On the final day, soaking in the afterglow of the trip aboard a boat from Ine to Miyazu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure, mountain passes are tough. And yeah, if you\u2019re optimizing for distance or speed, sticking to national roads probably makes more sense. But if we\u2019re talking about the joy of the journey, then passes win every time. I honestly feel like one pass a day is ideal,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJapan\u2019s terrain gives you so much variety. It\u2019s never flat for long, and that rhythm\u2014climb a pass, reach a plain, climb another\u2014makes each new town or village feel earned. It deepens the sense of traveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trip made me realize that. I used to think of bikepacking more as an activity, focused on the ride itself, how to corner through a descent, that kind of thing. But travel is different. The places you visit give you something, leave something with you. The changing scenery, the shift in mood. That\u2019s where the fun is. People might think bikepacking sounds hard or technical, but it\u2019s actually a very relaxed, flexible way to travel. You feel the wind, you feel free, and you can just keep going. Even for a trip longer than this one, the gear stays the same. As long as you\u2019ve got half a day to dry your laundry, the journey continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even just riding through Kyoto Prefecture, I discovered so much I\u2019d never seen. There\u2019s still a whole Japan I haven\u2019t met. When I get home, I think I\u2019ll take another look at the map.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The journey ended in the terraced rice fields of Ine. The deep blue sky and sea set against the vivid green of the paddies was a breathtakingly beautiful contrast.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Arriving at the final stop, Ine\u2019s fishing port. Looking out over the calm sea and the village\u2019s iconic boat houses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n


Takashi Chiyoda<\/strong><\/a>
Takashi Chiyoda is the founder and lead buyer of Moonlight Gear<\/a>, an outdoor gear shop located in Iwamotocho, Tokyo. Beyond running the store, he\u2019s active across multiple facets of the outdoor industry: distributing overseas brands, organizing events, and developing original products. An avid adventurer himself, Chiyoda regularly shares insights from his own challenging journeys, whether hiking, fastpacking, or bikepacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspired by the website Pannier and their vision, \u201cThe bicycle is the perfect tool for exploring and discovering the world,\u201d PAPERSKY set out on a 6-day, 320km cycling journey from Kyoto Station to the Tango Peninsula to discover a side of Japan still unseen. Joining the trip was Takashi Chiyoda, an expert in ultralight outdoor travel and owner of the select shop Moonlight Gear. Together, we explored what it means to travel Japan by bicycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":111758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[119,118],"tags":[415,4613,17,34,2815,900,10028],"place":[223],"writer":[],"class_list":["post-111736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-guides-en","category-hike-and-bike-en","tag-bicycle","tag-bike-2","tag-bike-packing","tag-cycling-2","tag-issue-52-en","tag-kyoto-2","tag-takashi-chiyoda","place-kyoto-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKYOTO BICYCLE<br>From Kyoto\u2019s historic streets, <br>over mountain passes, <br>to the scenic coasts of Tango.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Takashi Chiyoda, founder and buyer of the outdoor gear shop Moonlight Gear in Iwamoto-cho, Tokyo, is a central figure in Japan\u2019s alternative outdoor scene. 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