Hokkaido Cycling Explorer

Welcome to Hokkaido, Japan's northern main island. We will meet you at Sapporo Chitose Airport, after your connection from Tokyo, and our first night will be here at our luxurious 5-star hotel.

After check-in, we’ll help you get set up with your bike and then you have the afternoon to settle into the local culture. You can enjoy the hotel’s stunning onsen and, if you wish, we can assist you in advance booking of spa treatments or a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.

At pre-dinner welcome drinks, our guides will provide you with your Grand Tours Project kit and musette bags, and talk you through the plan for the week. One of your guides is a former professional rider and is available to you for advice and stories about his racing career.

You will then enjoy a spectacular welcome dinner of refined Japanese cuisine, dining together as a group at the hotel’s gastronomic restaurant.

We have a gentle first day of riding to introduce us to the local landscape. After breakfast we will transfer you to the start point of the ride at the waterfalls in Sangaitaki Park. From there we have an easy roll down towards Lake Toya and then a flat circumnavigation of the lake. Admire the caldera lake with its central island and active volcano surroundings in the Toya-Usu UNESCO Global Geopark.

We finish our ride with lunch on the shores of Lake Toya, our beautiful base for the next 3 nights.

After checking into your 4-star hotel, explore the local area or make use of the indoor or outdoor hot springs overlooking the lake.

We will be heading out for dinner at a local family-run restaurant, before heading onto the lake itself for a spectacular evening cruise with fireworks!

Today we ride out from Lake Toya and through the spectacular and appropriately named ‘Hell Valley’ mountain pass to Noboribetsu, one of Hokkaido’s most famous hot spring towns.

We will break for a delicious and well-earned lunch of soba noodles in Noboribetsu, where we can marvel at the town’s hot steam vents and other volcanic activity. We have the opportunity then to visit one of the town’s ryokan to enjoy the hot springs, either choosing to finish your ride here or, if you have the legs, ride back over the mountain pass down to Lake Toya.

Refuel from the day’s exertion with a relaxed buffet dinner at the hotel, overlooking the lake and its fireworks.

We start our ride again from Lake Toya, this time joining the coastal road at Date and tracing Uchiara Bay towards Cape Chikyu where we meet the North Pacific Ocean. Admire the coastal views along the way, with the options to stop at Tokarisho Observatory lookout point and the Cape Chikyu lighthouse, from where, on a clear day, you can see the curvature of the earth on the Pacific horizon.

We'll stop for lunch at the farthest point of the peninsula, with views over the Hakucho Bridge. We can then continue the ride along the Cape back towards Lake Toya, or hop in the van to be transported back for a relaxed afternoon.

We’re on the move today so after breakfast we will check out of Lake Toya and put our bags in the van for our next destination. Onto the bikes, and we’re heading inland through Hokkaido’s hinterland, following the beacon of Mount Yotei as we skirt it from the south and head up towards the popular ski resort of Niseko. Riders wanting a shorter route may choose to finish the ride upon reaching Niseko, while others wanting to go further will continue the route round to the north of Mount Yotei before turning back to Niseko.

Upon reaching Niseko there is much to explore in this mountain town. After checking into our 4-star hotel for the night, we can make use of its in-house baths or head to the popular Yogokoretei onsen. There is also plenty of shopping nearby.

After a good breakfast the GTP van will transfer us to our next stage near Kimobetsu where we will start climbing towards Lake Shikotsu and trace its south-eastern perimeter towards our destination on the eastern shore. You can choose to finish here or continue to climb the slopes of the active volcano Mount Eniwa for those Strava stats! Lake Shikotsu, our final destination, is a spectacular deep, clearwater lake encircled by mountains, including Mount Tarumae, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes. For the afternoon, enjoy some water-based activities or take on the Mount Tarumae trailhead hike towards its crater.

Our last supper will feature delicious Japanese cuisine, as we recount together the memories we’ve made cycling in these wonderful volcanic landscapes and fascinating culture.

Sadly, our wonderful trip is over. We will help you remove your pedals from your rental bike or get your bike packed into its box. Once checked out, you can enjoy a wander around Lake Shikotsu before it’s time to head off. We’ll drive you the 35 minute transfer back to New Chitose airport in good time for your flight.

If you’ve travelled far to join us, why not consider spending the weekend in Tokyo on your route back home?

Safe travels and we hope to see you again soon on another Grand Tours Project trip!