Saturday, October 10. An international road race will sweep through the streets of Fukuoka and finish right in the heart of Tenjin.
The Mynavi Tour de Kyushu 2026 Saga–Fukuoka Stage starts at Hado Cape in Karatsu, follows the Genkai Sea coast through Itoshima and into Fukuoka City, before finishing in Tenjin after approximately 154 km of racing. Around the finish area, spectators will be able to follow the race on large screens, explore booths, enjoy stage events, and sample local food and drinks while waiting for the riders to arrive.
You do not need to know much about cycling to enjoy it. Think of it as a day out in the city with an international sporting event gradually making its way toward you. Spend some time in Tenjin, check the race on the big screen, see where the leaders are, and then move to the roadside as the riders approach Fukuoka. For one day, the city itself becomes the stadium.
And for anyone who wants to get even closer to the action, Fukuoka Now will be giving away paid viewing tickets for the Tour de Kyushu 2026 to 10 readers. Find details further down this page.
Seeing Kyushu by Bicycle
The bicycle has long been one of the simplest and most environmentally friendly ways to travel. It uses no fuel and moves under your own power, allowing you to exercise while travelling and notice things that are easy to miss from a car or public transport: small roads and storefronts, the breeze coming off the sea, the scents of a place, even the changing gradient of a hill.
Not too fast and not too slow, a bicycle makes the journey between destinations part of the trip itself. That feeling suits Kyushu particularly well. Surrounded by sea and with mountains always close at hand, Kyushu brings cities, countryside, fishing ports, hot spring towns and peninsulas together within relatively short distances. Ride for a while and the scenery can change dramatically, making a bicycle an ideal way to experience the landscape and the everyday life of the places you pass through at close range.
The cycling most of us enjoy and the road racing contested by professional riders are very different in speed and purpose. What they share is the experience of moving through the landscape while directly feeling the road, the wind and the changes in terrain. The Tour de Kyushu takes that experience to its extreme.
From the Coast to the Heart of Fukuoka
The route of the 2026 Saga–Fukuoka Stage makes that connection especially clear. The race starts at Hado Cape in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, follows the Genkai Sea coastline into Itoshima, then continues into Fukuoka City before reaching the finish in Tenjin, one of Kyushu’s largest commercial districts.
There are other types of urban cycling races. The Sasebo Criterium, held the previous day, uses a shorter city course that riders complete multiple times. The Saga–Fukuoka Stage is different. By the time the riders reach central Fukuoka, they will already have raced approximately 154 km from Karatsu through Itoshima, university districts and residential neighbourhoods.
Places we normally think of as separate are suddenly connected by one road and one race, from the coast and countryside all the way into the middle of the city. That is part of what makes watching the Tour de Kyushu in Fukuoka so unusual. There is no stadium to travel to; the streets you already know become the racecourse.
42.6 km/h: A Speed You Have to See in Person
Professional road racing can look surprisingly calm on television, but the numbers tell a different story. During the 2025 Fukuoka Stage, winner Kyrylo Tsarenko covered the 120.43 km course from Chikugo City to Yame City in 2 hours, 49 minutes and 32 seconds, an average speed of approximately 42.6 km/h. That was over an undulating course that included a Category 2 climb and was completed over six laps.
More importantly, it is not just one rider moving at that speed. There may be several riders ahead in a breakaway, followed by the large main group known as the peloton, with team cars and race officials behind them. On a screen, the whole procession can look relatively compact. Standing beside the road is different: the riders fill the street and sweep past in seconds, bringing with them the sound, speed and rush of air that television simply cannot reproduce.
That physical sensation is one of the main reasons to watch a road race live.
You Don’t Need to Know Much About Cycling
Following a road race is easier than it might first appear. Three basic terms will make the live broadcast much more interesting: the breakaway, a small group of riders that has moved ahead of the main field; the peloton, the large main group behind them; and the time gap, which tells you how much time separates the two.
With those three ideas in mind, the race begins to tell its own story. Where are the leaders now? How far behind is the peloton? How long until they reach Fukuoka? Watching those numbers change on the big screen while knowing that the riders are getting closer to the city is part of the experience. Eventually, the race you have been following on screen suddenly appears on the streets in front of you.
What It Takes to Turn a Public Road into a Racecourse
There is another side to the Tour de Kyushu that is easy to overlook. The riders are not competing on a permanent circuit; they are racing on roads normally used for commuting, shopping, deliveries and everyday life. Turning those public roads into the course for an international race requires extensive preparation, including traffic restrictions, safety management, advance notification for people along the route, coordination with police and local governments, and the operation of the race itself.
The Saga–Fukuoka Stage also does not take place within a single city or prefecture. It crosses prefectural boundaries and passes through multiple municipalities, requiring different organizations and communities to work together to make the race possible. In that sense, the Tour de Kyushu is more than a sporting event. It is also a large regional project involving government, business and local communities.
Closing roads for a day may sound simple, but behind it lies an enormous amount of coordination needed to turn Kyushu itself into one connected stage.
Make a Day of It in Tenjin
The finish area in Tenjin is not somewhere you need to arrive only a few minutes before the riders. The idea is to enjoy the day while the race gradually makes its way from Karatsu, through Itoshima and toward Fukuoka. Spectators can follow the action on the large screen, visit the booths, enjoy stage events, and sample local food and drinks while keeping an eye on the changing race situation.
Part of the atmosphere comes from everyone following the same unfolding story together. As the breakaway and peloton move closer to Fukuoka and the time gap changes, the anticipation builds. Once the riders enter Fukuoka City, spectators can move to the roadside and watch the international field race through the city before reaching the finish in Tenjin.
The experience does not necessarily end the instant the riders cross the line. Seeing them after the finish offers another side of professional cycling: the joy, disappointment and exhaustion on their faces, the exchanges between teammates, and the tension of riders who know that the Tour de Kyushu continues again the following day.
In that sense, there is something familiar about the atmosphere. Like Hakata Dontaku, it is an excuse to head into town and enjoy being part of a citywide event with everyone else. This time, however, an international road race is coming straight through the middle of it.
On October 10, the race is coming to Tenjin. The best way to understand what that feels like is to be there.
Win Paid Viewing Tickets — 10 Available
Watching the Tour de Kyushu from the roadside is free, but each stage also offers paid viewing areas for spectators who want to experience the race from a closer vantage point.
Fukuoka Now will give away one paid viewing ticket for the Mynavi Tour de Kyushu 2026 to each of 10 readers, selected at random. When entering, choose the stage you would most like to attend:
- Sasebo Criterium: Friday, October 9
- Saga–Fukuoka Stage: Saturday, October 10
- Oita–Kumamoto Stage: Sunday, October 11
- Miyazaki–Nichinan Stage: Monday, October 12 (national holiday)
Application deadline: Sep. 24, 2026, 18:00
One entry per person. Winners will be contacted by email. Transportation and accommodation are not included.
Four Stages, Four Parts of Kyushu to Explore
The Tour de Kyushu is also a chance to experience four very different parts of Kyushu. Whether you follow one stage or make a longer trip of it, each race area offers its own scenery, food and character beyond the course itself.
Sasebo Criterium
The opening day features a criterium through central Sasebo around JR Sasebo Station and Sasebo Port. Riders complete 30 laps of an approximately 1.5 km circuit, covering a total distance of around 45 km. Because the riders pass the same points repeatedly, it is also an easy format to follow for those watching a road race for the first time.
- Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
- Start: Scheduled for 13:00
- Course: Central Sasebo (around JR Sasebo Station and Sasebo Port)
- Distance: Approx. 45 km (approx. 1.5 km × 30 laps)
- Event venue: Sasebo 5bangai
- Official Sasebo Criterium information
While you’re there: Kujukushima
Sasebo is the gateway to Kujukushima, a scenic stretch of coastline dotted with numerous small islands. It is one of the area’s signature landscapes and can be enjoyed from observation points or from the water on a sightseeing cruise. Back in the city, Sasebo has its own distinctive food culture too, with Sasebo Burger among its best-known local specialties.
STAGE 1 Saga–Fukuoka Stage
Starting at Hado Cape in Karatsu, this approximately 154 km road race follows the coastline overlooking the Genkai Sea before passing through Itoshima and entering Fukuoka City, with the finish at Tenjin Bridge. One of the defining features of the stage is the dramatic change in scenery, from coast to suburbs and finally the city center.
- Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
- Start: Scheduled for 10:00
- Course: Hado Cape, Karatsu → Karatsu City → Itoshima City → Tenjin Bridge, Fukuoka City
- Distance: Approx. 154 km
- Official Saga–Fukuoka Stage information
While you’re there: Hado Cape and PLA PLA
The race begins at Hado Cape, at the tip of the Higashi Matsuura Peninsula, where wide views over the Genkai Sea make the start itself worth the trip. While you are there, consider visiting PLA PLA, the new World Marine Plastic Planning Center that opened at Hado Cape in June. The facility was created in response to the large amount of marine debris that washes ashore in this part of northern Kyushu, and introduces visitors to the issue of marine plastic through exhibits and hands-on learning. It adds an unexpected environmental dimension to a visit to one of Karatsu’s most scenic coastal areas.
STAGE 2 Oita–Kumamoto Stage
A demanding stage with a strong mountain profile, crossing the prefectural border from Bungoono in Oita to Minamiaso in Kumamoto. The course passes through the areas around Harajiri Falls and the Kuju Highlands before crossing the Aso region on its way to Minamiaso. Against the backdrop of Kyushu’s expansive mountain scenery, riders will be tested on both climbing ability and team strategy.
- Date: Sunday, October 11, 2026
- Start: Scheduled for 10:00
- Course: Bungoono City Hall → Taketa City → Minamioguni Town → Ubuyama Village → Aso City → Takamori Town → Minamiaso Village Hall
- Distance: Approx. 128 km
- Official Oita–Kumamoto Stage information
While you’re there: Aso and Harajiri Falls
This is the stage for big landscapes. On the Oita side, Harajiri Falls appears dramatically in the middle of the countryside, with a broad curtain of water approximately 120 metres wide and 20 metres high. Farther along the route, the scenery opens into the grasslands and volcanic landscapes of the Aso–Kuju region. If any stage invites you to slow down and explore by car or bicycle before or after the race, this is probably it.
STAGE 3 Miyazaki–Nichinan Stage
The final stage heads from Miyazaki City toward the Nichinan Coast. Starting at Hinata Miyazaki Prefectural Comprehensive Sports Park, the riders travel through Nichinan before returning to Miyazaki City for the finish in front of the Miyazaki Prefectural Government Office. The approximately 124 km course connects Miyazaki’s distinctly southern coastal landscape with the city, and will determine the overall standings of the three-day stage race.
- Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 (national holiday)
- Start: Scheduled for 9:00
- Course: Hinata Miyazaki Prefectural Comprehensive Sports Park, Miyazaki City → Nichinan City → Miyazaki Prefectural Government Office, Miyazaki City
- Distance: Approx. 124 km
- Official Miyazaki–Nichinan Stage information
While you’re there: Aoshima and the Nichinan Coast
The final stage follows one of Kyushu’s most distinctive coastal areas. Aoshima combines a small island shrine, subtropical scenery and the unusual wave-shaped rock formations known as the Devil’s Washboard, while the road south toward Nichinan offers broad views of the Pacific. Farther along the coast are attractions such as Udo Jingu, making this an easy stage to combine with a leisurely coastal drive or an overnight stay.
Tour de Kyushu 2026 – More Details Here