How one Japanese development is a model for cycle tourism

Resort and hotel operator Hoshino has invested in a major bike facility that could prove a model worth paying attention to for cycle tourism bodies worldwide. Jo Beckendorff goes long distance to find out more…

Imagine there’s a train station with an aging shopping mall. Under the aegis of Atré – a subsidiary of state-owned East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – and Ibaraki Prefecture, it’s being turned completely upside down. In 2018, it opens under the name Playatré Tsuchiura with a focus on bicycles. Two years later, renowned resort and hotel operator Hoshino Resorts Inc. stepped into the project. Its latest resort concept, BEB, immediately occupies the top three floors of Playatré Tsuchiura what is now, by its own admission, “Japan’s largest bicycle facility”.

Before the first foreign tourists were allowed back into the country, two German expats living in Yokohama visited Tsuchiura’s latest bicycle hotspot in May of 2022. Jochem Kühnle and Tobias Talerek, together with the author, were the first foreigners to stay at the first “Cycle in, Cycle out” bicycle hotel in the Coronavirus-braked country.

Since the 7th of September the Japanese government has increased the daily limit for tourists entering the country from 20,000 to 50,000. They no longer have to take a PCR test. Nevertheless, tourists still need a visa and must be a member of a group tour. Before Covid, only seven percent of foreigners entering the country came in on group tours.

There is no doubt that Japan experienced a tourist boom the government invested in and relied on. That was before the virus changed the world. Major events such as the Rugby World Championship 2019 and Olympics 2020 should attract more paying guests to the country. The ambitious plan was to reach a record-breaking 60 million foreign visitors per year until 2030. Corona put a huge spoke in the wheel.

Investment in cycle tourism

Cycle tourism in the town of Tsuchiura in Ibaraki Prefecture, located just 70 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, is young by comparison.

The Playatré mall docked at the train station in the town, which is located on Lake Kasumigaura, plays a very special role in this. It is located very near the Tsukuba-Kasumigaura Ring Road, an approximately 180-kilometer marked bicycle circuit (which can be shortened to a 90- and a 140-kilometer loop).

Cyclists from the Tokyo metropolitan area can bring their bikes or rent directly from Playatré. For those bringing their own bikes, the train station offers a dedicated space with bike stands where they can assemble their bikes (for the rail transport in Japan, the front wheel has to be removed and a carrier cover put over it).

A rental station called Ring-Ring Square is located in the bicycle parking garage in the mall’s basement. It offers typical Japanese everyday bikes and pedelecs as well as cyclist-friendly facilities such as changing rooms and shower facilities. On the mall’s first floor is a, by Japanese standards, huge Le.Cyc outlet directed from Japanese bicycle chain store retailer Cycle Sport on site. It is selling and also renting out high-quality sporty bikes and pedelecs.

What the Playatré makers are particularly proud on is a blue line mark on all floors of the mall. This blue line allows cyclists to stroll through the mall with their beloved bicycle. Cafés, restaurants and stores in the building have set up bike racks in front of their entrances. That way, every biker can park their bike in plain sight and grab another bite to eat.

“Cycle in, cycle out” Bike hotel BEB5 Tsuchiura

Another Playatré highlight is the three story Hoshino Resorts BEB5 Tsuchiura, opened in 2020. Hoshino’s first-ever “cycling scene hotel” offers a total of 90 rooms. Of those, 15 so-called “Cycling Rooms” are set up for true bicycle lovers. There is also a well-equipped workshop room with bicycle stands, tools, a table and a coffee machine. Here bikers meet and talk about the latest scene insides while checking their bikes. In general, the topic of bicycles is lovingly staged at all corners and ends.

“With BEB, Hoshino offers its fifth resort concept we are addressing a younger target group. Both rooms and lounge are geared toward fun. Our café is open around the clock. Food and drinks brought in or bought in the mall are no problem here. We also offer a late breakfast to the target group we have in mind. Late check-outs are also fine. You should feel comfortable here among your peers. In addition, BEB pricing turns out to be more affordable than at our other rather high-priced high-quality resorts,” explains Hoshino Resorts BEB5 Tsuchiura PR lady Fumi Arai. More specifically, regular overnight rates (excluding tax and food) for a three bed room start at just JPY 12,000 (€84.70). The above-mentioned “Cycling Rooms” for two people cost a complete JPY 15,600 (€110 euros) per night. Here the currently favorable exchange rate certainly helps.

However, the average age of some “real” cycling guests is somewhat higher. While the 20- to 30-year-olds are more likely to want to spend a relaxed leisure weekend with smaller tours on the lake’s bike path on rental bikes, it is the 30- to 50-year-olds who often come with their own bikes, have already a few kilometers in their legs and tackle the 180-kilometer bike tour around the lake. Many of the cyclists on this route also enjoy stops at the specially designed bicycle rest stops with food stalls catering to cyclists.

