Wheels on Fire

With its blazing fall colors and picturesque villages, the Japanese island of Kyushu was made for cycling.

- Rosecrans Baldwin

I AM NOT A CYCLIST. I don't even own a bicycle. So I was surprised to discover, after pedaling around one of Japan's main islands, that it might be my favorite new way to travel.

I always associated bike tours with scenic rides through the Loire Valley, or maybe Tuscany-places where guests wake up in a countryside hotel and spend the day cycling to the next one, stopping for leisurely lunches, maybe a couple glasses of wine, while a support car ferries their luggage. Japan may be less well known for cycling vacations, but its prefectures have all the key ingredients: pastoral countryside, cute cafés, incredible food, distinctive hotels. Not to mention a rich culture of hospitality.

The trip was planned as a three-day bike tour to experience the end of foliage season in November. I flew from Los Angeles to Tokyo, then caught a connecting flight to Fukuoka, a dynamic city on the coast of Kyushu. The southernmost of Japan's four large islands, it is ideal for biking, with beautiful roads and paths suitable for both amateurs and serious cyclists. The island even started a professional cycling race that's held in October, the Tour de Kyushu. And then there was all the stuff I wanted to do off-bike: visit artisanal pottery studios and remote shrines and, of course, eat the food-including my personal favorite, tempura.

First I took a day of rest to let the jet lag wear off. I was staying at the Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka (doubles from $583), a sleek tower overlooking the harbor. Opened in 2023, the hotel is an elegant blend of Japanese and Western styles: in the lobby, a carefully tended rock garden near the elevators; upstairs, an infinity pool with a view of the city lights. My room couldn't have been more perfect for rest, with walls and screens that slid around; at night my bathroom turned into a glowing box.