Trip 2 - Day 13 - Awaji to Arima Onsen

We woke this morning in our beachside onsen hotel to more sunshine and a beautiful sea-breeze. Unfortunately it's our last day on the bikes and we have to have them back in the Kobe region by around 2pm #sadface. Lucas and I have booked a place in Arima Onsen just behind Kobe, so the plan today is to do a little seaside ride up the coast of Awaji, burn down the freeway to the Rokko mountain road and then finish up at Negiya Ryofukaku in Arima.

Just a short morning route for our last day.

We jumped on the bikes around 8am and after filling up with petrol (hi-oku!) we made our way through rice paddies and onion fields to the west coast of Awaji island. Here we took a leisurely cruise up the coast; the western horizon across the straights just a brown haze that marked the position of Honshu. As we got closer to the top of Awaji, buildings and other industry became discernible in the haze.

Riding the west coast of Awaji Island

Soon we'd reached the north end of the island. As we came around the point, the massive Akashi Kaiko bridge loomed into view, spectacularly large compared to the Onaruto bridge of the previous day. No sooner had we reached the headland we were passing underneath it and then onto the freeway on-ramp.

Viewing the Akashi Kaiko Bridge from the Awaji coast

When we finally crossed the bridge it was amazing compared to the rainy morning two weeks ago when we passed this way in the opposite direction. Nothing but blue skies and a cool breeze. One of the great bridges of the world, and pretty cool to be driving over.

Riding the Akashi Kaiko Bridge

Once over the bridge we sped on the expressway towards Rokko mountain, the highest peak in the Rokko mountain range behind Kobe, and host to an amazing motorcycling road. The road is so popular and so dangerous with its tight switchbacks, no shoulder and power poles on the edge of nearly every corner, that access to the road by motorcycle is banned on the weekends. But hey, today's Friday baby!

Riding Mt Rokko.

We took the spin down the Rokko road and loved every minute of it. I'm sure the road has claimed multiple lives in the past - the corners are very tight with no room for error - but it was a really exciting ride. In the end we survived and lived to tell the tale, and that's all that matters.

Rokko completed, no fatalities

With Rokko bested, it was time to make our way to our accommodation where Shin would meet us to pick up the bikes. We motored over to Negiya Ryofukaku in Arima Onsen (very close to the end of Rokko) and Shin was dutifully met. There seemed to be no problems with the few scrapes the bikes had collected along the way.

Meeting Shin at Negiya Ryofukaku to hand back the bikes

It was then time to say goodbye to Richard, who is spending another week here in Japan while Lucas and I return to the 9-5 grind in Sydney. Richard took Lucas' MT-09 onward, so hopefully he'll have just as much fun on it as Lucas did.

Saying sayonara to Richard

With Richard riding into the sunset it was time for Lucas and I to check into our onsen accommodation and get settled. The nice girl at the desk showed us to our room, made us tea and fitted us for yukata. Negiya seems to be quite an old onsen hotel that has that old-world beauty and charm that newer buildings don't have. Our room is large and the staff extended us every politeness despite being gaijin. I do dearly love traditional Japanese hospitality!

Our welcoming tea at Negiya Ryofukaku

We chilled for an hour or two in the beautiful room watching the sumo on TV. Oh the decadence - lying on tatami watching sumo in the late afternoon. They were really great matches too. Soon it was time for dinner. When the nice girl was pouring the tea, Lucas asked her to recommend a local eating place. She suggested a local izakaya place near the train station. We dutifully accepted her recommendation and walked there around 6pm.

Izakaya dinner with the friendly locals

Much beer and food was consumed in the fine establishment, and we made friends with the couple of twenty-somethings sitting next to us. Kanpai! I'm now back and a little pished trying to write this post, so if it seems a little iffy you know why. We're thinking strongly about heading to the rotenburo now to double down on our inebriated states. Sounds like a great idea.

Trip 2 - Day 12 - Oboke to Awaji

After the rain of yesterday, we hoped and prayed for nice weather today. Thankfully we were not disappointed. When we opened our bleary eyes and peered out we were greeted with blue skies as far as the eye could see. Pure awesomeness!

Our plan was to ride out along route 32 to route 439 and visit the Nagoro Dolls Village and the Okiuya Nija Kazura Bashi Vine Bridge, and then burn north up 439 to the Tokushima Expressway and thence to Awaji island. Unfortunately, today will be our last day on Shikoku!

Our route for the day

Starting out on route 32 and then continuing on route 439, we climbed from the Iya Valley back up into the mountains and back into the wilds of Shikoku that we've come to know and love. Yet again the scenery was spectacular, and we found ourselves stopping often to take photos.