But there are also those who want to pedal their legs out on this completely flat stage. However, this is the minority. Previous Playatré and BEB main clientele are recreational cyclists who don’t eat up miles, but rather enjoy the rural surroundings.

The advantage of farmland

Many Nippon visitors are drawn to Ibaraki Prefecture, which is dominated by agriculture, just at certain prime times. Insiders know exactly when golden-banded lily, Japanese blue vine, lotus flower, tulip, plum and cherry blossom. Likewise, they know when strawberries, honeydew and water melons, blueberries, tangerines, peaches and grapes are ripe and best for eating.

All of this grows around Lake Kasumigaura. In Ibaraki Prefecture, it is hoped to put tourists on bicycles or pedelecs for the last mile. The infrastructure built for this purpose has been refined in recent years and is in place.

Expats Jochem Kühnle and Tobias Talarek have chosen the 140-kilometer lake circuit. At lunchtime, they stop at an inn in the village of Aso. It comes highly recommended on this route. “Finally, some foreigners again!”, the innkeeper of Shiwomi Shokudo warmly welcomes the riders, “I can especially recommend our Curry Katsudon (that’s curry rice with pork chop). We have already been praised for this in a TV kitchen show. The quantity is just right for hungry cyclists. After all, you’ve got some kilometers ahead of you.”

Micro cycle tourism

Back to Playatré: To date, Hoshino’s BEB5 Tsuchiura has been living off domestic guests averaging one night, according to general manager Oba Yuta: “In Corona times, micro-tourism became an issue. We think that will change in the post Corona era, and people from the Tokyo metropolitan area will also stay the whole weekend with two overnights. We also hope to see the first cyclists from abroad. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to welcome them at all yet because of the Corona-related entry restrictions.”

What Yuta is particularly proud of is his Specialized-branded fleet of 12 high-quality e-hybrid, e-road racing and e-mountain bikes. These are joined by a few Benelli branded e-compact bikes for short trips. They are mainly chosen by families and non-cyclists staying at BEB5 Tsuchiura out of curiosity. Since 2005 the Italian motorcycle brand name Benelli is in the hands of Chinese two-wheel and motor producer Quianjing. Today they are also offering bicycles under this traditional name.

Sizing Matters 

What Westerners should generally bear in mind when renting a bike in Japan, however: Frame sizes for cyclists over 1.85 meters tall are scarce. “We’ve already gotten used to it,” laughs Jochem Kühnle, who, like his colleague Tobias Talarek, measures a proud 1.93 meters. They brought their own road racing bikes.

While the e-road racing bikes from Hoshino only make sense on the flat stage around the lake when a fierce headwind is blowing, e-mountain bikes makes perfect sense on the ride to nearby Mt. Tsubuka.

Initially, you approach the mountains on a flat bike path that later turns into a trail along the banks of the Sakura River. Then, however, it goes first on a lonely pass road and then on great short and crisp steeply up and down trails through a forest. The humid and muggy climate certainly takes its toll. In addition, Jochem and Tobias have a hard time on their rental eMTBs, which are too small for them. Nonetheless, they have fun on their off road ride in the somewhat cooler mountain world.

To get cycling newcomers a taste for bicycles, the BEB5-Tsuchiura team has even come up with something very special for local guests: with their “Morning Glow Cycling Tour”. They offer a bike tour just a few kilometers long to a good lake location for watching the sunrise: “This offer is very popular, especially among the less cycling-savvy.” The only downside: the tour starts at 3:45 in the morning – and takes a total of one and a half hours. Either you then lie down again and enjoy a later breakfast – or, after a great sunrise, you enjoy a good early breakfast.

About the Hoshino Resort

Founded in 1904 as a forestry company today’s still family-owned Hoshino Resort Co, Ltd. claims to offer its guests “an unforgettable journey to places of unparalleled Japanese beauty”. In doing so, the Japanese rely on seven “Nippon Luxe” resort concepts.

“BEB” is the youngest drawing card in the Hoshino resort world. With this concept, the Japanese deliberately want to reach a younger target group showing them the way to nature.

While the very first BEB resort in Karuizawa is aimed primarily at hikers and birdwatchers, the BEB resort Tsuchiura presented here has specifically taken up the leisure alternative of cycling. More info on the company that is traded on the stock exchange since 2013 is available on the website – www.hoshinoresorts.com/en

Photo credits: Jo Beckendorff and Jochem Kühnle

To read more on how cycle tourism is benefitting economies, head here.