Nathan Bennett Explains Why Japan Might Be Mountain Biking's Best Kept Secret
The Ride Companion
TRC Media House
4.9 • 533 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Olly Wilkins is in Minakami, Japan for a special bonus episode of The Ride Companion with MTBJapan founder Nathan Bennett. Nathan moved from New Zealand to Japan 30 years ago and has spent decades building, clearing and guiding mountain bike trails in one of the most unique riding destinations in the world. In this episode, Olly and Nathan talk about the hidden MTB scene in Japan, why the dirt and terrain are so good, the famous "halfpipe"/bobsleigh-style trails, Japanese trail culture, secret riding spots, trail access, language barriers, moving to Japan, and why Minakami might be one of mountain biking's best kept secrets.
Find out more about Nathan and MTBJapan: mtbjapan.com
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Edited By: Doug Tucker, onlyflightdispatch.com & TRC Media House
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The first thing they said to me is, yeah, maybe how many cc's are the bikes and are they very loud? |
| 0:06.6 | And I was like, no, no, mountain bike is a bicycle. |
| 0:09.4 | And they're like, oh, how does that work? |
| 0:10.8 | And I said, well, you, you pet, I'm not, how does a bicycle work? |
| 0:13.2 | But how would that work as a business? |
| 0:15.2 | I says, well, I'll take people out and teach the mountain biking on the trails. |
| 0:18.6 | And they're going to have to ride the bike themselves. And they say, yeah, and they go, best of luck, off you go. |
| 0:22.6 | Yeah, see, you know, give it a shot, see here you go. |
| 0:25.6 | Hello and welcome back to the ride companion. |
| 0:36.6 | Today we are here in Minakami, Japan for a bonus episode. |
| 0:41.3 | I don't have Davey here by my side. |
| 0:43.3 | You're gonna have to bear with us. |
| 0:45.3 | It might not be quite as professional. |
| 0:47.3 | It might not quite be the studio quality. |
| 0:49.3 | We're on a punk setup. |
| 0:51.3 | We are currently sat in the MTB Japan compound in Minakami and I'm here with |
| 1:00.3 | none other than Nathan Bennett for a podcast. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome. |
| 1:04.5 | Clap yourself on. |
| 1:05.5 | Yo! |
| 1:06.5 | Mate, so the thing I find the most interesting, the thing i'm most excited to talk to you about |
| 1:12.7 | yes is um really japan to me seems like real adventure is so far away from the uk |
| 1:21.7 | no one speaks english all of the signs they don't have like English writing on them. |
... |
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