With so little information available, The Japanese Odyssey (hereafter TJO) remains an ultra-distance cycling event that’s quietly—but intensely—beloved.
This marks the final installment of the column series by photographer Eigo Shimojo, who set out to explore the riders who take on this mysterious event.
And during the course of this series, the enigmatic TJO has unveiled details for its 2025 edition.
This year’s tagline? “The Forgotten Tōge”—forgotten mountain passes!
For full details, please check the official website, but here’s a quick overview for now.
Schedule: October 3, 2025 (Friday) – 13 days and 12 hours (324 hours)
A pre-event is scheduled for October 2 (Thursday) in Fukuoka.
Start Point: Sakurajima Peninsula, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture
Finish Point: Alps Park, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture
Estimated Distance: 2,300 km (possibly more)
Estimated Elevation Gain: 46,000 m (lots of climbing!)
Checkpoints: 20 locations
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=1Njnf0QdNpra2GKK825FaxD74JYfOeWY&ll=0%2C0&z=8
Notable Point: Partnership with the NGO JEAN (Japan Environmental Action Network)
JEAN is an NGO specializing in cleaning and researching marine debris. In 2018, the TJO organizers, Emmanuel and Guillaume, happened to stop by a beach on the Pacific coast and were struck by the sight of marine litter scattered across the shore. This prompted them to reflect on the nature of the event itself, ultimately leading to the decision to collaborate with JEAN. Donations will be collected and sent to the organization after the event.
An extraordinary number of mountain passes designated as checkpoints—and the staggering elevation gain…
We can’t wait to see what kind of “journey” this year’s riders will undertake.
In the meantime, take a look back at the gear and riding style of past TJO participants as a bit of prep.
And finally, we introduce the first-ever Japanese participant—someone well known in the randonneuring world.
*For more details, please visit the official website of The Japanese Odyssey:
https://www.japanese-odyssey.com/
＊You can find the previous essay here.
Stuart, who joined from Australia, hails from the lush, nature-rich island of Tasmania. He works at sea, engaged in marine research. He was one of the four cyclists who instantly resonated with the inaugural edition of The Japanese Odyssey (TJO) in 2015.
He was also one of the early riders deeply inspired by the philosophy of the Transcontinental Race (TCR)—a cornerstone of the ultra-distance world—and its legendary founder, Mike Hall. Having completed the TCR multiple times, Stuart stands out among TJO participants as a truly seasoned and passionate ultra-distance cyclist.
When I first met him at Nihonbashi, his maroon merino wool jersey was faded, and his black shorts—not bib tights—had holes in them. His worn-out gear and aura of quiet expertise were honestly intimidating. The 2015 TJO was a brutal route, over 4,200 km—more than 1,000 km longer than today’s edition—and he was the only rider to finish. In 2016, his second TJO, he again stunned us: he chose to ride the entire route in reverse—completely opposite from everyone else—and added nearly 1.5 times the distance… and still finished. Remarkable!
The organizers often describe TJO as a “laid-back” ultra-distance event, but in those early years, when it was still unknown and cult-like, meeting, chasing, and photographing hardcore cyclists like Stuart was an enormous motivation for me as a reporter.
Stuart’s bike of choice is a titanium disc road bike from UK-based Kinesis Bikes—a model specialized for ultra-distance gravel riding, and one favored by Mike Hall himself. I’ll never forget when Stuart appeared at the finish line in bustling Dotonbori. Emerging from the crowd like a monk on pilgrimage, dragging his bike behind him, he had an otherworldly aura. As I raised my camera, lit by the neon glow of Osaka, his face looked almost possessed. It’s a mood I’ve since seen shared among many TJO finishers—perhaps brought on by the extreme fatigue and tension of the tour.
The next day, freshly trimmed at the barber, he looked like a completely different person—gentle, warm, and at ease.
Since then, he’s continued to dominate ultra-hardcore races like the Indian Pacific Wheel Race and the Silk Road Mountain Race year after year. Back home in Tasmania, he also runs a guesthouse catering to bikepackers. He’s charging forward on his wild cycling path—and we can’t take our eyes off him.
The Messenger from the Nordics / SAMI MARTISKAINEN（Finland）
Based in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, Sami has long worked as a cycle messenger. While making his living on the bike every day, he also dedicates himself to competing in messenger championships across Europe and participating in legendary brevets such as Paris-Brest-Paris and London-Edinburgh-London. With the sharp instincts honed from navigating the streets daily, Sami was among the earliest to catch on to the ultra-distance movement and has taken part in many of the grassroots races that emerged during its early days. His participation in the 2016 edition of The Japanese Odyssey (TJO) was part of that ongoing “bike life.”
In fact, TJO has a partnership with Pelago Bicycles, a rising cycling brand from Sami’s home country of Finland. Thanks to that connection, Sami took on the Odyssey aboard Pelago’s chromoly steel touring model, the “SIBBO,” proudly representing his homeland… or so you’d think. In reality, he carried no sense of pressure, riding throughout the event with a calm and laid-back vibe.
