Cycling The Kyu-Edo River in Tokyo. On Mamacharis!

If you happen to be around the border area of Chiba and Tokyo, and you happen to have a bicycle with you, you’ll find a thoroughly pleasant peddle along side the Kyu-Edo River (旧江戸川). 

The partner and I were looking to cycle from our crib in Urayasu to Kasai Rinkai Park on the banks of Tokyo Bay. We’d figured this would just entail the usual urban cycle situation of mostly riding on pavements (where there are any), and trying our best to avoid any main roads.

However, the Kyu-Edogawa plugs right into Kasai Rinkai Park and has a cycle / jogging / walking path that runs alongside the whole way. Kyu-Edo is a diverted branch of the larger, and more famous, Edogawa.

The section between Urayasu and Kasai Rinkai Park starts at a point where charter fishing boats pick up groups for fishing trips. On one side the river, on the other, the chance to peer into cute gardens and private homes. 

It’s easy going but if you needed a rest, you could park up the bike, scale the river wall, and chill out on the grass banks.  

At some point, the pathway broke above its walled edges, up onto the open banks of the river where a stiff breeze can exacerbate the already dead weight of a mamachari. Still, it’s nice to be more out in the open and there are views from here to Disneyland.  

Continue like this for a short while before dipping down again, as the river approaches its entry into Tokyo Bay. Here you hang a right and skirt the wooded edge of Kasai Rinkai Park.  

The park is free to enter, and you can cycle around it. Which is a good job, because it’s massive. One of, if not, the largest in Tokyo I’m lead to believe. You can park up your mamacharis pretty much anywhere it seems, but trying to circumnavigate a park of this size when you’ve two wheels at your disposal seems a bit daft. No, cycling around here is a lot of fun and taking a break on the banks of Tokyo Bay comes highly recommended.

The section between Urayasu and Kasai Rinkai Park is an easy cycle even on a mamachari. There looks to be more of the river to explore though.

On this section there were no places to buy snacks/drinks until we reached the park, which has a convenience store near at the train station.