Japan Cycle Touring Packing: 2 Short Trips

Japan is one of those rare places where cycle touring feels both adventurous and approachable. Incredible infrastructure, thoughtful drivers, convenience stores everywhere, and routes that blend nature, culture, and food — sometimes all within the same kilometre.

But packing for cycle touring, especially for your first trip, can feel overwhelming. What do you really need? What’s overkill? And how do you balance being prepared without turning your bike into a wobbly pack mule?

This post breaks down how we packed for two very different but equally unforgettable Japanese cycling trips: the Shimanami Kaido and Lake Biwa — and why minimalist, bike-specific bags made all the difference.

What is Cycle Touring vs. Bike Packing?

First things first, you likely have heard two terms: bike-packing (or cycle-packing) and cycle-touring (or bike-touring). They are pretty similar in the sense that you are doing multiple days on the bike. However, the difference lies in the logistics. Bike packing is where you carry all your needs – clothing, sleeping equipment, cooking equipment, food, tools, etc. Whereas cycle touring, you are utilizing accommodations, cafés, restaurants, and other amenities, so only carrying clothing, toiletries and the day-to-day. Of course, when bike-packing, you might choose to stay in accommodation some nights and eat in restaurants, but are prepared to be self-sufficient.

Japan is well-suited to either style of travel, though we can only speak to cycle-touring:

• Well-maintained roads and bike paths
• Clear signage and predictable traffic behaviour
• Abundant food and water stops
• Luggage-forward culture — lockers, delivery services, and compact hotels

It’s touring that feels adventurous without being overwhelming. And is a great introduction to bike travel!

So, what did we use and do for our Japan cycle touring packing?

Japan Cycle Touring Gear

Tail bag

Instead of panniers (the bags that hang on either side of the rear wheel), we used a smaller, more streamlined bag system – tail bags. The tail bag attaches to your seat pole and is suspended behind your butt, above the rear wheel. It keeps the weight centred and the bag out of the wind, making for a more balanced ride.

Our tail bags had significantly less space/carrying volume than our panniers, which was for the better. When I’m packing – if there’s space, I’ll fill it. So this required us to be intentional with packing from home and before the rides. Another consideration for having small bags and less weight is elevation. There wasn’t much elevation on either of our Japan rides, so this wasn’t super impactful, but lighter weight will make a big difference when elevation is involved.

I had a waterproof bag, while Mark didn’t – so he ended up putting everything in a plastic bag before putting it in the tail bag and that worked fine. Photos of the tail bags on our bikes are below.

Backpacks

Normally, we don’t like to ride with backpacks on, but it was more utilitarian than bringing additional bike bags in our luggage. We used the backpacks as carry-ons for the airplane, too.

We have many other bags for cycle touring/bike packing that we didn’t bring on this trip. I will write another post about all our gear.

---

Japan Cycle Touring Packing in November

So we’ve discussed the bike gear, now let’s talk about logistics and clothing.

We checked the average temperature in the areas we were cycling to get a rough idea of what we would need. Then we checked the forecast many times before we departed Vancouver. We ended up packing for warm (not hot) and cooler, wet weather. I’d say we packed perfectly, as everything we brought, we wore and were neither too hot nor too cold. Mark’s philosophy on packing is – if you think you’ll regret not having it when it’s cold and wet, pack it.

Since we were also travelling around Japan, with the bike trips being part of a bigger trip, we packed our tail-bags into our larger travel backpacks. The tail bag ended up being like a packing cube. The night before we started our rides, we rearranged our bags – packing what we needed for the few days into our tail bags, smaller backpacks and the rest into our bigger travel backpacks for storage.

We used train station lockers for the Shimanami Kaido ride (1 night). For Lake Biwa, we were fortunate that the Marriott stored our bags till we checked in on the last day. Other options include storage lockers and paying for luggage transfer. The train station lockers looked and felt very secure.

Packing List

In addition to our biking gear, we each packed 1 pair of pants, 1 shirt & sweater, plus underwear for post-ride (& shower) sightseeing and food.

Note for Shimanami Kaido: we only packed 1 bib each. Since I had worn my t-shirt, I also packed my long-sleeved shirt, which I was grateful for in the morning and when the weather shifted a little.

Final Thoughts

Cycle touring in Japan doesn’t require extreme gear or heavy packing. With thoughtful planning and a few well-chosen bags, you can ride comfortably, efficiently, and still have room for snacks and souvenirs.

---

Pin this for later…

---

If you want more cycle-touring posts, look here:

If you want more Japan posts, look here: