The Japanese Odyssey in 35mm

Last month, Restrap ambassador, Emma Missale travelled to Japan with her partner and fellow Restrap rider Sean. Both planned to take on the Japanese Odyssey; roughly 2000km of bikepacking through the beautiful landscapes of Japan. Not everything went to plan for either rider, but Emma still found time to take these beautiful images on her film camera (and finish first woman out of a total of eight riders to finish out of the hundred that started). 

Over to Emma...

Lining up for this year Japanese Odyssey I had one key word in mind; comfort. I’d been planning the trip for a while, but it all came together in the last week, with a new custom steel Alonunkis ERT frame showing up fresh from the painter, followed by some record time custom frame bag from a magical Restrap production team. I couldn’t be happier seeing all the pieces coming together and the stress flowing away.

What turned out to be roughly 2250km with 47000+m served as the perfect ground for a proper test ride of my new bike and Restrap race kit. I needed to travel light, but be able to carry a lot. I wanted quickly accessible bags, but also sturdy and reliable.

Clean and neat. Every other choice I made gear/setup wise was aiming for that key word - comfort. I had toured in Japan before… so it was no brainer to go for a nice low gearing, comfy saddle, wide tires and a slacked relaxed overall geo. I did not feel over-biked for a single moment out there.

9 days 21hrs and 13mins feel like a whole life when touring. TJO was not a race, but a challenge with 20 mandatory checkpoints and segments. Out of 99 people who signed up, only 8 completed all of them. I arrived 1st woman and 3rd overall.

I had my ups and downs, my joys and cracks, my boosts and doubts as any good adventure should provide. You need to experience the lows to feel the highs and round up memorable moments. 

Here are some worth the mention;

• The 5km-long unnecessary hike a bike decending an overgrown, land sliden section after CP7 on top of Shikano Col.
• The plate of Soba and the grip of onighiri that pushed me through the five back to back climbs of segment 11 and all the way to the ferry leaving Shikoku
• The blessed tunnel where I could change into my rain kit before descending through the darkness into the lantern lit town of Nagiso on segment 16.

I could go into more details of the very elaborate story full of climbing, rugged downhills, ferry rushes, sleep deprivation, laundromats, convenience stores, faces and gestures of kind people along the way, but I wouldn’t know where to stop.

Post ultra reflection is something I’ve always valued, but this time more than ever, probably due to very particular circumstances; my partner crashed and fractured his shoulder on day1 of TJO. I myself hit a wild boar, cracking my frame and earning some fresh bumps and bruises less than a week after I finished. Now we’re sitting in Tokyo, recovering and rearranging our plans.

Lots of uncertainties, but if there is one thing I’m sure about is that I can’t wait to heal and be back on new adventures. 2026 looks BIG!

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We are happy to say that Sean is making a quick recovery and Emma is already in the process of sorting out a repair/replacement Alonukis frame. Make sure you follow them on their respective social medias. They've got a great 2026 lined up.