Japan & Mt Fuji: Live the Olympic spirit

Welcome to beautiful Japan. We will meet you at Haneda Tokyo Airport and transport you to our beautiful hotel on the northern side of Mount Fuji. After a light lunch, we will prepare the bikes and the riders have the opportunity to test ride their bikes in the beautiful garden of the hotel. This evening we’ll discuss the program at welcome drinks, followed by a dinner at the hotel. We think many of you will want an early night after a long journey!

So many choices for rides! After a delicious breakfast we have decided that we will ride the beautiful roads around four lakes – Kawaguchi, Shoji, Saiko and Motosu. Make sure to fully charge the phones as there are many photo opportunities along the lake routes. The route is mainly flat so today is a relaxing ride.

Once back at the hotel, we have the opportunity to swim in the refreshing waters of Kawaguchi Lake, next to our hotel with Mount Fuji in the background.

We think everyone will be ready for today’s ride to Fuji Subaru Line Climb – its an iconic climb on the flank of Mount Fuji, but with an average gradient of 5%, it’s a long gentle climb and nothing to be afraid of. When we cross the peage we can stop for coffee and a break, regroup and continue to the summit. After the climb, you have an option of enjoying a long 25 km descent…or transferring by vehicle back to the hotel for some R&R.

We ride from our hotel towards Lake Yamanaka and explore the shoreline, riding the road race circuit around this lake before stopping for our special lunch stop – it was a spot strategically chosen to watch the Olympic riders speed past us. When we are ready, we will head back to our hotel, where we will enjoy watching on TV the higlights of the race from the comfort of the hotel lounge with a cold Japanese beer in hand.

After breakfast, we’ll take a short transfer to Yamanashi to start today’s adventure. We head towards the Japanese Southern Alps, the famous Akaishi Mountains. Our destination is Minobu-san for lunch and to relax in the "onsen" a hot spring before transferring back to the hotel. During the evening, we will have our last dinner in the great Fuji View Hotel, enjoying a delicious traditional Japanese dinner.

We depart from Fuji View Hotel today so make sure to have everything packed. Our bags will be transferred but we’ll ride from here to Lake Ashi, situated in the heart of Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.

For those guests seeking an additional challenge, we can offer you another Mount Fuji climb – Fuji Azami.

Back at the Hotel Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko, we can relax and watch some of the Olympic events of the day in the lounge of the hotel or dive into a Japanese cultural experience around the area.

We have a leisurely start today. When everyone is ready, we’ll set off to explore peaceful Lake Ashi – a delightful oasis close to major Japanese cities. Lake Ashi is a crater lake with stunning views to Mount Fuji and numerous hot springs and ryokan (Japanese inns). After riding one side of the lake, we will go to Izu Skyline, riding with amazing views of the Mt. Fuji. Then we will come back along the seashore of Atami. After our ride, we can spend some time at a traditional onsen or explore more of Fuji Izu National Park.

We have a packed day ahead of us. We’ll start early so we can explore the beautiful undulating Hakone area, visiting Owakudani, to ovserve the volcanic activity. We will stop at the vibrant red Hakone Shrine at the foot of Mount Hakone and on the shores of Lake Ashi.

Back to the hotel for shower and check out and then we’ll transfer to a beautiful Japan location on our way to Tokyo. We will have a great lunch and some special activities, getting to know the Japanesse culture. By the early evening we will head to our next Hotel in Tokyo. Once we get to Tokyo, we will have time for a relax walk and then a traditional dinner nearby.

Today we will explore the fantastic city of Tokyo. We can have a leisurely wake-up and then hit the Asakura streets in central Tokyo for a sightseeing tour followed by a traditional lunch. We can visit Tokyo Tower and Taishakuten Temple. There will be also a range activities and events that our team will suggest at the beggining of the trip, to make sure you get to know the best kept secrets of Tokio!

Our last dinner will be arranged in a special Japanese restaurant.

It's departure day and after breakfast, we will bid farewell to new friends before transferring you to Haneda Tokyo Airport.

Riding in Japan following the Olympics spirit in truly stunning environments and in a vastly different culture is amazing, and we hope that you will consider future tours here. Perhaps you would like to extend your time in Japan and keep exploring the beautiful Japan – let us know.

Until next time, safe journey home.