Venus Line Long Day · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Ōme

   Planning note

   Venus Line Long Day is where the day begins. Next is High point near Itsukaichi.

2. 2. High point near Itsukaichi

   Itsukaichi takes its name from the market that was once held here on days ending in five, a trading point where charcoal, timber and silk from the mountains of western Tokyo met merchants from the plains. It is now part of the city of Akiruno, a quiet town at the mouth of the Akigawa valley, where the suburbs of Tokyo finally give way to forested hills.

   Read the complete Food stop near Itsukaichi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Venus Line Long Day food stop.

3. 3. Yugawara

   Yugawara has been soaking tired bodies for well over a thousand years. The hot springs appear in the Man'yōshū, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, and a local legend says that a tanuki, the mischievous raccoon dog of Japanese folklore, was found bathing in the spring to heal its wounds. The town sits where a short, steep valley opens onto Sagami Bay, at the border of Kanagawa and Shizuoka, between Odawara and Atami.

   Read the complete Yugawara write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   A break here. Next is Tokyo / Kanto rides return.

4. 4. Near Minamibōsō, on the way back

   At Nojimazaki, the southern tip of the Boso peninsula, a white lighthouse stands on a rocky point above the Pacific. It was one of the first Western-style lighthouses in Japan, built in the late 1860s by a French engineer, and its gallery looks out over a coast of black rocks, surf and wide horizons. The stop sits a little way inland, in the hills between Minamibōsō and Tateyama.

   Read the complete Near Minamibōsō, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Tokyo / Kanto rides return, about halfway. Next is Scenic stretch near Sakura.

5. 5. Scenic stretch near Sakura

   Sakura, in northern Chiba, was a castle town in the Edo period, and some of its old samurai residences survive on a quiet street, with thatched roofs and earthen walls, giving a glimpse of how the warrior class lived. The castle itself is gone, but its grounds now house the National Museum of Japanese History, one of the best museums in the country, covering everything from prehistoric times to the twentieth century.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Sakura write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Sakura sits at 345 km, about halfway. Next is Photo stop near Narita.

6. 6. Photo stop near Narita

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Narita comes up about 441 km into the recorded legs. Next is Venus Line Long Day checkpoint 8.

7. 7. Tanashichō

   A tall, slender broadcasting tower, Sky Tower Nishitokyo, marks this part of the Musashino plain from miles away, and if you have been riding the Venus Line in the mountains of Nagano all day, it is the first sign that home is close. Tanashi is the eastern half of Nishitokyo city, a quiet suburb of houses, small shops and parks on the Seibu line, west of central Tokyo, where Shin-Ōme Kaidō and Ōme Kaidō run arrow-straight across the flat land towards the city.

   Read the complete Tanashichō write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Venus Line Long Day checkpoint 8 closes the day.