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!

Day 10: Fujimi to Nagaoka

We woke this morning to the sounds of nature; the birds singing in the trees and the bubbling brook to the side of Sachiyo's beautiful Oregon log cabin. It's another bright blue day, with a bit of a chill in the air, that promises some more amazing riding. We walked around the property a little, through Sachiyo's award winning garden, and admiring the Nagano alps towering in the distance.

Sachiyo's log cabin in beautiful, rural Nagano.

Breakfast was a lovely combination of toast, ham, eggs and salad all washed down with fresh coffee and chai spiced tea. There really is nothing like a home cooked meal, and many thanks to Sachiyo for going to so much effort for us! Sooner than we would have liked, it was time to leave. We packed up our panniers, loaded up the bikes and said our goodbyes.

Goodbyes to Sachiyo and then on the road!

The plan today is to head south back towards Fuji, passing the mountain to the west and climbing the southern face via the Fuji Skyliner. In the afternoon we'll run the second Fuji Skyliner further south and then on to Nagaoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, in preparation to tackle the Izu peninsula tomorrow.

Our intended route towards and around Fuji-san.

The first part of our ride saw us fuel up and take to the Chuo expressway for a burn down to Kofo. As we rode, Fuji-san could be seen in the distance ahead of us - growing steadily larger. At times the mountain would disappear behind a bank of clouds only to reappear larger and more impressive.

Riding the Chuo Expressway with Fuji-san growing steadily ahead of us.

From Kofo we took to the heights again, traversing the line of mountains that stood between us and Fuji-san's base. This was some of the same ground we covered on our first day of riding and the change in the scenery was dramatic. It's amazing what changes a week can bring. Many of the hillsides and valleys that had been solid green a week ago now burst with autumn colours; oranges, reds and yellows were now all around us.

Riding Motsu-michi (route 139) towards Fuji

Coming down out of the mountains, we began to work our way down the east side of Fuji-san. With a mind on our bladders, we pulled into a roadside establishment only to be met with the sight of a busozuko gang all lined up in the car park. Whether it was boldness or ignorance none now can say, but we added our bikes to the line and proceeded to check out the gang's awesome bikes.

The bosozuko boys and Fuji-san 

The guys didn't seem to mind us poking our nose in and around their bikes, and even seemed to appreciate that Lucas knew quite a bit about their old model Kawasakis, Hondas and the like. We snapped some photos, and taking it as a good sign that no comment was made, we snapped a few more.

Bosozuko bikes with their characteristic additions.

At one stage while we were wandering around, one of bosozuko boys took his bike for a very loud spin around the carpark, only to be stopped by one of the glowing-baton-wielding parking wardens. We could'nt make out the exchange, but soon other bosozuko boys were making their way over there to lend their support.

We took this as our cue, and got ready to leave. As we did so the leader of the gang came over and asked us where we were from and where we were travelling. He seemed genuinely interested in our trip and enjoyed Lucas' re-telling of his brush with the law on the Doshi road. Overall a very positive encounter.

Banana chairs are typical Bosozuko style.

We continued on our way down the west side of Fuji-san, and soon took a turn to the left towards the mountain and the Fuji-Skyliner. The Skyliner represents the last 13km of the traverse up the side of the mountain from a height of 1000m to the 5th station and 2400m. Surprisingly the road to get to the Skyliner was  an amazing ride, filled with long sweeping curves and lined with more beautiful autumn foliage.  By the time we reached the start of the Skyliner we already had broad grins from ear to ear.

Riding towards the Fuji Skyliner was beautiful and exciting.

The Fuji-Skyliner itself was a more challenging ride, comprised of many, many tight switchbacks. Towards the end of its 13km length it passed through the cloud layer that surrounded the mountain and we slowed down to (ahem) just over the 40km speed limit. The handlebar warmers were cranked up and soon we had breached the cold damp ring of clouds. Coming through the other side, we were blinded by the bright sunshine and clear blue sky above.

Fujinomia 5th station at a height of 2400m

The boys conquer fuji-san. Well, the Fuji Skyliner anyway.

5th station is above the cloud layer we passed through.

With Fuji-san conquered and our lust for amazing riding sated for the time being, we gunned it for our nights lodgings - a 100 year old onsen in Nagaoka. The remainder of the ride there was uneventful and uninspired. The second Fuji-Skyliner turned out to be a bit of a nothing; a couple of turns and not much more; costing us 360 yen for the privilege. The automated toll gate, signposted all in kanji, caused us a few minutes consternation but in the end we *think* we worked it out.

After the Skyliner it was a straight shot to our destination, through rural farmland for the most part, and an expressway bypass over the industrial city of Mishima.

Nanzanso Onsen in Nagaoka.

We finally arrived at Nanzanso Onsen - a very old; and very interesting ryokan. The room we were given was huge - 12 tatami mats in the main section, set up on the hill looking over the complex (and the carpark),. The way it is set out is just bizarre. The place is a maze of stand-alone corridors and stairs that snake up the hill behind the front foyer, with rooms situated on many, many split levels as it goes back. Unfortunately, their rotenburo was closed for maintenance but even to find the indoor onsen took a map of the corridors to locate. All things considered, this place must have been quite a posh and impressive joint in its day.

Our most impressive traditional room to date.

We unpacked the bikes and readied ourselves for dinner and bath. Suddenly Lucas announced he had lost his wallet. Not a great situation, but after some furious searching the wallet was located in his bike jacket (phew). A few minutes later, though, Lucas announced that he had now lost his keys. This was a matter for more concern, and when the keys didn't surface after the first 10 minutes of searching we turned the room over, and then the hotel over, looking for them. After more than an hour of searching they still hadn't been located and we were all beginning to worry.

