Kōyasan deserves a slower tempo, so there’s a full day to breathe in the mountaintop monasteries. If you’d rather keep the wheels turning, you can loop out toward the Kumano Kodo region, UNESCO-listed shrine trails and deep river valleys, before returning to the hush of the mountains for another serene night.

Leaving Kōyasan behind, you drop out of the cedars and track north toward Kobe, pausing at Rokkō Garden Terrace for coffee with views over Osaka Bay. From there, the road unwinds to the Naruto Strait, where tide and current whip up the famous whirlpools, before you slip onto Shikoku and finish in Takamatsu, with time to wander the sculpted pines and mirror ponds of Ritsurin Garden in the late afternoon.

Next you arc back toward Honshu across the Inland Sea, breaking for lunch in the white-walled lanes and canals of Kurashiki’s Bikan Quarter and taking a short coastal pause in Onomichi. The run into Hiroshima is smooth and scenic, setting you up nicely for a deeper look the following day.

Hiroshima is a two-night stop so you can do it justice: take the ferry over to Miyajima for Itsukushima Shrine and its famed “floating” torii, then spend time at the Peace Memorial Museum and Park, powerful and unmissable, before an evening in the downtown district.

Back in the saddle, you sweep along the Seto Inland Sea, with a graceful detour over the arched timbers of Kintaikyō Bridge. Relaxed coastal sections and café stops stitch the day together before you roll into Kitakyushu.

The next leg carries you east for a taste of Kyūshū’s geothermal heart: the steaming “Hells” of Beppu, and a lunch-hour rummage through the Iwashita Collection, a wonderfully eclectic trove of machines and memorabilia, before you arrive in Fukuoka for the evening.

Fukuoka then gives you a well-timed reset day: head out for a ride if you still want more corners, or keep it simple with easy sightseeing, shopping, and dinner around Hakata’s downtown core before the route turns back toward the Sea of Japan coast.

From Fukuoka you arc north through Kyūshū’s low hills to the calm waters of Kawachi Reservoir, then slip back onto Honshū for one of the trip’s great photo moments: the long sweep of Tsunoshima Bridge over turquoise shallows. The afternoon stays easy - coffee stops, Sea-of-Japan views, before a relaxed evening in Masuda.

Hiroshima & Miyajima: the Peace Memorial Museum & Park and the “floating” torii at Itsukushima Shrine.

Ise‑Shima coast & Ama culture: Tea‑green Wazuka, Tōdai‑ji and the Iga‑ryū Ninja Museum lead to the coves of Ise‑Shima and a stop at Osatsu, home of the traditional Ama divers.

Kyushu slice: Beppu’s geothermal “Hells”, the eclectic Iwashita Collection, and a night in lively Fukuoka.