Japan’s Noto Peninsula is the perfect setting for a cultural cycling tour
Published in The Financial Times | By Stephanie Drax
An hour’s flight from Tokyo, Memoirs of a Geisha author Arthur Golden starts a celebratory bicycle trip to Kyoto.
Blood is throbbing at my temples, the air is rasping at my throat, and my brain is blaring Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” on repeat. The steep road before me will not relent. Three hours ago I was in the concrete matrix of Tokyo; now I’m climbing through a vibrant green forest of cedar and pine, having pedalled past glistening rice paddies, the occasional Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple.
MORE FROM + Japan
![The Slow Fund: Rice Production with Ozuchi Village](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ozuchi-Village-Japan-480x263.jpeg)
The Slow Fund: Rice Production with Ozuchi Village
Japan![5 Things to Know Before You Go to Japan](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Japan-MtFuji-XL-1600x1000-480x300.jpg)
5 Things to Know Before You Go to Japan
Japan![The Perfect Detour from Tokyo](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Shrine_Reduced-400x300.jpeg)
The Perfect Detour from Tokyo
Japan![Insider’s Guide: Tokyo’s Top Hotels](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tokyo-hotels-2400x1500-480x300.jpg)
Insider’s Guide: Tokyo’s Top Hotels
Japan![10 Destinations That Prove Travel is the Best Gift of All](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ParentCo_banner-480x300.jpg)
10 Destinations That Prove Travel is the Best Gift of All
Japan![In Deep: The Isolation of Japan](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Japan-culture-new-blog-banner-1-480x300.jpg)
In Deep: The Isolation of Japan
Japan![Choose Your Own Adventure](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Luxury-Family-Travel_banner-480x300.jpg)
Choose Your Own Adventure
Japan![Immersive Excursions To Japan](https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ImmersiveExcursionsToJapan-480x300.jpg)