|
| Japan 2017 - Days 8 to 11 - Motorcycle Tour (Tokyo to Matsumoto to Takayama to Mount Fuji to Tokyo) |
|
This is it. This was what this whole vacation was about. When I started looking around for my next vacation I scoured the internet for interesting motorcycle rides. I narrowed it down to Japan and another ride starting in Hanoi Vietnam then going over the mountains into Laos and then down to Thailand. And I still want to go do that one too. But since I was traveling alone and I've always wanted to go to Japan, I decided to book a ride through Ninja Tours.
The guys at Ninja tours were great and helped design me a custom route, booked all my Ryoken reservations, and set me up with an English speaking GPS and a good bike. A 2017 Yamaha MT-07 (sold as the FZ-07 here in the states) After riding it on the big highway I was wishing that I could have fit one of the bigger bikes they have. After getting on the tiny winding roads I was glad I was on a smaller bike that like to be tossed around. They even provided me with a Japanese phone. Looking back on it though, I'd suggest doing one of their preplanned trips to anyone looking to do something similar. My route was great but in retrospect I lost valuable time to back tracking. The ride itself started out a bit frustrating. The day I started was the day a huge solar flair hit and it seemed to have caused the GPS to freak out sending me in circles and on some small back streets. That and the fact that I missed my exit from the Yamte Tunnel, which is 11.3 miles long, caused me to have to go back to my starting point and get escorted out of the city. This cost me about 3 hours which meant I had to shave off two thirds of the Venus line in order to get to my Ryoken in time for dinner. The second day the GPS worked much better. And despite an almost constant state of precipitation ranging from mist to pretty heavy rain, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. But I did also end up cutting that ride a tiny bit short too. I brought all my rain and cold weather gear, but totally spaced out and didn't bring water proof gloves. So while everything else dry and cozy in the cold high altitude rain, my hands ended up a bit chilled and all pruned up. The 3rd day was the day I dreamed of when planning this trip. It was clear and crisp and it was the longest route with some of the most spectacular views. It covered a vast range of scenery. Small mountain passes, winding valley roads along side of creeks and rivers, tiny paths through dark forests, small villages, medium sized towns, and full on expressways. And due to a section of my route having washed down a mountain, I ended up running 2 hours late. I called the Hotel and gave them a heads up, so I'd get food when i got there, and ended up having to ride that last hour in the dark. That was one adventure I don't care to repeat. Narrow 2 way winding mountain roads in the dark? No thank you. The last day was a short day but it allowed me to put half a check on another place that's on my "list". I went up the side of Mount Fuji to the highest of the 4 "5th stations". Going back and hiking to the top will be the other half of that check mark. I got back to Tokyo around 1PM on a Thursday and traffic was ridiculously congested. I was told that lane cutting was not only allowed, but was expected during my driving briefing. I said "I won't be doing that". And the guy giving me the briefing laughed. Well, those words were eaten, just as was predicted by the owner of Ninja Tours said they would be. When you're all geared up and sitting in Tokyo traffic, you eventually give in and do it. To not do so would have not only added at least another hour, if not more, to my ride. And I probably would have passed out from heat stroke. LOL. I'm not sure I'd drive a car in Japan, but I wouldn't hesitate to jump on a motorcycle and head out into the country again. Oh, one quick note. I didn't really take a lot of photos on the ride. For starters, well, I was riding. But also an the narrow mountain roads there aren't tons of safe places to stop and take photos. And then there is the fact that there are so many trees that when you do stop you don't usually have a great view. It's when your moving that that trees sort of fade away and allow you to see the vistas. |
 Smaller (SD-480p) / Larger (HD-1920p) |
||
| This is the same ride day 3 video that is on the main Japan Index page. It is 4:18 long. Clicking the image opens a medium sized version, and there are links to larger and samller versions. |
Here is a link to a Google Map of the actual routes I took as recorded by my Olympus TG-Tracker video camera. |
|
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-01-_KYO4049-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-17-_RD34429-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-18-_RD34438-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-19-_RD34477-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-23-_RD34646-48-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-24-_RD34649-51-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-25-_RD34652-54-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-26-_RD34666-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-28-_RD34720-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-31-_RD34783-03-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-32-_RD44870-72-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-33-_RD44918-20-HDR(3).jpg")
.jpg "Japan-Ride-Day8-11-34-_RD44924-26-HDR(3).jpg")
