Ride & Hike to a Healing Cave: A Hidden-Japan E-Bike Tour in Yasutomi, Himeji
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Some places never make it onto the usual Himeji itinerary. Yasutomi (安富) is one of them — a quiet, green pocket of mountains about 40 minutes north of the station, where the air feels a little cooler and the pace a lot slower. I spent a full day here on an e-bike, and honestly, it turned into one of those rides you keep thinking about long after you’ve gone home.
An e-bike makes the mountains easy
I’ll admit it — when I heard “hill climb,” I braced myself. But the moment I pushed off on the electric-assist bike, the worry just melted away. The motor quietly takes the sting out of every slope, so instead of gasping for breath I was simply… looking around. We crossed a dam with mountains stacked up on every side and the reservoir glassy below, then rolled on toward a hidden valley called Shika-ga-tsubo. Our English-speaking guide set the pace to how we were feeling and to the weather, so nothing ever felt rushed.
A village of scarecrows, and a forest that resets you
Partway up, we passed through a sleepy mountain village where handmade scarecrows sit by the roadside like silent locals — some waving, some caught mid-conversation. Among the houses stands an old thatched-roof home that looks like it hasn’t changed in generations. At Shika-ga-tsubo we left the bikes for a short walk: clear water sliding over stone, deep green on every side, the sound of the stream. A few minutes of “forest bathing” here genuinely reset my head.
Into the mountain: Japan’s only radon tunnel
The part I was most curious about was Tomisu-no-Sato, home to what’s said to be Japan’s only mine-tunnel (kōdō) radon bath. You step into a warm, dim tunnel carved straight into the mountain and simply… rest. It’s quiet, a little otherworldly, and deeply relaxing — the kind of warmth that loosens your shoulders without you noticing. Lunch is served here too, so by the time we climbed back on the bikes I felt completely recharged.
The easy way down — shrines, sake and yuzu
From there it’s mostly downhill, which on an e-bike is pure joy — you just glide. We stopped at a historic shrine framed by giant old-growth trees, looked in on a local sake brewery (if you’d like to taste, you switch to the car for that stretch), and finished at a spot famous for the area’s specialty yuzu. The yuzu soft-serve at the end? The perfect full stop to the day.
If you come in early summer
We rode in June, when the mountains were at their greenest and the ponds sat mirror-still between the hills. Every season up here has its own character — fresh green and cool air in early summer, fiery leaves in autumn — and if you’re lucky you’ll catch hydrangea blooming near the local shrines. There’s something especially calming about Yasutomi wrapped in rainy-season green.
Good to know
| Price | ¥20,000 per person (2–6 guests) |
| Duration | About 8.5 hours (incl. lunch, radon bath & round-trip transfer from Himeji) |
| Meeting point | Act Co., Ltd. — 2–3 min walk from JR Himeji Station south exit |
| Included | E-bike rental · English guide · bicycle insurance · eki-soba ticket |
| Good to know | Adult bikes need riders 151 cm or taller · an alternative plan is offered in bad weather |
Ready to ride?
If a slow, green day in the hills sounds like your kind of trip, come join us. Check availability and book your spot below — departures are small-group only (2–6 guests).
📞 Prefer to ask first? Tel: 079-283-0890 (Mon–Sat 9:30–18:00 / Sun & holidays 9:30–15:00)
