I Tried Cycling the Length of Japan: 3,000km and 27 Days on the Road | Long Way North

[@AbroadinJapan]

What an absolute legend! Really enjoyed watching this from start to finish mate. I gave out a cheer when you turned the corner to reveal Mount Chokai towering over Yamagata’s coastline. It felt like going home again 🍻

[@OscarBoyd]

Thanks man! She's the gift that keeps on giving, and an absolutely stunning bit of coastal road.

[@spdaltid]

Probably the best cycling travelogue I've seen in quite a while. Gambatta!.

[@leecoll78]

This popped on to my feed so I clicked play, so glad I did, this is a jem of video. Bravo guys, a beautiful journey.

[@tongpocalypse151]

Thanks for bringing us along for the adventure! This is one where I could actually feel the highs and lows of your epic trip.

[@rolandmd73]

Fantastic video of a fantastic journey. Nice storytelling and lots of interesting information about Japan. Thank you for filming and sharing your trip!

[@maru_take_elvis]

今まで見た中で 最高の サイクリングビデオでした。 日本にようこそ ！！ そして 貴重な旅の経験をシェアしてくれてありがとうございます。

[@skip1815]

Wow this is one of the great cycling adventure in Japan. Keep up the awesome work. 💯👍

[@NickSzasz]

A masterpiece! The ride, the filming, the story, congratulations!

[@OscarBoyd]

@@NickSzasz thank you Nick! Hope you’re keeping well in Kyushu

[@NickSzasz]

@@OscarBoyd Absolutely! Still loving life in Kyushu and hitting the roads on our bicycles as often as we can. Ride by next time-would love to see you!

[@Lesenseidejaponais]

Man I love your storytelling! Amazing content 🎉

[@OscarBoyd]

thank you Schabbi!!

[@Bri-wi8kq]

Breathtaking filming of your amazing adventure. Congratulations and thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. Bri

[@Shewie01]

Great camera work, loved the high drone shots, captured the adventure really well, great film

[@ibcybermon]

Great video and narration. I am planing on doing a 10 day tour on Shikoku in May 2025. Looks like you enjoyed that stretch. Tunnels and climbs may not be the best part of it, but I am looking forward to the coastal routes. Thanks again.

[@kevingove1879]

What a wonderful adventure. And thanks for sharing your journey.

[@alexjackt]

Hey, I watch a lot of bikepacking videos. A LOT. Wistfully dreaming about the day I have the bravery to take my own adventure. I need you to know this is the best one I've seen. Period. Beautiful in its simplicity and positivity. You expertly show the ins and outs of each place you travel to. I'm here at 6.9k views and that seems criminal to me. Well done.

[@OscarBoyd]

thanks so much for the kind words. And I hope you make your bike packing adventure a reality some day!

[@Onroulelaboule]

This is one amazing adventure film we have seen on Japan. It will help us plan out our next cycling adventure in Japan. Thank you so much !

[@geotuco]

Happiness and joy really exist along the road. Marvelous voyage. Congratulations ans thanks for sharing. Cheers from Argentina

[@TheMiloBoyd]

Love it, can't wait to give this a go myself!

[@stevevanness4195]

Excellent video, I traveled to Japan solo in the 90s and was chickened out when it came time to go exploring by bicycle. I still hope to get back there with a bicycle someday. Well done!

[@vidaworksout]

Wow! I got goosebumps when you got to the northernmost point! Congratulations!

[@2wheelsrbest327]

Thanks Oscar Tom ( sorry to see you came off ) for a great video which was clearly tough at times. Way back in the old days, Pre KZbin Josie Dew toured Japan on her bike and wrote a great bike about it. But as they say a picture paints a thousand words so actually seeing the country enhanced your story. Stay safe.

[@adrianwong6109]

This travelogue deserves a million views❤

[@FortheLoveofCycling]

Most beautiful I' ve seen on YT. Thank you!

[@Sauerteig_brot]

great adventure, love it

[@Idolismo]

What a trip! Congratulations and mad respect man!

[@Aldimelt]

Here from Reddit and a cyclist. The doc is amazing so far high quality imagery and great editing and sounds thanks for sharing

[@OscarBoyd]

thanks for watching! glad to hear it

[@AndrewMarston]

Amazing production value!

[@Elidan19]

Glad this came into my suggestion box! Love cycling in Japan, did the Shimanami Kaido and the road north of Senami-Onsen last March(it was cold!). But my trip was a lot shorter than yours. I'm glad to see it in video

[@thundermax8229]

Very Inspiring,.thanks for Sharing,. the wonders of Japan

[@yk-oo9pd]

Thank you for sharing such an amazing travel story! It really feels like you discovered some incredible places that only cycling could take you to. Honestly, I’m a bit jealous-it seems like you’ve enjoyed Japan even more deeply than I have, despite living here for over 40 years! I’ll definitely take inspiration from your journey for my own future travels. That said, I imagine the tunnels must have been pretty scary, no matter where you were.

