Bicycle Tour

From Noshiro to Oga

Bryce Fowler

Tanehub’s bicycle tour

This November, I had the opportunity to participate in a weekend electric bike tour from Noshiro to Oga. I biked with a wonderful group of friends on a 70-kilometer route between the two cities, traveling through rice fields, along the coast, and over the mountainous Oga peninsula. The whole trip was organized by the Oga City Tourism Association DMO Promotion Office and managed by TANEHUB.

I had never used an electric bicycle before. For the first hour I rode with the bike powered off, and on flat ground the difference from a normal bicycle wasn’t very noticeable. However, as soon as I hit the first real incline, the extra weight made a world of difference. These e-bikes are heavy. After tiring myself out much too early in the day, I decided to give the assist mode a shot.

The method of assistance was much different than I imagined it would be. A meter on the screen displayed how much the bike was working at any given time. I found that it would only help you reach and maintain set speeds. For example, the max setting, TURBO, was around 25 kilometers per hour. Past that, the bike let off and I did all the work. The slow and steady method was perfect for uphill battles, especially if I needed to accelerate

from a stopped position and then keep pace.

However, I also found myself trying to speed ahead to take pictures of the others, and then quickly catch up once they had passed. The assist mode was not the best at this, as once I got past that desired speed, it stopped helping. Even on flat ground, I found it difficult to maintain a fast top speed with all of the extra weight. Overall, I think these bikes are perfect for a group looking for a leisurely tour, but for those who need speed, they might not be worth it.

As for the battery, the charge seemed endless. I may not have used mine the full day, but when I was using it, I favored the TURBO setting, as speed demons are wont to do. By the time we reached our destination that evening, I hadn’t even lost the first tick off the battery icon. There were, however, two bikes out of the eight that gave us problems during the trip. Even fully charged, they lost power and would not turn back on. This was pretty easily remedied for us, as we had a team of organizers following along throughout the trip; for a normal customer, though, this could be much more troublesome. sunshine for the whole trip, and the views were beautiful. After riding through open farmlands and coastal highways all day, we very quickly found ourselves surrounded by lush, green forest for the final stretch. The elevation started jumping as we buckled down and rode towards our campsite. We were making good time, but at this time of year there’s only so much daylight, and we needed to make it before the sun set. Slowly but surely, we headed up the road, into the Oga mountains.

One issue many of us had with our route was the lack of cafes or shops to visit for breaks; however, as we neared our destination, we came across the Blueberry Garden. This little cafe was hidden in the woods, boasting its very own blueberry farm where you can pick your own blueberries from the fields. Although we were well out of season for picking, we did enjoy some blueberry smoothies out

Reaching the Oga Campsite, the sun was barely still peeking over the trees, spilling a golden glow on everything around us as we got off our bikes and celebrated. We were not done yet, though; we immediately piled into the organizers’ cars and rode up to the Hachibodai Lookout for the sunset. We made it just in time to soak in the view of the sun hanging over the Sea of Japan, and posed for some pictures in the evening glow.

That night, we stayed in the cottages at the Namahage Auto Camping Ground. I personally loved them; it was a perfect balance of rustic, log cabin vibes with plenty of amenities to keep you comfortable through the night. The vaulted ceilings and loft area added an openness to the space as well, and the south-facing windows and deck made for a beautiful sunrise. The second day was mostly spent coasting. We got woken up by a few quick hills to start the ride, but the rest of the trip was long stretches of downhill. After one last bend, I could see the ocean on the horizon, and knew we had made it to Oga City! As we pulled into town, we were directed to the bike shop, located next to the station. After a round of celebrations and post-trip discussions, we went our separate ways to enjoy the other shops in the area.

It turns out, there are a ton of other touring route options available through the e-bike shop! I especially would like to try the peninsula loop, which is supposed to be a real workout. If you want to try this activity, you can rent these e-bikes per hour or day at the Oga Rotating House (男鹿自転舎) in Oga City! It’s right next to Oga Station, so it is easily accessible by both car and train!