Day 12: Hakone to Tokyo

We woke this morning, our last day on the bikes, to the sounds of birds singing, and somewhere downstairs hipster backpackers were splitting lentils or cooking socks or whatever it is that backpackers do each morning. Through the window came glorious sunshine from a clear, bright blue sky. We get one more day of perfect weather to close out this adventure!

With no breakfast on offer at Hakone Tent, we quickly packed up, jumped on the bikes and headed back to the lakeside town of Motohakone for breakfast. Unfortunately, we got there a little early for any of the real eateries to be open, so we had to settle for 7-Eleven fare. At least the view of Fuji-san as we sat and ate was worth the effort.

7-Eleven breakfast by Ashinoko (Lake Ashi) in Motohakone.

After breakfast, our plan today is to transfer from Motorhakone to the two Skyliners to the east of Fuji-san - the Ashinoko Skyline and the Hakone Skyline. After the Skyliners get our blood pumping for the day, we need to jump on the Tomei expressway for the burn back to Tokyo in time to return our bikes to Japan Bike Rentals in Akasaka.

The route for today - Skyliners and then burn back to Tokyo.

The Skyliners were a hoot as always, and the weather really did them justice. The first - the Ashinoko Skyline - was by far the best with a new surface, sweeping curves, and views of Fuji-san from it's apex. Unfortunately the clouds were blowing almost constantly across Fuji-san and an unobscured view was impossible. Apparently this is *nearly* always the case.

Fuji-san from the top of the Ashinoko Skyliner.

The Hakone Skyliner was good but not a patch on the Ashinoko. The surface was a little cracked in places and wet leaves had collected in many corners. Some care was needed in picking the correct line so as not to slip. Still, the scenery was amazing as always which more than made up for any reduction in riding excitement.

Riding the Hakone Skyline.

With the Skyliners providing our adreneline kick for the day, it was time to turn our thoughts to the real business of the day and the Tomei expressway back to Tokyo. We dutifully climbed the on-ramp and throttled up to the 80 km/h speed limit where we stayed for the next hour and a half. I don't really need to explain how mind numbingly boring the trip was.

Riding the Tomei expressway out of Hakone.

Half way to Tokyo we stopped for lunch at a truck-stop on the expressway. There was no ramen on offer so I allowed myself to be sated with udon and tempura. Yes, it's a tough life, I know.

Truckstop Udon on the Tomei.

Our bellies filled and bladders emptied, back on the bikes we climbed for the final leg of our 9-day motorcycle odyssey. As we reached Tokyo, we transferred from the Tomei to the dreaded Shuto Expressway; the road that had proven so perilous on our outward journey.

An exit map for the Shuto. No wonder it gives me cold sweats.

This time our worries were unfounded. We soon exited the Shuto (under the watchful guidance of the GPS) and rode through the Tokyo inner city towards Akasaka. As a bonus, our route took us through the middle of Shibuya, and it was awesome to ride through the Shibuya Crossing we had visited on foot nearly 2 weeks ago.

Motoring through Shibuya Crossing. Heeyah!

In no time at all we had reached Akasaka. We refuelled the bikes and then arrived at Japan Bike Rentals at around 1:30pm. We were in point of fact 3 and a half hours too early to return the bikes, but that 3 hours was our built-in buffer against navigation mishaps.

Back safe and sound to Japan Bike Rentals, Akasaka.

We said a final farewell to our trusty steads, unpacked all our shit from the panniers, and moved it into the flat above the Japan Bike Rentals office. This will be our accommodation for our last 2 nights in Tokyo.

After a bit of a relax and readjustment, Richard left to meet a friend in the city and Lucas and I decided to seek out some good Tonkatsu in nearby Roppongi. We sauntered the 15 minutes from Akasaka to Rappongi with no particular destination in mind and just wandered around a bit.

Out in Roppongi for Tonkatsu.

With google's help we eventually identified the top rated Tonkatsu restaurant in Roppongi and walked in that direction. Having to wait until it opened at 6pm, we sat in a nearby bar and downed a couple of Lemon Shochu; a drink to which I am quickly becoming addicted. Finally we grabbed a table at the restaurant "Butagumi" and were treated to an amazing Tonkatsu indeed.

The best Tonkatsu in Roppongi - so says the interweb, and so says me.

After dinner we slowly walked back to Akasaka, admiring the sights and sounds that Roppongi has to offer. With our last day of riding over, I'm now more tired than I can express in words. All of that pent up nervous energy is gone leaving only bone weariness. But I am very, very happy with what we were able to accomplish. We travelled over 1500 kms and out of 9 days riding we got 8 days with perfect weather. You can't ask for better than that!

