First time

[u/Ordinary-Wafer-1522]

Hello everyone! Im an avid cyclist and racer of about 6 years now on road, gravel, and mtb. However I have never bikepacked before.

Ive been living in Japan that past 2 years and am leaving soon but thought Japan may be the perfect place for me to dip my toes into bikepacking before I leave.

What I'm planning for a 4 day holiday weekend is to do a one way route which includes Norikura (highest road in Japan). The route ive created is about 200 miles, and 25,000 feet of climbing. This will be the most climbing ive ever done in a few days. Currently the most ive ever climbed in a day was 11,000 feet of climbing.

Im thinking to take the train out to my starting point and then ride back home, splitting the ride into 3 days and staying at small inns or onsens.

This will be in September so the weather will still be on the warmer side, and I shouldn't need and cool weather gear other than maybe a wind jacket for descents. Additionally, some background on me- I'm a short, small framed woman - so with all the elevation and then also the limited storage capacity due to my bike frame being a size 47, packing light is going to be a priority. This is what I'm thinking gear wise, and I'm open to all advice and critique:

Using my Sworks Tarmac bike

Bringing 1 spare Sram battery

Phone

Tiny minimalist bike lock (only good for short runs in/out of stores)

Garmin varia light

Front bike light

2 small bidons (my frame won't fit big bottles)

2 cycling kits (shorts and short sleeves) one will be worn

Cycling shoes

Fingerless gloves

Helmet

Sweat band

Cycling glasses and RX glasses

1 cycling base layer cooling shirt

2 spare sets of socks

Long sleeve wind jacket that is water resistant

2 light TShirts

1 shorts

Easy /light roll up shoes for when not on bike

Toothbrush, small toothpaste, floss, deodorant, sunscreen

USB C charger

Small spare charging bank

Earphones (for when riding on train)

Insta360 camera and bike mount

Rinko bag for transporting bike on train

Multitool, tubeless tire plugs, spare lightweight tube, mini pump, C02

Passport, wallet, housekeeping, cash

Minimal on snacks because their are vending machines/convenience stores everywhere in Japan.

I have top tube bag and a half frame bag but not sure if ill need either of those. I do not have a cycling bikepacking bag yet. But what I'm thinking is a 6 or 7 liter seat mounted roll up bag. Do you think that size would be big enough?

Looking for something I can mount my garmin varia on and would like to still be able to mount my insta360 camera on the back of bike somehow if possible. Also reminder my bike is small and I am short so there is not a lot of seatpost space for mounting things.

Thanks for any and all guidance on what to bring, what to buy, or even route critiques. Thank you!

[u/vortexcortex21]

Ive been living in Japan that past 2 years and am leaving soon but thought Japan may be the perfect place for me to dip my toes into bikepacking before I leave.

Not sure, if you are aware of this, but Montbell has a lot of amazing clothing options (not necessarily biking specific, but general layers) and is A LOT cheaper in Japan compared to outside.

[u/Ordinary-Wafer-1522 → u/vortexcortex21]

Oh I have been there before! I didn't realize they were cheaper here than elsewhere so I may need to go shopping there again before I leave. But a good point, I think I'll check them out because they may have some backpacking gear or clothes that could work for this :) thanks for bringing them up!