Biking tours in Japan

We are interested in recreational biking while sightseeing in Japan. We are amateur bikers who can typically bike up to 20 miles on flat paved trails. We prefer to avoid biking with cars or biking on crowded streets. We prefer traditional manual bikes as compared to e-bikes on relatively flat biking trails. We will be travelling to the following cities in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Koya-san (Mount Koya), Hiroshima, Kyoto and Hakone. We are looking biking recommendation. Which city will be most suited for sightseeing while biking? Feel free to recommend any guided biking tours. Anyone heard about Kyoto Historical Highlights Bike Tour or other Bike Tours in Kyoto or one of the other cities we will be visiting?

There are many hills in Hakone, so I don't recommend cycling.
Koyasan will also have many slopes. (I've never been there.)
You can see reviews of bicycle tours on TripAdvisor's Things to Do.
For example, here.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1066443-d12178629-Revie...

Hmmc 20 miles, flattish and few cars.

What would come to mind is:

Kibi plain https://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/day-45-kibi-plain-and-...
Small part of Shimanami Kaido. http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/11/part-10-day-48-49-ridin...
Guided tour in Tokyo —> a friend of mine organizes guided tours from Sasazuka through back streets. Itfs a nice area and hefs a nice guy. https://freewheeling.jp/
If on a third Saturday of the month in Tokyo join me on a NPC ride for free https://meetu.ps/c/4vfQF/CgPhs/a
Kyoto along the river to Arashiyama
Maibara to Hikone and back
Tokyo along many small rivers. Eg Kanda river, Zenpukuji river or from Kichijoji to Tama lake on a long very straight cycling path. Visit Edo Tatemono museum.
Nara city is also nice to cycle around. There is a rental place right by the JR station I know.


Regarding you places
Tokyo, see above.
Hakone, you could probably cycle along the lake which is flat. But itfs actually quite nice to just walk.
Osaka , well I personally dislike Osaka. There is some cycling along rivers but I think Kanda river or Zenpukuji river in Tokyo are nicer.
Koyasan, too small and too many hills
Hiroshima, I donft know.
But Kibi plain is between Osaka and Hiroshima as is Shimanami Kaido

Two words of warning:
- you cannot bring a bicycle on public transport unless it is in a bag
- many rental bikes are gmamacharish very slow, heavy and very small. Itfs totally okay for a shortish ride.

Find more inspirations here on my blog. The more recent rides are generally more in the mountains, but the rides und gTdJ2017h tag are generally flatter and shorter.
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/TdJ2017?m=1

I did the Kibi plain last year, it's really pleasant and relaxing, rice fields, pagodas, burial mounds, no cars....

Would be ideal I think.

It's not a tour, but I personally like cycling along the river and the sea.
Cycling along the Tamagawa River, cycling on the Pacific Bicycle Trail from Oiso and Chigasaki to Enoshima, etc.
https://biketourjapan.com/cycling-the-river-paths-of-japan/
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan/tokyo/tamagawa-cycling-trail
https://www.kkr.mlit.go.jp/road/pcr/en/index.html
I didn't ride a bicycle on Kibi Plain, but I walked a part of the route when I went to Kibitsu-jinja Shrine.
There were almost no cars, and the road was flat and surrounded by rice fields, so it looks easy to cycle.
It is possible to rent a bicycle without participating in a tour.

Some great ideas here. Thank you all so much. Upon further reflection, it seems that Kyoto will be the location where we may be able to incorporate biking into our schedule. Many websites such as Trip Advisor lists several guided bike tours in Kyoto. We found the biking along the river to Arashiyama or biking to various Kyoto historical sites, or Kyoto Highlights Bike Tour interesting. Anyone had any experience with any of those?

I havenft done any organized tours but I have been riding in Kyoto (and around Kyoto) a lot.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Kyoto?m=1

Most of my riding is on quieter roads.

I've never participated in a tour either, but I rode a bicycle in Kyoto (I've been to Kyoto about 10 times, but I rode a bicycle once).
The road from Kyoto Station to Demachiyanagi Station (on the west side, to the north of Kyoto Gyoen National Garden) is quite flat, but I think the road after that is a gentle uphill.
There are many tourists in Arashiyama (Sagano), but I think it is easy to run because the road is almost flat until around Adashi no Nenbutsuji.
There are also far fewer cars than in the center.
If the Kyoto Highlights Bike Tour you wrote is this link, I think there are almost no slopes on this route.
https://www.magical-trip.com/product/f3520658-af13-4f1b-a85a-7b75ceb5a...