Amazing scenery along route 32

First stop along route 439  was the Nagaro Dolls Village. This tiny village, existing in a single strip along route 439, has been suffering massive population loss in the last few decades due to death or families moving out of the area. A town local has taken it upon herself to populate the town with dolls to replace those that have departed.

Some of Nagoro's permanent residents

Just a little way along route 439 from Nagoro we then came to the Okiuya Nija Kazura Bashi Vine Bridge. This bridge (actually a pair of bridges) is one of only two vine bridges still remaining in the Iya valley that were built over 500 years ago. Although they are now strengthened with wire under the foot treads, these bridges are remarkable structures, and you can't help but marvel at their construction.

One of the two impressive vine bridges here.

The river valley over which the bridges pass is also very beautiful, with a crystal clear river running between huge boulders in a lush forest. We spent a good half an hour wandering around and taking in the natural beauty of the area.

The bridges are surrounded by the wild beauty of Shikoku

Soon it was time to make tracks, so we jumped back on the bikes and started the long trek up route 438 to the Tokushima expressway. Yet again the wilds of Shikoku were on show as 439 passed through soaring pine forests and small mountain villages built along swift flowing rivers. We rode fairly slowly, trying to soak in this last bit of wilderness before we arrived back in civilisation for good.

After stopping for lunch (more tonkatsu and tomato sauce wtf), at last we reached the freeway and twisted the throttle hard. In no time we'd reached the Onaruto bridge from Shikoku to Awaji island, and this time the day was absolutely perfect.

Riding over the Onaruto Bridge to Awaji island.

Once across the bridge we exited the expessway to try and get some more photos of the bridge, first from a freeway rest stop, and then riding right out to the end of the point next to the bridge to take photos. It was well worth the effort, and we got great views of the bridge.

Views of Onaruto bridge from various locations.

Now on Awaji island proper, we decided to make an impromptu detour to our original plans. Since our accomodations were on the east coast of the island about a third of the way up, we decided to ride there by traversing the coast, starting at the bridge.

As it happens this resulted in some very nice riding indeed, and although the coastline was not as rugged as those we'd seen in Shikoku and Kyushu, the sea air made a nice change to the expressway and was very relaxing.

Riding the south and east coats of Awaji island.

Just as we were nearing our accommodations, disaster struck. Richard was pinged by the local millicents for riding through an active pedestrian crossing.

Richard being booked by a 'Super-Cop'

With Richard having to accompany the diligent policeman back to the station, I stayed at a Lawsons (the scene of the booking) waiting for him to be brought back. At the same time, Lucas rode on to the accommodations to secure our room for the night. All in all, about half an hour was wasted and it resulted in an unfortunate fine for Richard (it could easily have been any of us), but in the end we all reached our hotel safely and that's the main thing.

It's now late and after having consumed a quite average ramen and gyoza dinner, we have raided Lawson's for additional supplies and are ready for our ritual bath. Our last day of riding is tomorrow - Waaah!

Trip 2 - Day 11 - Tengu to Oboke

When we arrived yesterday afternoon at Tengu-Lodge the nice girl behind the desk told us that we'd better take some photos now because tomorrow was going to turn to shit. Of course when we opened our bleary eyes this morning she had indeed called it. The mountain was completely shrouded in cloud and rain was hitting the window. Looks like our second day of rain is finally here!

With this in mind we revised our route for the day. Instead of the glut of tertiary twisties that Lucas had so meticulously chosen, we would now go for a straight shot to our destination - Oboke in the Iya Valley. Main roads would be the order of the day, not tertiary roads or goat tracks!

The revised route. No tertiary twisties in this weather!

On went the rain outers, and Michelin man climbed on the bike for the run back down the mountain. Initially the roads were shrouded in cloud, but as we went on it was only rain we had to contend with. Unfortunately, all those nice switchbacks that made the way up so awesome now became treacherous on the way down. Due care was taken, and after what felt like hours we were back to route 440.

Setting out. The road down is shrouded in cloud.

Back on the main road, it was then a matter of simply putting in the hours on the seat to drive through the rain. Despite the weather, routes 440 and 33 gave us some amazing scenery; both running along rich river valleys with large green rivers and tall wooded sides. Shikoku really is beautiful no matter where you turn.

Turning on to route 440. That tunnel has our names on it.

Route 33 again showed Shikoku's amazing beauty

With our energy flagging, and having broken the back of the required distance, we stopped in the village of Tosa for lunch. We found a nice little restaurant and ordered Tonkatsu; this time sitting outside (under cover) so as to not drench the place in rainy gaijin drippings. The required number of Tosser-related jokes were duly exchanged.

