The Kiso River Downhill — the most comfortable 50 km in the world.
48.9 km, Yabuhara-juku to Nagiso Station, almost all of it downhill. You set off high in the valley, near the headwaters of the Kiso River, and follow the water as it grows from a mountain stream into a full river — rolling past seven of the Kiso road's old post towns (from Yabuhara down to Midono) on one long and gentle descent. Breakfast in Yabuhara, lunch in Kiso-Fukushima, a coffee stop at Nojiri Station, and a finish line at Nagiso as the light goes long. Every metre has been ridden and re-ridden by a local guide to find the most beautiful, the most comfortable, and the safest line down the valley — and two guides ride with every group, one setting the line up front and one sweeping at the back.
The course
The full 48.9 km line, Yabuhara to Nagiso. Open the route in Google Maps →
Meet your guides
Two of these five ride with you on the day — a lead guide up front and a sweep at the back.
Three years on the road bike and already a hill climber to be reckoned with — she and her husband Kazuhide completed the Kiso-ichi loop (150 km, 2,000 m of climbing) in a single day.
Ten years of road cycling, and the man who pulled his wife Yu into the road-bike world in the first place. An office worker by day whose riding has topped 10,000 km in a single year.
A craftsman of Kiso-hinoki wooden barrels — and a road cyclist who used to commute by bike to his workshop in Agematsu. He knows the roads of Kiso down to the last bend.
A lawyer by trade and a tour guide who knows Kiso so deeply he has even published a paper on the old Kiso Road. Fully fluent in English.
The organizer of this service. He toured Kiso by bicycle, then walked away from his Tokyo salaryman career to move here on his own. Manager of Kashiwaya Guesthouse and certified in Wilderness First Aid (WFA).
How the day runs
- Yabuhara-jukuBreakfast in the post town, then roll out
- Kiso-FukushimaLunch, roughly the halfway mark
- Nojiri StationA coffee stop to stretch the legs
- Nagiso Station 409 mFinish line as the light goes long
One price for the whole day — two guides and every e-bike included. ¥80,000 is the base for a group of four; each rider more or fewer moves the total by 15% (¥12,000).
- 2 riders¥56,000
- 3 riders¥68,000
- 4 riders¥80,000
- 5 riders¥92,000
- 6 riders¥104,000
This full-day course is arranged personally — message us on WhatsApp to pick a date, and we'll sort out the rest together.
Before you commit
Can I ride this one self-guided?
No — this course is guided only. In a few places, one wrong turn drops you onto roads with heavy traffic. To keep the day safe, two guides ride the whole route with you — one up front, one at the back.
I'm not sure I can ride 50+ km.
Nearly 50 km sounds like an expert distance, we know. But it's gentle downhill almost the entire way, and on the few uphill stretches the high-powered e-bike does the climbing for you. If you can ride a normal bike 10 km on flat ground, you'll reach the finish smiling. This is your chance to surprise yourself.
Can I bail out partway?
Yes. The route shadows the JR line the whole way, so if you're not feeling well you can step off and take a train from the nearest station. Just lock the bike at the station rack and we'll collect it afterwards.
What happens in bad weather?
Rain or snow means we cancel and refund by default. Our e-bikes handle rough conditions well, though — so if it's light enough not to affect safety or the experience, and everyone's happy to ride, we may still run it. If the weather turns mid-ride, we stop there, refund part of the fee, and take the train to the finish.
What about bears?
Like everywhere in these mountains, the Kiso has Asiatic black bears. We hand you a bear bell and bear spray to carry, your lead guide always rides up front, and we run through a what-to-do-if-you-meet-one briefing before we set off.
How do you handle summer heat and winter cold?
In summer we lend you a rashguard, keep you dousing with water, and break to dip in the valley's river pools. In winter we lend cold-weather gear and stop at footbaths and onsen along the way to warm back up.
Out here, your guide is the first responder — and Yakkun's trained for it.
Yakkun is certified in Wilderness First Aid by Wilderness Medical Associates International — the same training that expedition crews and mountain-rescue teams rely on. Deep in the valley an ambulance can be a long way off, so he's trained to be the help until it arrives.
- Adult CPR and AED use
- Clearing an obstructed airway
- Controlling severe bleeding (hemorrhage control)
