Day 5: Shimobe Onsen to Toba, Mie

Got up around 6:30am today and went for a quick walk before breakfast to take a look at Shimobe Onsen in the daylight. This really is a spectacularly beautiful, yet quiet and sleepy mountain village.

Our ryokan "Daikokuya" at Shimobe Onsen.

The river that runs beside and through the village.

The town's emergency warning tower.

Just a glimpse of Simobe Onsen's wider valley.

Before we left, our lovely hostess at the Daikokuya treated us to a japanese style breakfast that set us up for a good many hours in the saddle. Both the salmon and miso soup were particularly good! Outside the day was developing into another clear blue morning with just a hint of mountain chill.

Traditional Japanese breakfast in the Daikokuya.

After breakfast, we got the bikes packed and headed back out to route 52 (Motsu-michi) heading south down the valley and along the river towards the Shin-Tomei freeway. Our plan for the day was to ride all the way to Irago on the south western corner of Ichi prefecture and catch the Ise Wan ferry to Toba in Mie prefecture.

Today's route from Shimobe Onsen to Toba.

First order of business though, was petrol. We found a petrol station a little ways down route 52, and not only did the proprietors pump the petrol for us, they graciously gave us a bag of their Kaki (persimmons) to take with us. We really are meeting the most helpful and generous people every day of this trip.

Petrol and persimmons.

For an hour we wound our way down route 52, through the wooded valley that sometimes opened wide into a vast gravel river bed.  Lower down towards the mouth of the valley, grave companies could be seen in operation. We passed through tunnels, sweeping turns, and covered roadway on our way down towards the sea.

Soon the picturesque route 52 gave way to the Shin-Tomei experessway and we burned our way westward. After 2 hours in the saddle, we stopped for a drink at a 7-eleven, and this also gave me a chance to revive my aching arse.  As we dropped from the mountains down to the coast the temperature increased significantly. Thankfully the venting in our jackets kept us cool enough while we were moving.

Buzzbomb cornered at the 7-Eleven.

After 20 minutes we were back on the bikes, hoping to make good speed to Irago in time to make the ferry.  Along the way we passed down route 42, through lowland farms and small villages, with rural folks going about their business. The rural slowly gave way to coastline, where we glimpsed some amazing coast-line, sleepy fishing villages and quite a few surfing shops.

Pacific coastline close to Irago.

Finally we reached Irago port and the ferry terminal, just in time to catch the next ferry. The temperature had increased so much in our trek around the coast that we were now very hot. We purchased our ferry tickets from a very lovely lady behind the counter, and rode our bikes up and into the ship.

Ticket office at Irago Port.

The Ise Wan Ferry to Toba

Immediately the dudes on the ferry made safe our bikes, strapping them to the deck and chocking the wheels. While they did that, we made our way up to the deck to try and cool down.

Crewmen of the ferry strap down our bikes for the crossing.

While we sit and try to cool down.

By the time we had gotten the bikes on to the ferry we were completely drenched in sweat. So much for packing thermals and balaclavas for this trip! The sunburn is starting to get pretty bad too. Who would have thought?? The harbour in particular seemed to be a pressure cooker, and once aboard it was all we could do to rip our bike jackets off and just pour ourselves into a seat. Thankfully the ferry soon departed and a nice cool sea breeze was just what the doctor ordered.

Many ships shared the lanes crossed by the ferry.

Today the Ise Wan (ie. Ise Bay) was nice and calm, and the crossing was easy on everyones stomach. In fact it was very pleasant sailing indeed. In less than an hour we were joining our bikes again and rolling off the ferry into Mie prefecture. Once on dry land, we parked for a few minutes on the harbour pier to consult google maps and get our bearings. Rain threatened from a dark cloud or two at this stage, but it never eventuated. How long will this streak of amazing weather last I wonder?

Just off the ferry (background) and parked at the harbourside.

With bearings established, we quickly headed to a local landmark with the last rays of the day's sun. The "Meoto-iwa" is a pair of rocks in the sea between Toba and Ise on the Futamigaura coast. Both rocks, the 'husband" and the "wife" are connected with thick ropes, and a shrine has been built around them on the shore.