Sitting outside the restaurant

Interestingly, when our Tonkatsu came they were all covered with tomato sauce. Weird and inexplicable. Either they always serve it that way or it was a special treat for us gaijin. We didn't ask, we just ate. And, it was good.

Tosa tonkatsu with tomato sauce

Revived by pork, we jumped back on the bikes and motored the rest of the way to Sunriver Oboke, our onsen hotel for the night.

Sunriver Oboke right by the river.

By the time that we'd arrived, the rain had finally abated and we were treated to the spectacular Koboke gorge in all its glory. I managed to take a walk up the road and down to the water's edge to snap some photos of the gorge before the sun went down. A pretty breathtaking location, even for Shikoku.

Pretty soon it was time for dinner, and we were treated to a pretty good one. It started big and the courses just kept on coming. Definitely no lack of food tonight.

Another great Japanese dinner tonight.

Soon we were stuffed and ready to hit the rotenburo for our mandatory deep relaxation before bed. We're about to head there now as I type. The weather is set to improve drastically in the coming days, so we'll wait and see what tomorrow holds!

Trip 2 - Day 10 - Yufuin to Tengu

Kyushu has been great, but it's time to get back to Shikoku! Our route today takes us from our onsen hotel in Yufuin, back to the Saganoseki Ferry Port, on to our old friend Misaki port in Shikoku and then our final destination Tengu-Lodge in the Tengukogan ski area.

The route for today from Kyushu back to Shikoku

We started the day's ride with a run down the remainder of the Yamanami Highway back north towards Beppu. It looked like rain when we were leaving Yufuin, so I was dressed in my Michelin Man outfit, but as we descended out of the mountains the clouds burned away and the day became clear and hot. I sweated my way back to the Oita freeway where, with a little raw speed, I was able to cool down a little. In no time at all we'd re-traced our steps back to the ferry port and I was able to strip my layers.

We managed to arrive in time for the 10am ferry, so after lining up for 15 minutes or so we rolled on to the ship, had the diligent crew strap our bikes down, and retired to enjoy the ride.

The ferry from Saganosekiko Port in Kyushu

Strapping the bikes down 

With the clear skies and hot sun, we enjoyed the ferry crossing immensely - much more than our original hazy journey over. While Richard and i took photos from the deck, Lucas took a nap.

Smiles out on deck enjoying the sun

Snoring in the cabin

After about an hours sailing time we rolled off the ferry back into Misaki, Shikoku and immediately burned up route 197 along the length of the peninsula. In fact we rode Route 197 for nearly the entire day today and it showed us many different faces.

Along the length of the peninsula back to Yawatahama, Route 197 gave us stunning coastline and a fast-paced run through sweeping corners. The run to Yawatahama was completed in no time at all, and it was a blast.

Peninsula coastline along Route 197

Breezing through Yawatahama, Route 197 then carried us through the urban areas around the outskirts of Ozu before carrying us all the way to Yusuhara. Just as the urban shit ended we decided to stop for lunch at a franchise restaurant whose menu was a complete mystery (but turned out to be ramen). Some acceptable ramen and gyoza were consumed before we hit the road again.

Ramen & Gyoza for lunch at a Ramen chain store

With the urban shit in the rearview, we now burned down Route 197 along rivers and deep mountain valleys. The Shikoku we had come to know and love. The farmers in this part of Shikoku have been busy in our absense, and most paddies now have rice seedlings planted in them.

Riding the more rural valleys of Route 197 

The concensus already, after just a few hours back in Shikoku, is that the riding and general vibe of Shikoku is much more to our tastes than Kyushu. Maybe it's the wilder nature of the landscape, with more rugged mountains and smaller hamlets nestled in deep valleys, but what ever it is, I love it.

After reaching Yusuhara we turned towards the hill climb up to our hotel, Tengu-Lodge, perched on the very top of Mount Godanjo. The climb was slowed by many tight switchbacks, but when we finally reached the end of the line, our view out over row upon row of mountain ranges was nothing short of spectacular.

The view from the balcony of the hotel

And now a panorama. Hopefully you can view it.

After settling in we sat down for an amazing dinner of many and various dishes, each of which was delicious. Washed down with cold Asahi, it was a great end to the day.

But it wasn't the end! Of course the true end to the day of riding in Japan is the onsen to achieve a total zen-like relaxation and recover from the exertions of the day. While the hotel didn't have a rotenburo, the bath was very adequate and, with the windows open and the wind howling through them, was almost outside ;).

Ready for the bath

Our inside bath complete with greek statue for no reason at all

Ahhh. Now I am completely relaxed and trying my best to cool down with a large Pokari Sweat and some Sumo on the TV.