Around Daisetsuzan 7 Day Cycling Tour Tour Information

Our guide will meet you at 6:00pm at the hotel in Shirogane Onsen. Closest airport is Asahikawa Airport (AKJ). If you’d like to travel from the airport to Shirogane Onsen directly, a taxi is the quickest way, which costs approximately JPY 11,000.

Alternatively, you can take a public bus from Asahikawa JR Station to Shirogane Onsen, which takes 85 min. The bus departs 4 times a day, at 8:35am, 11:20am, 2:55pm and 4:35pm. The cost is JPY 1,220 per person.

You can search train timetables in English on Japan Transit Planner website .

Yes, there is. We will provide a vehicle to support cyclists and carry water, snacks and any other items needed for cycling. If you need to stop cycling at any point during the day, you are welcome to take a rest in the support vehicle. Please be aware that the number of seats may be limited depending on the size of the group and the vehicle we use. Please be aware that in mixed groups, the van cannot be used to transport non-cycling guests.

We load all of our overnight gear into the support vehicle that travels with us - so you don't need to ride loaded with all tour luggage. However, we provide small handle bar or seat bags (depending on bike type) for you to store your daily necessities such as spare snacks, jacket and camera.

While we try to organise everything, mother nature is out of our control. If the weather is too bad to safely cycle, such as a typhoon or sudden storm, we will travel the route in our support vehicle. Along the way we will still stop at local restaurants and visit indoor facilities, so you can still experience the charm of the area while travelling safely and comfortably.

While vegetarianism and veganism are catching on in larger urban areas, across much of Japan it is still unheard of. Outside of main cities, there are very few pure vegetarian or vegan restaurants available and many Japanese do not have a clear understanding of what exactly qualifies a food as being truly vegan or vegetarian.

If you are travelling to Hokkaido as a vegan or vegetarian, you will have to accept that you may not be able to experience the full scope of Japanese food as your other travellers might. With advance notice and clear direction, some restaurants and accommodations are happy to cater to your requirements so please let us know your needs at the time of booking, but some facilities may choose to simply remove dishes from your meal instead of making a substitute. The main challenge is “dashi”, a meat or fish-based broth that is very commonly added to Japanese dishes. This can be hard to remove from Japanese cooking (it’s a bit like asking a European chef not to add salt and pepper!) as it is integral to a number of dishes.

See our Vegan & Vegetarian in Hokkaido blog to learn more.

We will send you a link to our online booking form, where we ask for the travel information of all the members travelling with you. 

Once we receive this, we will send you an invoice for your tour deposit, which is JPY 50,000 per person. We will confirm your booking upon receipt of your deposit payment.

The deposit is treated as a part of the tour price. Payment of the balance will be reminded by email, which is generally 30 days prior to the tour departure date.

We can accept payment via wire-transfer from local banks in a number of countries including but not limited to the US, UK, Australia, and Singapore. Payment will be made in your own currency via Wise (Wise’s transaction fees will apply).

For credit card payment, we use Flywire, which will incur an additional transaction fee of 1.5%.

By paying for a deposit or full amount, you confirm that you have read, understand and agree to these Terms and Conditions .

Our general cancellation policy is shown as below.

• Cancelled more than 21 days prior to departure: Zero fees

• Cancelled between 20 days and 8 days prior to departure: 20% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled between 7 days and 2 days prior to departure: 30% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled 1 day prior to departure: 40% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled on the day of departure: 50% of the Tour Price

• No refunds will be given after the tour has commenced

In addition, refunds will be given if travel becomes impossible due to government-imposed restriction of movement.

For further details, we recommend you read our refund and cancellation policy in more detail on our  Terms and Conditions page . Feel free to contact us at  [email protected]  if you have any additional questions.

Japan remains a popular travel destination and it is not unusual for accommodation in peak seasons to be booked out up to a year in advance. So, the sooner the better! Generally speaking, we ask for you to book 10 - 12 months in advance if you are looking at a custom departure. For scheduled departures, we make our dates available from up to a year in advance. If we feel that your date is too close for us to realistically put a trip together to the standard we pride ourselves on, we will let you know at the time of enquiry and will do our best to suggest alternative travel dates.

This is a mixed group tour and we accept bookings from one person up . However, our scheduled group tours require a minimum number of bookings for us to guarantee the departure of the tour, and to offer the tour at the price quoted. The minimum number of booked guests to guarantee the tour is three people .

If you book with less than three people, we will hold your place on the tour and wait for another group to join the tour. If the number of guests has not reached the minimum number by 30 days prior to departure, we will give you the option to cancel or to upgrade to a private departure. 

If you choose to cancel, we will refund the amount you have paid us. You’re welcome to check with us at any time about the status of bookings. 

Please be advised that we will not be liable to compensate for any inconvenience or incidental expenses that might have incurred to you, including airline tickets.

Our tours are priced on a twin share basis. Those travelling by themselves will need to pay an additional supplement for use of a single room. If you enter the number of guests in your group and rooms you need, the dates and prices form will calculate the price for your group.

Our tours are priced on a twin share basis and those travelling by themselves will need to pay an additional supplement for use of a single room. If you are happy to share a room with another guest - of the same gender - then let us know at the time of booking. If we match you with another solo traveller then we can discount the single supplement for both of you.

Custom departures based on one of our pre-arranged scheduled tours is something that we can arrange, provided that we have guides available for your travel dates. The earlier it's planned the higher chance we can secure guides and our favourite accommodations for you. Requests made at least 10-12 months prior have a good chance of being accepted successfully, while 6 months prior is too late for peak seasons like August or February.

Absolutely! This is a must for all travellers joining our tours. Please make sure you have a valid travel insurance, covering the kind of activities you are undertaking during our tour, cancellations, loss of personal belongings, and any unforeseen circumstances while travelling. We will require the details of your travel insurance provider such as the name, policy number and phone number prior to the commencement of the tour.

If you're a Japanese citizen and on Japan's national health insurance scheme, we can mitigate our insurance requirement, although we still strongly recommend that you have flight cancellations and related expenses covered by some kind of insurance. Often your credit card provider can offer this coverage.

Tipping is not a part of Japanese culture and is not expected. Most jobs pay a high enough wage that workers can make a living without tips and service charges are often included as standard at restaurants, bars and so on (but this being Japan, you of course don’t pay a service charge and get nothing in return– you might get a little extra side dish called “otōshi” or some free bar snacks!) However, if you do wish to tip, feel free to do so. Nobody is going to mind the extra cash (even if you may have to reassure them several times that it’s okay to keep the money)!