- Spark Cycling (Sapporo City) – These guys should be your first-stop when looking for a bike for touring in Hokkaido, if leaving from Sapporo. They offer service in English, their bikes are super good value, and have racks, panniers…everything you need for cycle tour | Link | Location
- E-Motion (Sapporo City): They have some touring bikes, and e-bikes for rent. Link | Location
- North Bicycle Hokkaido (Sapporo City) – Also good value bicycle hire in Hokkaido. Nakamura-san from North Bicycle Hokkaido can communicate in English. Bikes must be booked at least three days in advance. In addition to bicycle rental, they also offer a support car service (33,000yen per day plus driver accommodation) – the driver is a bike mechanic, so mechanic support is included in the price. | Link (Japanese only) | Location
- Cycle Garage PAZ – Located in Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido, PAZ has a selection of hybrid, road, mountain bikes, and e-bikes, along with full framebag rental also. Expect to pay around 2,500yen per day for an extended rental. Very highly recommended – they have English support, and Kushiro is accessible by air from Tokyo. An excellent way to insert yourself right into one of Hokkaido’s wildest and most pristine areas. LINK | LOCATION
- Rhythm Cycles (Niseko) – Link | Location
- Cycle Japan (Furano) – If you’re after a road bike, then these guys should be able to help | Link
For bicycle hire in Hokkaido, you’ll generally pay around 5,000yen a day for a bike suited to cycle touring (prices per day are cheaper the longer you rent for). It is best to bring your own panniers, as cost for renting those will be over and above the rental cost for the bike. Carriers for your gear will also likely be extra too, so consider bringing a bikepacking setup that you can strap to a standard bike, in order to keep costs down. Here, we list a few options we've heard about over the years for hiring cycle-touring specific bikes in Hokkaido. Regardless of who you hire from, it is always best to try to book in advance. The Niseko-based providers are located in Niseko Town, accessible by bus from New Chitose Airport (approx. 2.5hrs) or Sapporo by train or bus (about 2.5hrs).
Last updated Mar 29, 2024
24 thoughts on “Bicycle Hire for Cycle Touring in Hokkaido”
Any idea where I could rent or buy a bicycle with a 59 to 61 cm frame? I realize there’s not a lot of demand in the Japanese market for bikes that accommodate someone 190 cm tall, but I’ve had Japanese frames (Lotus and Miyata) in the US that were that size. Perhaps there’s a bike shop that can special order?
Hello, thank you very much for this amazin blog. my question is: Do you know if any of the stores on the list picks up bikes at different points of the island besides the airport?
I would like to do the trans-Hokkaido route from Sapporo to Shiretoko
Thank you very much in advance for your response
Hi Carlos, I know that Spark Cycling have pick-up/drop-off services, but you’d need to contact them to find out if they pick up out east (I doubt it). One option would be to pike up a bike in Sapporo, put it in a bike bag, take the train out east, and then cycle back to Sapporo. Send a message to Spark Cycling to see if they have bike bags you can borrow.
Thank you very much for your response, I indeed asked them right after posting here and they said they do it, with a cost of 30,000 yens. In case anyone is interested.
hi Rob, we would like to rent some high perforing road bikes and willing to pay a premium for bikes such as pinarello, sworks, any idea where in Hokkaido me may have the best luck, we arrive Sapporo Chitose airport and plan to ride around the island with a local guide, Yotei and around lake toya etc.
Guide said that we better bring our own bikes if we want high end ones, but bringing them may be a pain.
Hi Yumi, best bet for higher end bikes would be to look at bike hire places that deliver. E.g.,
https://roadbikerentaljapan.rezdy.com/catalog/555471/rbrj-osaka-bike-options?_gl=1*omjwua*_ga*NTkxNTM3MzY0LjE3MTM4NzIzNTk.*_ga_MKGX1RSQYC*MTcxMzg3MjM1OS4xLjEuMTcxMzg3MjQxOC4xLjAuMA..
https://www.gsastuto.com/rentals.html
https://cycletrip.jp/en/
I hope this helps!
Rob
Hello Rob! do you know of any touring bike rental around Fuji? Thanks 😊
I do not, sorry!
Hello,
We are visiting Hokkaido this summer (July 2024) and would like to hire a road bike for our son. Ideally in or around Sapporo. Can you help? Couldn’t find anything so far…tx!
Nathalie
Did you try the rental places in this post?
Hi Rob
Do any of the Chitose stores rent bikes? We’re arriving Sep 26 for 12 days.
Cheers
Jai C
Hi Jai, not that I know of. There are bicycle rental places in Chitose, but they’re all town-bikes and only for day rental.
Hi Rob
need help on where i can get some touring bikes in Sapporo, Sparks is understaffed and cant accomodate for some reason 🙁
Help we arrive in Sapporo 30/9 and looking to cycle about 8days.
Thanks
Celia
Try E-Motion: https://www.e-motion.group/services/Rentabike
Thanks Rob, any other that will offering touring bikes with pannier racks for touring?
Not that I know of Celia.
Hi Rob,
do you know of any bike rental places in Muroran?
Thanks
Alberto
Hi Alberto, thank you for the question. Unfortunately, as far as we know, there aren’t any bicycle hire options in Muroran. If you’re there now, however, I would recommend asking at the Muroran Tourist Info center (location), TEL: 0143-23-0102. I hope this helps!
Hi Rob
Do you know of any place to rent tandem bicycles in Hokkaido?
Hi Amy, I’ve not heard of any places renting out tandem bicycles in Hokkaido, I’m afraid.
Hi Rob,
Do you know of any good touring bike rental companies? Spark cycling has closed for the season, and I’m in need of a good company that has drop handle bicycles that take pannier racks. Any good alternative recommendations?
Hi there! You could try E-Motion in Sapporo. They’re a fairly new bike shop here in Sapporo, and I’m not sure how good their bikes are for serious touring…but maybe worth a try: https://www.e-motion.group/
Do you know where I can rent fat bikes in Sapporo in winter?
Is it easy to cycle beside the Toyohira River by yourself in winter? I can mountain bike in normal terrain.
Thanks
Hey Chew, you can try E-Motion in Sapporo – https://www.e-motion.group/rental. If you do rent one from them, please let us know how you get on. Fatbiking beside the Toyohira River in winter really depends on how long since the last snowfall. Usually, there’s a foot-trail, but after a good dumping of snow, this can be covered. And even when there is a foot-trail, it can be quite narrow – you’ll need good balance! A fun challenge though.