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kiwiduncan
Joined: 09 Dec 2008
Posts: 4
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 Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:01 am Post subject: Good mountain biking in Japan? |
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I'm taking a break in New Zealand at the moment after close to six years on and off in Korea but I'm now considering teaching in Japan for an interesting change of scene.
Korea has surprisingly good mountain biking options and I'm wondering what Japan has to offer. From one former co-worker who lived in Japan for several years I heard that Japanese mountain trails tend to snake around the sides of the hills and mountains rather than just head straight up the ridgelines as they do in Korea. That means potentially better trails in Japan, but does anyone have any Japanese mountain biking experience, photos or contacts? (I've tried Japanese mtb sites but it's difficult to navigate without the language skills).
Are Japanese hikers friendly when they encounter mountain bikers? Koreans have been pretty welcoming and tolerant, and we've shared snacks and rice wine a few times.
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Duncan |
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carl0s
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: Good mountain biking in Japan? |
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| kiwiduncan wrote: |
I'm taking a break in New Zealand at the moment after close to six years on and off in Korea but I'm now considering teaching in Japan for an interesting change of scene.
Korea has surprisingly good mountain biking options and I'm wondering what Japan has to offer. From one former co-worker who lived in Japan for several years I heard that Japanese mountain trails tend to snake around the sides of the hills and mountains rather than just head straight up the ridgelines as they do in Korea. That means potentially better trails in Japan, but does anyone have any Japanese mountain biking experience, photos or contacts? (I've tried Japanese mtb sites but it's difficult to navigate without the language skills).
Are Japanese hikers friendly when they encounter mountain bikers? Koreans have been pretty welcoming and tolerant, and we've shared snacks and rice wine a few times.
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Duncan |
Yeah, there is some good mountain biking over here but it can take a while to get there depending on where you live. Nagano has some great downhilling(with lifts) and some good cross country from what I here too. I'm based in Yokohama and have recently found a pretty good jump park in Fujisawa as well as some pretty nice XC/DH trails in Zushi(both of these places are with 30 minutes of Yokohama station).
With the hiking trails, as long as there is no 'No bikes' signage, I think you're good to go. Most of the people I've met while riding have been friendly but you have to be careful on weekends cos some of the popular trails get pretty congested.
Try visiting www.outdoorjapan.com for some more info on mountain biking.
Good luck. |
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kiwiduncan
Joined: 09 Dec 2008
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:50 am Post subject: Re: Good mountain biking in Japan? |
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| carl0s wrote: |
With the hiking trails, as long as there is no 'No bikes' signage, I think you're good to go. Most of the people I've met while riding have been friendly but you have to be careful on weekends cos some of the popular trails get pretty congested.
Good luck. |
Sounds like the trail situation in Korea.  There aren't too many mtb specific trails in Korea yet but the hiking trails are very nice.
Thanks for the info. Now the big question is go back to Korea and keep on studying Korean or start back at square one again in Japan. Katagana and Hiragana will be ok but kanji is scary  |
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