[@chrissawyer9167]

Not only did your tips for Japan enhance my stay but after watching this helped with my holiday blues and made me want to do it all over again. Awesome content Oscar, and some of those shots are just stunning. Great work mate

[@OscarBoyd]

@@chrissawyer9167 thanks Chris! Great to hear your trip went well! Shame my helmet hair didn’t do your work justice haha

[@chrissawyer9167]

⁠@@OscarBoydi actually thought the helmet hair was on point mate, but I’m biased I guess 😂

[@AlH-v6w]

Found on Reddit. Watched the whole thing in one go. Absolutely beautiful scenery and epic ride. Love cycling; love Japan. Want to do the route, but the tunnels really got me worried!!!

[@OscarBoyd]

@@AlH-v6w most tunnels have a fairly decent path you can cycle on that keeps you away from the traffic. There were just a couple of spicy ones in Shikoku that definitely got the heart rate up. Cycled with full lights on for those sections and often waving one arm over my head for extra visibility.

[@Florian-lu2zo]

Loved the music and the videography, really nice to watch. I plan a similar tour maybe 2027.

[@mongolianhorse946]

You have inspired me！

[@HappyInJapan]

Excellent!

[@tracyd3858]

Such a well done piece - veritable feature doc! Beautiful, and very much appreciated by a solo cyclist considering Japan - arigato

[@Nicodefra98]

Thanks for the beautiful and very useful video! I'll go bikepacking myself in Japan April to June next year and will go through some of the same roads you did. Can't wait :)

[@simonlynch4204]

I was thinking of doing it over 3 months. That reassures me that I'll have plenty of time to loiter and have fun! thanks!

[@jangeisler9536]

Hey Oscar, what a cool video! Could you share the GPX? Would love to try something similar in a year or two.

[@misakatagi8385]

What beautiful shots and seamless editing! You’re so cool!!

[@onemorecyclist]

Absolutely loved watching this. Congrats on an amazing trip and a wonderful film to match! I'm so hungry now! 😉

[@近藤潤哉]

best road movie!

[@milkbunnies]

Fantastic trip and narration, I really enjoyed this. How much did you need to budget for that length of time travelling in Japan?

[@1945CCCP]

Amazing journey... Hey, i know those places at 20:02 and 20:03 -- that was my first attempt to get Nakatsugawa in summer 2023. Landslide still looks the same! :))

[@freightdawg6762]

Epic!!! 💯💯💯

[@marksakamoto396]

I hope someday I can cycle around Japan. Nice & incredible video btw. ❤️‍🔥

[@SP-kt2lz]

Beautiful stuff. Inspiring stuff. So good to see those smiles at then end. Well done mate.

[@somethingelsehere8089]

Wow, Thank you. This had me in tears - because it was a great video: subject, execution and story. - because I lived in Japan for 6 years. - because part of my heart will always be in Japan.

[@FinKishimoto]

at least my city (Tokushima) was mentioned

[@ClaireFarrow-b6d]

beautiful film, thank you for sharing

[@jamesscoltock4837]

Great video. This is something I’d love to do, so it was brilliant to see someone document it so well.

[@epoqks]

wow! a fantastic film - congratulations Oscar and team.

[@Andy-sj2dv]

Super adventure, fine company, awesome scenery and unique Japanese culture. Filming and editing were superb. As a lifelong cyclist, (81 last Sunday) the best tip for avoiding saddle sores is, any baby nappy rash cream that contains silicon and also, clean knicks each day. Thanks for sharing this beaut ride and greetings from The Land Down Under.🙃

[@OscarBoyd]

Alas we only discovered the nappy rash cream five days in! Next time, using it from day 1, for sure. Thank you, and happy birthday from the UK!

[@trevorwild195]

Such a wonderful trip and nice story to tell! Have you guys ever thought of what would it have been like if doing it from north to south? 😂

[@samtan7358]

Amazing journey. Beautiful cinematography. Proper jealous.

[@finnharries]

Epic! Congrats Oscar!!!

[@boarderclipse]

Stunning video! You wouldn’t happen to have Strava maps of your route would you? I’m planning a similar trip in the next year or so and would love to follow part of your route.

[@OscarBoyd]

Here you go: www.strava.com/activities/11335880315. Each day is logged separately so you should be able to piece the whole route together. Hope it helps and good luck!

[@tdsifers]

this is incredible... wow, great video.

[@kuri8015]

Super! I did a similar ride in the summer of 2023, Sata Misaki in Kagoshima to Soya Misaki (2,600 km) over 18 days. Japan is an amazing place to ride. I wish that I had the gumption to film my rides. I am sure that is a lot of effort. Your film and narration are great.

[@OscarBoyd]

Damn 18 days is rapid! Huge effort!

