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New Bikes, New Guides, New Route and 1 Year of Minoh Cycle Tours!

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It's Autumn again, which means Minoh Cycle tours has been going for one whole year now! A whole bunch of stuff has happened; some things have changed, some things have stayed the same, and some lessons have been learnt.  Anyway, not to make too big of a deal out of that, today I want to share some recent changes and recap some of the summer. Introducing New Guides: Stephen, Shoko and Peter  I'm happy to announce I have some new guides helping me run tours from October onwards. Stephen (France) on Saturdays, Peter (Japan) Sundays, and Shoko (Japan) weekdays. I myself will also occasionally do a weekend tour when I can. Unfortunately Shoko is only available for tours during October, so catch her while you can!  Bike Lineup Change: Sayonara Trek, Welcome Velostar! Keen observers of our website may have noticed that the Trek Fx Plus e-bikes previously listed on the bikes page of the main website, have been replaced by Panasonic Velostars. A few reasons for this which I won't ...
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New Easier Bike Rentals!

What? no blog for almost three months and now two in in two days? I know, I wouldn't believe it if someone told me either, but here we are. Just a quick one today, to announce the new booking process for bike rentals. Instead of filling out a request form and having to wait until the availability etc can be checked before confirmation, it's not possible to pay and book instantly! For those who are curious or would like to rent a high quality e-bike in Minoh, please checkout the page below: https://minohcycletours.com/en/rentals That's all, thanks!
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May and June 2026 Retrospective

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It's been a shocking 2 whole months since the last post - for which I sincerely apologise! All I can say is that lots of things have been happening, which have been prevented me from doing other things... such as writing blogs.  However, I have managed to do get some tours in. Here are some hi-lights. A Visit From Tokyo Backstreets Bike Tour I was honoured by a visit from Mr Akiyama from Trailfinders LLC, who came to do a little industry research. I shamelessly asked him for as much information and advice as possible, to which he generously obliged. Anyone going to Tokyo check out his tours ! A Visit To Another Kannon-Temple Fellow Katsuo-ji heads will know the temple is mainly dedicated to Kannon (bodhisattva or "god" of mercy). During a recent pleasure-ride on the Hankyu Takurazuka line, I noticed a station with Kannon in the name, and decided to go and check it out. Turns it out was the home of the Nakayamadera temple, which also centers around Kannon, and has lot of ...
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What's On in Sakurai, Minoh April 2026

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 It's April, and the Sakura season has passed the halfway point. It's also looking like a busy month around Minoh. It's a bit expo heavy, but here goes. ※ Disclaimer: I'm expanding the area this covers to include Banpaku/Expo park, because although not technically Minoh, it's still close by March 27th~ April 8th - Tulip & Sakura Festival @ Expo Park Expo park, which is recognized as one of the top 100 places in Japan to enjoy Sakura, is hosting a Tulip festival. The tulips are located in the center of the park, to the north west of the tower of the sun. In addition, there are a variety of food stalls set up, labelled as the "Sakura Festival".   Location:  Osaka Expo Park Price: Expo park entrance fee (450 yen) I actually visited this and can personally recommend it. The park is a good place for a picnic, and the food stalls looked good for those who don't want to bring their own food. April 1st~June 16th - Dolpo Exhibition at the National Museum of...
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A Sakura-Sanpo in Minoh Park

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Having the combination of a day-off, good weather and sakura being in bloom, I decided to go for a walk in Minoh Park. Despite having been there countless times, I'd never visited when the cherry blossoms were out. Also it had been a few years since I'd been out to see sakura anyway, I was quite excited.  And I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed! Because I was going out looking for Sakura, I decided to take one of the lesser-treaded paths up to  Sakura Hiroba , then go back down to the station via Ryuanji and the insect museum. It would have been nice to go all the way up to the waterfall too, but since I had two boys with me, one of them strapped to me the whole time and the other being carried half the time, I decided not to over do it. Start: Sakurai station  Me and my crew got on the train and headed to Minoh. At Minoh Station, we had the good fortune of coming across an exciting police car . Climbing To Sakura Hiroba After we got to Minoh station we headed up th...
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