Day 11: Nagaoka to Hakone

We woke in Nanzanso Onsen this morning to a hammering on the roof and a blowing at the windows. After 7 gloriously sunny days on the road it was finally raining buckets. Fuck. Obviously it had to happen sooner or later, and to be honest it couldn't have happened on a better trip day.  

Nanzanso Onsen internal garden in the morning rain.

With only an hours ride between Nagaoka and our destination in Hakone, today was the shortest distance between accomodation points for the whole trip. Today's original plan was to ride the Nishi-Izu Skyliner and then back roads to the south western coast of the Izu peninsula. Once there we would then ride around the southern coast of Izu and then join up with the Izu Skyliner for the ride back north to Hakone.

Unfortunately, sitting at breakfast and watching the water run down the windows, these plans were summarily rejected as folly, and a new plan - get to Hakone as quickly as humanly possible - was instigated instead. We slowly packed up our crap, uploaded the new route to the GPS, wrapped ourselves in our rain gear, and finally came down at 10:00am to mill around the lobby. I felt like the Michelin man what with the thermal midlayer, the motorcycle suit, the suit's inbuilt rain liner, and the outer wet weather suit over that. The sweating started almost immediately, and I was itching to get on the bike and get some airflow. Amazingly, by 11:00am we were still in the lobby but even more amazingly, the rain had eased to the point that it was almost non-existent!

Nanzanso Onsen, showing the rooms spread over the hill behind.

With all the bags on the bikes, and the engines warming, we made the snap decision to ride the Izu Skyline north to Hakone. Lucas asked a Japanese dude from the hotel to program his GPS to get us to the foot of the Skyliner which was nice of him, but unfortunately as it turned out, a waste of time.

Bikes packed, ready to leave. Oh, let's do the Izu Skyliner.. 

The GPS went loopy early on in the journey so it was with a combination of common sense and directions from various toll booth operators, we slowly zigzagged our way to route 12 and hence to the Hiakawa Interchange, midway along the Skyliner.

The final route for the day - wet weather, warts and all.

Manned toll booths - no ETC, but a wealth of good advice with a smile.

At the beginning of the Skyliner the rain stayed slight, and we headed up towards the first pass - the Kameishi Pass - at relatively slow speeds but in high spirits. Visibility was pretty good on the road, and the significant amount of water on the road was the only thing of any real concern. It was immediately apparent to us why this road is so famous as a motorcycle destination in Izu. With long sweeping corners, a 50 km/h speed limit (fast!), a beautiful paved surface and supposedly awesome views (that we couldn't see) this road could easily have been our best ride yet.

Heading up to the Kameishi Pass on the Izu Skyliner

As it was, we plodded our way up and up, finally reaching the Kameishi Pass where we stopped for a toilet break and a little caffeine to focus the skills (and stop the shakes :P ). I took the opportunity to grab a coffee in a can - only one of a handful I've consumed on this trip. I really do love their sweet, milky, caffeinated goodness.

Michelin man in rain gear at the top of the Kameishi Pass

Mmm hot coffee in a can.

Back on the bikes we climbed yet higher towards the next pass - the Atami Pass. Unfortunately, we soon climbed high enough to reach the layers of low cloud enveloping the mountain range. Almost immediately, the rain came back and the cloud reduced visibility to next to nothing. The rain wasn't torrential, but steady enough to reduce visibility on the visor significantly. With nothing else for it, we plodded on, averaging 40km/h. As we reached the pass the wind howled and blew the rain in all directions, but we were quickly over and heading down the other side.

Heading up towards the Atami Pass on the Izu Skyliner

After an hour of wet riding, we finally descended into Motohakone and the rain finally abated. With only 9 km to go to our destination, but with a GPS that wasn't cooperating at all, we were desperate to stop. We pulled into a car-park for a sausage restaurant (no kidding) and decided to go inside for lunch. Turns out there was actually a Katsu place next door, but we ended up eating bratwurst. In Japan. 

Large Tori gate over the main street of Motohakone.

Perfect place for a Motohakone sausage fest.

Climbing back on the bikes and coaxing the GPS back to life we rode the last few kilometres to our accomodation - "Hakone Tent" in 20 minutes. Unfortunately "Hakone Tent" turned out to be a backpackers place full of wanker hipsters and no decent parking. Still, we had a traditional room booked and it seemed ok once we had our riding gear off and drying. After a rest we looked for a place to eat. We found a place called the "Gyoza-Centre" specialising in Gyoza and had a nice meal.

Dinner at the "Gyoza-Center"

Toasting our last night out on the bikes

We toasted the end of our trip with a round of Lemon Shochu and wandered back to the hostel. We need only to plan our route back to Tokyo tomorrow and have a wash before bed. The weather is looking better for tomorrow, so fingers crossed!