Meoto-iwa rocks near Toba.

We're finally in Mie Prefecture!

It's one of the quintessential images of Japan, and something we just couldn't miss since we were passing. We snapped the photo for the pool room and called it a day.

With darkness upon us, we finally jumped on to the bikes for the last time today and headed to our hotel for the night. Despite being a "bargain" room, it turned out to be a traditional Japanese room (ie tatami) in a huge hotel overlooking Toba. Score! Now for some sushi and a hot bath in the hotel's open air baths to finish the day.

Day 4: Shinjuku to Shimobe Onsen

After a very late night attaching various cameras to our bikes, syncing GPS's to headsets, refining and downloading routes and finally packing/re-packing our panniers, we woke up to the alarm at 6:30am and said goodbye to N.U.T.S Shinjuku. Our first day on the bikes actually begins!

Ready and keen to get going.

By 7:30am we were on the road and heading for Hachioji and the Chuo Expressway. The first step was to jump on the famous Shuto expressway that circles Tokyo, and thereby link up with the Chuo. We descended into the bowels of the earth and roared through the Shuto's endless tunnel. Problem is, the GPS doesn't work in the tunnels, does it? No it fucking-well doesn't. By the time we missed our exit and got out of the endless tunnels we were heading for Yokohama.

The long-dark of the Shuto ring road.

Long story short, through dint of basically Brownian motion we ended up on the Tomei Expressway, heading back into the city. As luck would have it, our path took us over the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge on what was fast becoming a beautifully sunny and clear day. Spectacular! Here's what it looked like from the bike..


When it appeared that we were almost back to Shinjuku, we stopped at a layby on the side of the Expressway, trucks and other traffic roaring past us, as we 3 stood trying to revise the route that the GPS had obviously screwed up in google maps.

*Gulp* Google Maps on the side of the roaring Tomei Freeway.

After much deliberation, we decided to continue on the Tomei, (many tens of kms out of our way) until Atsugi, and then up the 412 to the Doshi Road - our original intended route. The 412 ended up being quite a nice ride in the end, so although we cost ourselves a bit of time, we finally made it to the Doshi Road with a semblance of a smile.

Turning on to the Doshi road we proceeded to ride out through the high wooded valley, filled with trees that were just starting to change colour. At times Mt Fuji peaks it's head between the valley walls directly ahead of you. In the end, the road comes out to the north east of Mt Fuji and is a beautiful ride through farmland and tiny villages, following a fast flowing stream for much of it's length. Trouble is, the speed limit is 40 km/h for its *entire* length. Jesus it's hard to ride a bike for long stints at just 40 km/h.

Riding on the Doshi Road towards Fuji.

And so it came to pass that Lucas (leading at the time) was waved into a layby by a gaggle of police officers for doing 58 km/h. With an innocent face and a mouth that butter wouldn't melt in, he was let off with a warning and we were finally able to continue on our way. Chastened and having learnt a valuable lesson on the possibility of actually being caught speeding, the rest of the Doshi Road continued at a slower than snails pace.

The Millicents caution Lucas on his 58 km/h Doshi speedfest.

Requiring a quick rest stop to feed and water the horses, we stopped for a few minutes in Wade village on the Doshi Road for a drink and toilet break. There was actually nothing there but a toilet and a single store (plus ubiquitous vending machines) so after a coke we were back on the road.

Quick stop at (tiny) Wade village on the Doshi Road.

From Wade we rode straight to the Mikuni pass, a popular Fuji viewing position. From here you get a nice view of Fuji-san across lake Yamanaka. We snapped a spectacular, if a little hazy, view of Fuji. Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong position to get ourselves in the photos, but they still came out pretty well.

The view of Fuji-san from the Mikuni pass.

From Mikuni we continued around the north end of lake Yamanaka on route 729 with views of north-side of Fuji-san. Even from the road the views of Fuji were amazing!