At 6:30pm we went down to dinner, the keys still not located. Dinner was good, but still pondering the mystery of the missing keys I can't say I really tasted it.

Another Japanese dinner. I'm gonna miss them.

Back to the room and another search of ever nook and every cranny, every piece of luggage and every article of clothing turned up nothing. In the end Lucas even called Japan Bike Rentals to see what might be involved in replacing them. Long story short, one more search of his bike pants located the keys down in the lining at the very bottom of his leg. Crisis averted! We al breathed a very heavy sigh of relief, and were able to go to our nice hot bath knowing that we could actually leave tomorrow. Phew!!

Day 9: Gero to Fujimi

We woke early this morning from our onsen-induced comas and set to work doing all the chores that we just couldn't be arsed finishing the night before. Foremost of these, was getting the day's routes reviewed and finalised in Google MyMaps, and uploading them to the GPSs. By 9:30am we had the bags packed and on the bikes, and with no breakfast on offer at ryokan Ramuneya we were ready to go.

Ryokan Ramuneya in the light of day.

There was just one more thing to do before we left Gero, and that was to buy a present for our host for this evening, Noriko's mum Sachiyo. We sauntered up the road to the souvenir shop and soon the purchase, and several others, was soon made. By 10:00am we were finally on the bikes and heading out of town.

About to leave Gero.

Our planned route for the day was to take us from Gero to Ena and the famous gorge there, up the Kiso valley to Shirojiri and then down the Chuo freeway into Nagano and our destination the tiny hamlet of Fugimi.

Today's route from Gero to Fujimi in Nagano Prefecture.

It was significantly colder this morning compared to further south and we found ourselves padded out with our thermal under layers and glove liners. Once on the road we were greeted with some of the autumn leaves that we had seen coming into Gero the previous day. To be honest though, the ride down to Ena was pretty uninspiring. We passed through a bit of urban, a bit of suburban and a bit of rural countryside, but nothing too spectacular and no great motorcycling roads.

Continuing in the same vein, Ena gorge proved to be a bit of a disappointment. The were some trees, and yes there was some water, and even a statue of some dude with a halo, but nothing worth writing home about. On the Turner attractions scale, Ena gorge gets 2 big yawns.

Ena Gorge. Uninspiring.

From Ena gorge we saddled up, still not having eaten even though it was now after midday, and headed east to a small postal town called Magome. This town, along with several others in the Kiso region, was historically situated on the old Nakasendo road (middle road) which linked Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto.

Magome, one of the famous postal towns on the ancient Nakasendo road.

The town was very interesting, with some rustic buildings, souvenir shops and the like, but we only had eyes for food. Starving we descended on the first thing we saw - a shop selling dango. These are basically balls of sticky rice (mochi) shoved on a stick and coated with a sweet sauce. No sooner had we arrived at the window to the store, than a film crew descended on us. You can see them in the photo below filming Richard and Lucas ordering at the window.

Ordering mochi on a stick (dango) in Magome, watched by TV crew.

With dango in hand, we three were asked to stand together and eat while they filmed us. Three uber cool biker gaijin self-consciously eating dango? Sugoi! We managed a oishi (delicious) as we finished the sticks. The footage will reportedly be part of a programme going to air in November. One of the guys gave us his card, so hopefully I will be able to get a hold of the video and post it here - stay tuned! In all the rush I didn't even get a picture of our dango, or us standing eating like gimps. Damn.

One dango stick doesn't go too far, so after our brush with fame we looked for something else. What we eventually settled on was a couple of oyaki, one with eggplant for Lucas and one with "forest vegetable" (that kinda tastes like sweet spinach) for me. Richard satisfied himself with supermarket bento fare.

Eating Oyaki in Megome.

Having finished our meagre lunch we climbed back on the bikes and headed north up the Kiso Valley. Although the route (19)  provided little in the way of corners or other motorcycling excitement, the valley vista itself proved spectacular. Autumn leaves were even more in evidence than in previous days, and as we progressed farther north, the Minami alps became visible as an ever-present backdrop. As we travelled the temperature steadily dropped from 16 degrees to Megome to 12 degrees, to 10 degrees closer to Shirojiri.

Riding Route 19 in the beautiful Kiso Valley.

We continued up the valley on route 19 until we reached one of the most famous postal towns in the region, the town of Narai. Narai is comprised of one long street, maybe 800 metres long and looks like the set from a Kurosawa samurai western. Amazing stuff.

Narai, an amazingly impressive postal town.

We wandered the town, checking out some shops and appreciating the autumn trees all around us. I topped up with another dango as we walked along. Not really substantial enough for a whole days riding in the increasingly cold air, but needs must in a pinch.

Eating dango again, this time with picture.

Narai - one of the finest examples of a Nakasendo road postal town.

Beautiful Kiso Valley autumn leaves, seen from Narai.

More autumn leaves in Narai, as backdrop to the local temple.

Narai's famous wooden bridge.

With time ticking down and sunset fast approaching, we pulled on our thickest of thermal inners, jumped back on the bikes, and burned rubber up the remainder of the Kiso valley to Shirojiri. Here, while the Nagano alps loomed large on both sides of us, we were able to transfer to the Chuo expressway for the final stage to Fujimi.

We arrived at Fujimi at 5:15pm, just as the last rays of light were fading. We were welcomed by Sachiyo into her beautiful log cabin home and sat down to a beautiful meal.

Beautiful dinner with Sachiyo in her home.

With eyes drooping, we got the route planned, took a bath and crawled into bed exhausted.