The Secrets of Japan

Sixteen days around Japan from Tokyo, which is among the best and least obvious motorcycling countries anywhere: the surfaces are immaculate, the mountain roads are endless and the traffic away from the cities is light.

Kawazu comes first along the Izu peninsula’s skyline roads, then Yamanakako beneath Mount Fuji. Fuji is 3,776 metres, almost perfectly symmetrical and visible for a hundred kilometres on a clear day, and the roads around its base are the best introduction to Japanese riding there is. Hamamatsu follows by way of Ise Bay, then Kumano via Koya, the mountain temple town that has been a centre of Buddhist pilgrimage for twelve hundred years and where visitors can stay in the monasteries.

Kyoto gets the rest day and needs it, with more than a thousand temples and the old imperial palace. After that the route takes in Himeji Castle, the finest surviving original castle in the country, the Rainbow Line above the Mikata Five Lakes, and the Chirihama Beach Driveway, which is a stretch of hard sand that is legally a road. The Japanese Alps follow to a rest day at Nanao, then Nikko with its lacquered shrines.

Edelweiss include a choice of BMW motorcycle, fifteen nights across middle-range hotels and traditional local accommodation, a guide and a tour book. Flights are separate and the inclusions are not itemised in full on the operator’s page. Prices are per person for 2026. The mix of ryokan nights and hotel nights is part of the appeal rather than a compromise.