"Even if you don't run, the culture keeps running" [Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima 2025 Report].

On Sunday, November 23, 2025, the "Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima" was held in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and we visited this event where vintage bikes produced up to the 1960s gathered, and we report an overview of the event in this issue!

Vintage bikes that have been passed down through the ages lined up in Tennogawa Park

What is the Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima?

The Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima is an event that aims to display vintage bikes manufactured up to the 1960s and let people actually ride them. The venue is Tennogawa Park. The venue is Tennogawa Park, which is now maintained as a park that is popular with the public, but it was once the site of motor sports and has the memory of "running culture" in its background. Unfortunately, the run was not held this year due to circumstances, but the venue was filled with a unique calm atmosphere throughout the day. It was a bit different from the exuberance and hustle and bustle that is common in so-called motorcycle events. I found myself naturally thinking of the event's catchphrase, "The most peaceful motorcycle event in the world.

Tenno River Park, where motor sports used to be held (now a park for the public)

In previous years, the run has been held around this pond, but unfortunately, it was not held this year

Tsushima and its "running culture

Today, Tenno-gawa Park is surrounded by greenery and water, but back in time, the sound of engines was daily life in this area. It is also a place with a history of motorsports on a flat dirt oval course. It is precisely because the event is held in a land that embraces this memory that the word "run" still retains its name in this event. Even in years when there is no running, the meaning of the event never fades.

Race vehicles look great in this location (KAWASAKI W1S, which also competed in this year's Senrihama Sand Race)

Norvin 1000 with a Norton frame and Vincent V-twin engine (also an active road racing vehicle)

Vintage motorcycles from across the age range

Until now, the Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima has been limited to the 1967 model year. For the 2025 event, the conditions were revised and vehicles up to 1969 were accepted for display. As a result, the venue was filled with vintage motorcycles from a wider range of eras than ever before. The author also visited the venue in a 1969 BMW R50/5. Although it is generally considered old enough to be considered vintage, my impression was a little shaken when I saw the vehicles lined up in the exhibition area. The vintage bikes in the exhibit area were even older, and the concentration of vintage bikes was so high that it made me feel like I might be on the young side here.

Many vintage bikes gathered again in the land where "driving culture" once lived and breathed

HARLEY DAVIDSON 45WL (1949), which was driven by himself from Kyoto, Japan

Not a BMW? but a German HOFFMANN GOUVERNEUR MP250 (1954)

English car from about 100 years ago... Douglas B29

The CABTON is a famous car born in Osaka, Japan! The name of the car comes from the initials of "Come And Buy To Osaka Nakagawa"...

The author's 1969 BMW R50/5 (the concentration of vintage cars here was so high that I still felt like a "youngster.")

Another highlight was the bicycle parking lot for visitors.

The official exhibits were not the only impressive feature of the show. The visitors' bicycle parking lot was also lined with many bikes that made one stop in one's tracks. Vintage bikes that are ridden on a daily basis, vehicles that still bear the marks of distance traveled, and custom bikes that have been casually touched up. The bikes lined up there were not "for display" but rather a reflection of the real vintage motorcycle culture that is still used in daily life. As I looked back and forth between the exhibition area and the bicycle parking lot, I realized that what made this event special was the fact that the main attraction was not limited to a few vehicles.

"Still-running vintage" bicycles naturally line the visitor parking lot as well

A beautiful TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120R is seen on the bike parking lot!

Mach with lime green sidecar stands out on the bike parking lot!

Here's a fellow biker's BSA A65 Scrambler!

What we saw because of the year we didn't have a run

The lack of a run this year created a strange margin of time at the event. The absence of the sound of engines naturally allowed more time to look at the bikes, talk to people, and listen to the stories in the background. Even if the bike does not run, you can tell from its appearance that it is a "machine for running. The same was true for the bikes on display and those lined up in the visitor parking lot.

The event is unique in that it naturally creates time to not only look at, but also to talk with each other

It is also an event that connects fashionable motorcyclists in vintage fashion

Summary.

The Vintage Bike Run in Tsushima in 2025 was a non-running year. Nevertheless, the memories of the land, the bikes gathered, and the culture created by the people certainly continued to run. It was not about competing for age or rarity, but about sharing the same time and space. That serenity is what makes this event so special. Instagram "Single Cylinder for Everyone" https://www.instagram.com/minnano_tankito

As the event's tagline stated, it was "the most peaceful motorcycle event in the world."