When I booked my flights to Japan, I tweeted (in Japanese), “in Japan 12/2-”. 2 minutes later my friend Kei Tsuji tweeted me back , “we’ll be waiting for you in Kansai (Osaka)”. So I booked my flight. Take a flight to Osaka, ride 120km, climb 2000m, take a flight back to Tokyo. One night, 24 hour stay. Ultimate transfer ride.

Kei is becoming a world-famous photographer in the cycling world and often collaborates with Rapha. See his photos in Tour of Turkey, you’ll love his work.

Aside from the opportunity to ride with a professional cycle photographer, he and the Rapha Osaka crew are locals in the area. In my past experience, riding with the locals will boost your satisfaction level by,,, like four notches. This ride didn’t disappoint. The photo below is taken at the peak of the climb, where the temperature was -2 degrees Celsius, cold enough to freeze the trees but not cold enough to freeze the tarmac, in other words, perfect condition for a ride,,,

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