Great views of Fuji-san from route 729 along the lake.

With some time lost in the morning, we forwent lunch (added to no breakfast!! ) and kept on past some of the points we had planned on seeing. With these changes to our route, came more routing and GPS challenges, but a few hits and misses later we soon found ourselves at the north side of lake Motosu and route 300. Here, still on the north side of Fuji, we were able to snap some more amazing views of Fuji-san across yet another lake; helped by a cool Japanese biker who was more then happy to snap a group photo for us. Turns out that this view is the exact view of Fuji that appears on the 5,000 Yen bill.

Japanese bikers are cool people, and so are we.

The 5,000 Yen view.

It was then only a relatively short hop to Shimobe Onsen - our destination for the night. With Richard and Lucas running on fumes, we traversed switchback after switchback on route 300, descending into another deep valley covered on all sides by the first hints of autumn colours. A really amazing ride.

Our ryokan "Daikokuya" at Shimobe Onsen.

Finally we found ourselves at Simobe Onsen just before the sun went down. Our destination was a really beautiful traditional ryokan "Daikokuya" (大黒屋) with its own onsen. With no food all day we were desperately hungry and couldn't wait for dinner. At 6:30pm, yukata donned in eager anticipation, we finally sat down at the dinner table for an amazing Japanese meal.

Food at last! After 12 hours on and off the road.

In these ryokan yukata we look like jersey cows.

With full bellies, and as the well-planned end to a wonderful day, we hit the onsen for a long hot soak. A very welcome and relaxing end to the day.

Day 3: Tokyo - Preparations

Woke to an absolutely beautiful day in Tokyo today - blue skies as far as the eye can see, and nice fresh air with just a hint of autumn chill.  A great day for sightseeing, but unfortunately it's going to be a bit of a housekeeping affair. We need to get helmet comms sorted, do some laundry and generally get our shit re-packed for the trudge across town to Japan Bike Rentals. Anyway, before all that could start we headed out for a late breakfast at the local Tully's coffee, partaking of their decidedly Western offerings to go with their western style coffee selection.

Another visit to Tully's coffee for their breakfast set.

French toast, maple syrup and a Mocha with cream. Western decadence.

After breakfast, we walked down to the local laundromat to get our washing done. Noone wanted a pannier stuffed with dirty undies before we even started riding. Located close to Shinjuku-nichome, which we have quickly learned is the gay hub of Tokyo, the laundromat was bound to have at least one be-frocked transvestite. And, well, it did.

Laundromat de-jour.

With our clothes washed and re-packed into our unwieldy luggage, we started the trek across town from Shinjuku to Akasaka and the offices of Japan Bike Rentals. There we were treated to various informations, paid our bonds etc., and took a great deal of time transferring shit to panniers, getting suited up and all that jazz.

The bikes waiting for us at Japan Bike Rentals.

By about 7:30pm we were finally ready to roll out, and our first tentative trip back to Shinjuku was a little nerve-racking, but was ultimately, uneventfully, a success. Once back at N.U.T.S we spent another couple of hours attaching RAM mounts to the bikes for the various cameras we planned on taking.

All that settled, it was time for a quick bite before bed and an early start. We wandered through Shinjuku looking for a place to eat, stopping in two sepatate Okonomiyaki places but finding them "full" (we never learned if they really were). Finally we found ourselves back towards Sinjuku San-Chome and a pretty average Ramen+Gyoza place.

Some very average Ramen and Gyoza.

Bought from this place in Shinjuku-sanchome.

The food wasn't crash hot, but by this stage we weren't feeling all that fussy. We gorged ourselves on gyoza and noodles and wandered back to N.U.T.S; stopping en-route to pick up some tidbits from Lawson (the local convenience chain). Pokari Sweat and chocolate to go! Hey don't judge, we needed the energy for tomorrow's ride. Didn't we?