Yet beneath that relaxed demeanor was a powerhouse of stamina and strength. Sami handled the grueling route with a breezy ease. Watching him tackle long, steep mountain passes on the way to checkpoints—casually tossing out a grin and a “Yeah, chromoly is heavy, right?” as he cruised ahead—was a sight to behold. Strong and fast. His knack for route selection also stood out, as you’d expect from a seasoned messenger.
Whether in Finland’s beautiful but brief summers or its long, dark, snow-covered winters, Sami continues to work, play, and live on the bike—quietly and steadily. A quick glance at his social media offers glimpses into this rhythm, often sparking deeper thoughts about what “bicycle life” really means.
Asked why he joined TJO, Sami replied that he was chasing the sun—something hard to find during a Nordic summer. But 2016’s TJO was cursed with just about every kind of bad weather imaginable: heatwaves, typhoons, thunderstorms, dense fog. Still, Sami shrugged it all off and finished with an impressive time. Even more surprising—he deliberately added a long detour along the coastal roads of Hokuriku and San’in, not required by the route at all, just so he could soak up as much sunlight as possible. And he was thrilled about it! We couldn’t help but be amazed.
Do You Know Occhi? / Yusuke Ochiai (Japan)
“Do You Know Occhi?”
The man who appeared like a shooting star in the 2017 edition of The Japanese Odyssey (TJO) was none other than Mr. Ochiai. That year marked the first time Japanese riders joined the event—three of them in total—among 17 hardened participants known for their strength and endurance. The 2017 route, passionately crafted by French organizer Emmanuel, paid homage to his deep admiration for the poet Matsuo Bashō. The theme: Oku no Hosomichi—“The Narrow Road to the Deep North.” And true to its inspiration, the route plunged deep into the remote mountains of the Tohoku region.
In the midst of harsh early-stage weather, riders were tasked with traversing intelligently yet brutally placed mountain passes—a reflection of the organizer’s twisted affection for suffering. All eyes were on the Japanese participants—how would they fare on such a cruel route?
As I watched the live tracker, my attention was stolen by a single dot breaking away from the rest—surging across the map of Japan at a startling pace, leaving the others far behind. That dot belonged to Ochiai.
While he was relatively well known within the Kansai brevet community, he was mostly an unknown figure. But that year, he conquered the notoriously tough 3,000+ km TJO route at an astonishing pace, finishing first and instantly earning recognition among ultra-distance fans and dot-watchers around the world.
In the years that followed, every TJO he entered ended with him calmly crossing the finish line first. His accolades continued to grow: top-ranked Japanese rider at Paris-Brest-Paris, fastest finisher of Japan’s most demanding brevet, the BAJ2400, Guinness World Record holder for the fastest ride across Japan, and a finisher of the legendary RAAM (Race Across America). Today, he stands as one of Japan’s brightest stars in the brevet and ultra-distance cycling worlds.
Every cyclist has their strengths—some excel at maintaining high cruising speeds, others are unbeatable in the mountains. But Ochiai’s most remarkable trait is this: he doesn’t sleep. He maintains a steady rhythm, taking the shortest possible breaks, and barely sleeping as he pushes further than anyone else. By day, he works diligently in the medical field; his long-distance bike commute and weekend brevets fuel his adventures into unexplored realms of endurance.
When asked, “What is cycling to you?”
Occhi quietly replied:
“A path to self-discovery, I suppose…”
Text＆Photo_ Eigo Shimojo
Overview of the 2016 TJO:
Theme: Japan’s Top 100 Mountains (Mt. Haruna, Mt. Norikura, Mt. Tsurugi, Tengu Highlands, Mt. Sasayama)
Route Overview: Nihonbashi/Tokyo → Gunma Prefecture → Nagano Prefecture → Nara Prefecture, Mie Prefecture → Sanin Region → Tokushima Prefecture, Ehime Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture → Dotonbori/Osaka
Distance: Approximately 2,400 km
Total Elevation Gain: Approximately 3,500 km
🚴♂️The Japanese Odyssey Report Series
Second series
#01 Before Dawn
#02 The wave has arrived.
#03 “Be prepared”
#04 Moving Dots in Motion
#05 CARLOS / DAVID / PASCAL
#06 TOM / GUILLAUME / EMMANUEL
#07 TYLER / DANIEL / NICOLAS
#08 STUART / SAMI / YUSUKE
First series
#01 Into the World of Ultra-Distance
#02 2015, aiming for July 18th.
#03 Toward The First Year of My “The Japanese Odyssey”
#04 A crazy setup.
#05 The mastermind behind the “mystery”
#06 “Japan favoritism” or “Bias towards Japan”
🚴♂️The Japanese Odyssey Official Website
https://www.japanese-odyssey.com/
Profile
Eigo Shimojo
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1974
Belongs to IPU Japan Photographers Union
He became independent in 2000 as a freelancer and established Greenhouse Studio, which handles a wide range of photography and video production.
His life’s work is pursuing underground HIPHOP and bicycle culture around the world.
Post Date：2025.04.11