[@kuri8015]

@@OscarBoyd It was about 140 km a day. It was so hot that I was setting off at 5 am most days. My route was Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Oita, then took the same ferry as you from Usuki. Matsuyama and then the Shimanami Kaido , Fukuyama, Himeji and then over to Oi on the Japan Sea coast. Then it was up the coast to Akita and then on to Aomori. Ferry over to Hakodate, Toyoura, Sapporo... I didn't take the coastal tunnel road, which I regret after seeing your video. Inland and then over to Rumoi and up the coast to Wakkanai and then Soya Misaki. Luckily I had the wind behind me from Rumoi to Wakkanai.... I had been praying not to have a head wind. That road is so bleak and open that a headwind must have been tough. Well done! I like to do a big ride every summer while I can... I'm getting on a bit. Next summer is the big one... San Francisco to New York... interested?

[@OscarBoyd]

@@kuri8015 Definitely interested! That'd be an incredible adventure.

[@JohnnyKhuu-v3q]

I did my first bike tour in Japan around the island of Shikoku. I am inspired to do this one day now. Thank you for making this!

[@JasonDBike]

16:48 near miss!

[@miguelsandiko]

Nice ride and a very good view of where you had been....hope you are first group to do it...very exiensive too...bravo...

[@baddcyclist6401]

Amazing! Will you share your route please?

[@boogiedownbronx73]

i would love to do this one day but on a MTB...i used to live in Japan and havent been back since covid.....you really have a southing voice and the editing is done really well...you should work in TV....lots of places i recognize...my favorite Japanese alps...for saddle sore I use a cheap thick silicon seat from aliexpress they work wonders for long distance

[@tubojan]

Fabulous, congratulations!

[@seamuscc]

I did a little two day trip in the Iya Valley of Shikoku a couple years ago. Have been dreaming of something big like this! Amazing!

[@Jeffcrocodile]

great adventure, congrats

[@steford]

Great video. I'm intending to do this trip in the next year or so. Did Land's End to John'O'Groats back in 2016 and now live in Japan. Do you have any GPX files of your route you could share? Thanks.

[@OscarBoyd]

Here you go: www.strava.com/activities/11335880315. Each day is logged separately so you should be able to piece the whole route together. Hope it helps and good luck! Want to do LE->JOG myself one day!

[@alecpopescu6215]

Great story! Enjoyed it very much on my trainride

[@OscarBoyd]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@alexhofvander]

Fantastic documentary. Well done! I subscribed. One question since I am just starting out as a cycling KZbin creator. Cameras and storage. I see you uploaded in 1080p and it looks fantastic because I have KZbin premium. So I get the 1080p Premium bitrate option. I also want to save storage space so I am thinking in filming 1080. What camera did you use for this movie?

[@OscarBoyd]

I was mostly filming in 4k across iPhone, go pro and drone, and then ended up editing in 1080p as you get more flexibility with being able to zoom in and out of shots. Storage was a bit of a chore, but basically I uploaded everything to Dropbox via my iPhone at the end of each day. Brought along a dongle thingy that connects SD cards to an iPhone. Hit upload and then went to dinner. Meant we didn't have to carry hard drives or anything heavy with us, and I wasn't too worried about the drone crashing and loosing 3 weeks of footage. I'm sure there are better solutions, but this worked for our lightweight setup!

[@alexhofvander]

@ thanks for a very comprehensive answer.

[@chrisivin6266]

Very nicely done 👍👍

[@patrickfoster3229]

Just climbed out of aso caldera-its a long but well cambered slog.

[@joshschrader4732]

Well done ! I think I already know the answer to this but were the Japanese drivers respectful to cyclists ?

[@ky94790]

Mr Boyd , you are すごい。　Marvelous,

[@Swiss_Bohemian]

Thank you for taking us along your journey. The trip, the editing & the music, everything is top-notch.👍 I've been dreaming of doing a bicycle tour across like you did but I'd be impossible for me to do it in just a month! I've been up Mt. Kaimon-dake once and I used to live in Niigata prefecture, so memories came flooding back watching your travelogue. Niigata prefecture can have amazing weather and has a remote & interesting countryside up in the mountains bordering Fukushima prefecture. Too bad you had a bad experience with the flat area and the weather.

[@OscarBoyd]

Niigata redeemed itself with the beautiful coastal road at the top! :) And the House of Light is one of my favourite places to visit there. Unfortunately our route took us to the less interesting bits, I think.

[@Swiss_Bohemian]

@@OscarBoyd The route along the coast line you took from Niigata's top and along Yamagata/Akita's coastline looks indeed stunning. I've always wanted to visit the area north of Murakami-shi but never had the opportunity to, even less by bicycle. Thanks again for your wonderful travelogue!

[@stangelean]

Only 1 flat tyre?

[@OscarBoyd]

I think four in total, three self-inflicted from a rubbing saddle bag, only one genuine one with a nail through the tire

[@jdeckard1243]

Cuckoo