A little report of pictures and words (but mostly pictures about a trip in Japan.

[RDT953]

A trip with little in the way of planning to introduce some new and not so new members of the Kansai-Riders to each other and to this wonderful part of Japan.



At the morning rendezvous we did a bit of fine tuning to our roughly planned out route.



So after a less than satisfying b/fast of McSomething and coffee, George having the best knowledge of this area took the lead to get us to the start of the route.



A bit more fine tuning to the route and we'll be on our way.



The first of many roads blocked by debris from landslides to be encountered in the following days.



The scenery improves quickly once the city falls behind.



Read the sign, Fishing anywhere is better than work. This is a "must return to destination" for me in the not too distant future. The fishing here is supposedly outstanding with some record catches of bass accounted for in the nearby waters.



To keep within budgets we lunched at a Convini near the fishing spot.



It's a very popular route for bike riders and drivers of sporty type cars.



The route followed the river along the valley, evidence of one of the many landslides can be seen in the distant hills.



And the result is another blocked road and a lengthy detour up into the mountains, but it's all good fun and just adds to the adventure.



We eventually arrive at Kawayu Camp Grounds and set up the tents. Plenty of healthy distance between the tents, the yellow Nomad is my home for the next 3 nights.



BBQ time and lessons on the fine art of "smores" creation. I'm an Aussie so both the spelling and description of this American creation could be way off, but in essence it's toasted marshmallow with a slab of chocolate sandwiched between two sweet biscuits. I have a pretty low tolerance to sugar so for me it's a one time experience, but the others seemed to like it pretty well.



Next day a little bit of touristy stuff before the members of the group with young mans's disease (work) have to head off home. This is the Ya En Ropeway.



Then they all headed home, some to wives, some to kids, some to jobs, and some to all of those, leaving me to explore the area at will.



The best part of solo touring is being able to indulge my liking of stopping to take pictures of quirky road signs whenever I want without having to worry about slowing everyone else down. Nearly all road safety signs here have either cartoon like artwork or cute pics. More to follow.



Just another waterfall along the road.



Part of highway 168 not far from the camp grounds.



Blending in the the surrounds was not high on the agenda when this house was painted. Not far from here I came upon a small fleet of trucks painted the same colour, engaged in roadworks so I'm guessing the house is the HQ of the trucking business.



I did tell you there was more to come.




Another benefit of solo touring is being less threatening and having the time to approach locals. This older gentleman was more than happy to show me the art of carp fishing.



Snack time. Banana cake and a banana.



Now I have the camp all to myself, bliss.



Time to rig up the new collapsible rod and little fishing reel my lovely wife bought me for bike based fishing.



I didn't expect to catch anything here but it was still fun to try out the casting action of this neat little outfit. I've never been a fan of collapsible rods but this nice little stick has plenty going for it, extremely light, takes up next to no room at all and has enough power to handle fish up to the 10 kg range. Now I just have to find the fish.



Another quirky sign, now I thought this was advertising a hotel, what with the sleeping kitty and all but George who reads and speaks Japanese (clever bugger) tells me it's to caution / thank drivers for taking care at the roadworks up ahead.
The screened off area in the river is for open air bathing in the thermal waters.



Being a shy type and needing the benefits of a good soaping rather than soaking, I opted for the indoors public bath house. Great value at only 250Yen.



Next morning I headed of nice and early in search of a road indicated in the "Mapple" touring maps book as being gravel. Gravel roads are rare in these parts and I was keen to try out the dirt credentials of the Dual Sport nature of my bike. Thought it best to let the bike get a blessing at a local shrine before I got too far off the beaten path.



Still looking for the dirt.



Found it, and it's a great little road. I had this place all to myself and didn't see another person, car or bike until around midday.



Yep that's the road edge and it's a straight drop to the river rocks from here.



It's nothing too testing but it was so nice to feel dirt under the tyres and I felt very comfortable on these roads with the F650GS. I'm running standard everything on this bike with very worn tyres (new tyres have been ordered) but even so felt pretty confident with the amount of grip and the capability of the suspension. BTW the panniers are empty ate this stage so fully loaded it's sure to be another story on the suspension.




Not the place to be confusing ambition with ability, especially flying solo with no communications.




Starting to look like the setting for Lord of the Rings. The ideal home for Trolls, Elves, Fairies and Pixies.



Before you ask, I'm not looking for any of the previously mentioned Woods Nymphs, just checking out potential camping spots for future trips.



At last some signs of human activity. These are bee hives made out of hollowed out log sections.



Another half hour down the road, a farming village straddling a river with a suspension bridge for communicating between both sides of the river.



Foot traffic only.



Not a lot of flat ground around these parts for farming so the paddocks are pretty small by Australian standards.



The first one of these I've seen in Japan.



And another blocked road to turn me around. By this time I've been running on the same tank of fuel from the fill the previous day and was starting to get a bit concerned. Running around in the hills and on the dirt it's very difficult to estimate fuel usage.



More rice.



