We’re in the last day of our Kansai road bike bikepacking trip and we’re taking the shinkansen high speed bullet train back to Nagoya. In order to bring your bike on a train in Japan 99% of the time you will need a rinko bag (輪行袋).

They are usually about 3,000~5,000 yen and come in various sizes/colors.

TIOGA Rinko Bag (the one that I own) (タイオガ)

DOPPLEGANGER 輪行バッグ

Both of these are large enough to carry a road bike, but you need to take off your front wheel.

Some extra tips
– take off your pedals (though not necessary)
– strap your front wheel to the frame to prevent movement
– if you’re on the shinkansen, there’s plenty of space at the back of each train car.
– For regular trains, aim for the front or back of the train. Peak hour times on crowded lines are not allowed, so be careful to avoid this situation.

Any other questions about bringing bikes on trains in Japan, leave them in the comments.

Kansai Japan Bikepacking Trip Playlist

The post How to Bring Bicycles on Trains in Japan | Rinko Bag (輪行) Tutorial appeared first on Two Wheel Cruise.

Mama chari’s are the standard bike in Japan. They’re big, sturdy, comfortable to ride, and can carry lots of luggage with big baskets up front and racks in the back.

I bought one myself when I first came to Japan years ago..

Sadly, I only had the bike for about a month before selling it to my coworker since it was a bit too small for my liking. But we finally have a new mama chari bike back in our family, and are already putting it to a lot of good use..

Enjoy today’s VLOG where Thuong and I go hunting at a few different bike shops for the perfect mama chari!

The post Buying a Mama Chari Bicycle in Japan 新ママチャリ appeared first on Two Wheel Cruise.