Day 2: Tokyo - Nakano, Sushi & Shopping

I woke a little under the weather this morning, care of Kirin City and poor judgement. Nothing some Neurofen, Pokari Sweat and hot coffee in a can couldn't fix! We finally dragged ourselves out of the room at 10:00am and headed back down to Shinjuku JR station for breakfast. That turned out to be a combination of toast, mashed potato, cold cuts and boiled egg in a cramped (but very popular) little hole in the wall. Not what I expected, but not bad at all!

Shinjuku JR station breakfast. Watch out for the croissant.

In my ignorance I also grabbed a croissant which seemed to have some kind of custard filling. Not so - it was some kind of cheese squeezed in there. Not cool guys.

After breakfast, we jumped on the JR Chuo line out to Nakano to do some shopping for the family along the Happy Road. Here you can find all kinds of tiny shops, selling speciality items, old retro toys, memorabilia, and in the case of kids (and me too let's face it) heaps of cool otaku shit.

The entrance to the Happy Road, as seen from the Nakano train platform

Following the Happy Road. Otaku wonders await.

We wandered around for a few hours, in and around the rabbit-warren of tiny shops, spread over multiple levels. I picked up a couple of cool little things for the kids, and nearly dropped the hammer on an old (vintage?) Donkey Kong Game and Watch split screen. In the end I walked away, but not without a few longing glances back over my shoulder.

Sushi Train for lunch. Tuna is their speciality!

With our initial shopping forays completed, it was high time for lunch and we headed to a sushi train along the main part of the Happy Road. The sushi was super fresh and the place had a unique method of collecting and delivering special orders. In addition to selecting from the normal sushi train, you simply used the touch screen above your head to select special order dishes, and a sushi Shinkansen brought them from the kitchen to your seat.

Sushi Shinkansen

It was at this stage in proceedings that I made a total tit of myself, mistaking the green tea powder for wasabi and tipping some into my soy. In the end, the nice lady beside me, in a courageous act of selflessness, pointed out what a complete idiot gaijin I was. In the nicest possible way of course :). I think she was just as embarrassed by my stupidity as I was.

Gaijin Noob Mistake #1: Don't put tea powder in your Soy like a dufus 

The sushi train, and the nice woman who schooled me.

Anyway, mistake made, I thanked her profusely, used some powder to make some *tea* (to show I'd learnt my lesson),  and got back to my nagiri. Turns out that this particular place prided themselves on their tuna, and it was pretty fantastic all told.

Tuna was their specialty, and yes - it was pretty great.

With lunch over we said goodbye to the Happy Road and headed back into Shinjuku to search for a few other things Lucas was after for his family. After a bit of running around Shinjuku's business district, and then several Metro rides later, we finally found ourselves back at hotel N.UT.S with time to change and shower before dinner.

At 7pm we met a bunch of folks in Harajuku - workmates and friends of Richard and Lucas, and Sino - a harley rider from Tokyo and friend of Richard's wife. We initially headed to a small local bar for a quick beer before then re-locating to a nearby Yakitori restaurant.

A quick beer before dinner

Having never been to a specialty Yakitori place before, I was amazed by the variety of offerings on the menu. One particular highlight was a set of cherry tomatoes wrapped in pork and bbq'd in salt. Glorious! Most of the dishes were just as amazing, and we spent a few yours yakking, eating and enjoying a few more beers.

Enjoying amazing yakitori

There was one exception though, a yakitori offering containing the notorious Natto - a fermented bean curd that is very popular in Japan. Truth be told, it tastes like all kinds of shit. I managed to choke down a mouthful, but nothing more. Natto be damned!

Natto filled yakitori - tastes like all kinds of shit

At the end of a great night we caught the JR back to Shinjuku, amazed at how dead the place was. Seems like everything was closing up around 11:30pm. WTF? It certainly put pay to our idea of a night cap. Not sure if it had something to do with the fact that it was Halloween - but that seems like a long shot. Anyway, there were a few young things still wandering around in outrageous costumes which was fun to see.

Horrorshow on the streets of Shinjuku

We finally called it a night and headed back to the room to sack out. We're pickup up the bikes tomorrow, so it's all getting pretty exciting.