Cabins for hire along the river at a youth camp but still no sign of people. Until now the only person I've seen all day was a very old lady at the suspension bridge. She had a lengthy conversation with me (none of which I understood) and really admired my bike but due to my abysmal language skills I couldn't even ask her where I might be able to buy some fuel. Now that I've retired I must get busy on acquiring some language skills.



Evidence of more landslides in the distance and potential problems with the road which turned out to be proven and I was turned around yet again to find another way. At about this time I was thankful. not to gods ( not a believer in imaginary friends or the supernatural ) but to the engineers behind GPS technology and the designers and engineers of this frugal little Rotax engine that sips fuel. At a previous fuel stop with the other riders my little BMW had used about half the fuel of the next most economical bike.



Paradise for hikers with little footbridges and World Heritage listed hiking trails. All of my forced detours was getting me into some brilliant scenery.



At last a road that looks like it's been used recently, notice the absence of leaf litter? Up to here I've been plowing through leaf litter and rock debris.



Last of the quirky signs, I promise.



Yippee, somewhere to have lunch. While I was studying my map book the ladies running this cafe indicated that nobody was using those roads now due to the typhoons and ensuing damage from the previous year. I'ts probably just the bee keepers and some forestry workers getting up there for now.



Then managed to get to the southern tip of the peninsular.



Had no reason to go over to that island other than to ride that road loop over the water, so off I went.



Stopped for a rest and hid the bike among the flowers.



Mandatory tourist pose in front of some interesting rock formations.



For readers of Japanese, that's' how they were formed.



Next stop on a recommendation from George is Mushi Kui, the name means something about insects and rocks.



Where this friendly older gentleman took great delight in explaining all about the rock. (Note to self - Get busy with language lessons)



Just after Mushi Kui the clouds took a dump on me for most of the way back to camp so the picture taking ceased. I was a big day in the saddle and I was very happy to have a comfortable camp to recover in for the night.



Heading for home the next day I stopped for lunch at what I believe is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the country.




And more evidence of landslides. In the pic with the suspension bridge the effects on the river can be seen, what used to be perfectly serviceable mountainside is now very poor river bed. The clean up gets hardly a mention as it's been overshadowed by the other natural disaster, the tsunami and the devastation that followed. Add to that the shutting down of every nuclear power plant in the country and there is plenty to occupy media so this disaster seems to have been largely forgotten save for those in the effected areas.



And then after four days of wonderful roads and incredible scenery I have to negotiate about an hour and a half of this to get home.
That's about it for now. I've been pretty fortunate in life, having the means and opportunity to travel to many parts of this lonely planet. For those who like to travel and ride, Japan holds plenty of delights, great roads, stunning scenery and brilliantly friendly people and above all it's one of the safest places on earth. Being able to go out and ride all day being confident that your camp remains un-molested is an added bonus. Where I come from we can't even leave our car and trailer at the boat ramp unless it's locked up and secured in a compound if we want to be sure it's still there when we return.

[Suqsuda]

Lovely landscapes, looks very alluring, thanks.

[GB007]

Thank you for sharing! I have never been to Japan, but always imagined just lots of buildings... The scenery and vegetation is so beutiful! It is a good point the fact that it feels safe which lessens the stress of traveling... Great pictures!

[Osadabwa]

I have modern Tokyo, its skyscrapers, garish lighting and millions of digitally addicted humans trudging around like automatons as my Japan reference (stereotype). This report is a nice, green, undulating, mountainous backhanded slap of reality. Really beautiful place you get to ride.

Thanks for sharing,

[Arek Kontrol]

Just want to say i've just caught up with your RR and loving all of it.





Regards, Arek

[RDT953]

Many thanks for your comments and taking the time to view and read.

[darkaeons]

Thanks for those beautiful pictures and comments
I LOVE japan, i would be awesome to get there one day

[Cavokcafe]

Thanks for sharing; both your trip, the photos, well placed comments - and the scenery! Must admit the bikes had to give way in my mind to the stunning background in some of your pics. Please keep the reports coming - this is exotic to the rest of us, but we warned: this tempts people to come visit!

Cheers!

Morten M

[Shaggie]

LOVE Japan RR's!!!!

RDT - domo arigato!

Visiting Japan def high on my Bucket List

So you're an Aussie now residing in Japan? How'd that come about?

Please write more RR's - lots more!!

Cheers n best wishes

Shane

[Loutre]

now how much weight did you lose?

[RDT953]

The image of Japan as being nothing but city from coast to coast is a recurring theme when I talk to family and friends back home. I have to admit that the amount of greenery once the coastal fringe falls behind took me by surprise as well. The absolute bulk of the population is in a corridor running NE to SW of Tokyo and Osaka with a few pretty large cities dotted along the coasts of all the major islands. Japan is a country formed by tectonic actions and therefore is very mountainous in the interior, ideal conditions for rugged beauty and brilliant roads.
To answer the question of how I come to be living here. My wife works in the International Schools system, After the move to here I did short term contract work in Australia or wherever else I could find it up until this year when I decided to retire and get serious about exploring by motorcycle. Doing what I can in Japan for now but setting my sights on Russia and points beyond.
Now that I know people are reading and enjoying them, I'll post more pics and words to this report as the rides occur.