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Honshu, Japan tour - October to November 2024
Will be heading for next bike tour in Japan next week.
12 days of riding and a few days doing the obligatory tourist stuff after the tour. Flying in to KIX Kansai airport and picking up a Honda ADV150 scooter. Will update trip report when possible. :scooter::mchappy: |
Looking forward to your Japan trip report…:scooter:
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Yep me too, enjoy it
Wayne |
Thanks mates.
Will do! |
I'll update the trip report soon.
Just busy with the new bike which is a cheap Yamaha XMAX 250. :rofl::scooter: |
Overall route:
Starting from Osaka to: Hashimoto Tanabe Nabari Nagahama Fukuchiyama Tsuyama Mihara Matsue Uradome, Tottori Fukuchiyama Osaka Bike: Honda ADV150 scooter with top box. Supposed to have heated grips but the bike I used did not have the heated grips which I dearly wished I had later on! Total distance: almost 2,000kms Date: departed home BKI on 24th October, layover at CAN Guangzhou, China for a night. Arrived KIX Kansai on 25th October. Started bike tour on 26th October and returned bike on 7th November 2024. 12 days of touring on the little Honda ADV150. Left Osaka on 11th November and layover at CAN Guangzhou again. Arrived home BKI on 12th November 2024. https://images2.imgbox.com/5b/ef/cjmSNzmY_o.png |
I was in logistics in my previous life so I like to plan and have a route of my intended overnight stay, POI's I would like to visit, accommodation for the night.
I save all my routes in Google maps and then email it to myself prior to flying to KIX Kansai Osaka. Every evening I retrieve the emails with my next day's route. I tick avoid highways and tolls so that I can take the back roads. It's a longer ride to my destination but I wanted to ride slow to "smell the roses". I am also averse to large crowds. I have always wanted to visit Hiroshima for it's historical significance in WW2 as I am into military history. But I was cautioned that Hiroshima would be crowded so I did not go to Hiroshima city itself which is a pity. My objective was to see the countryside of Japan in smaller cities and enjoy the food, culture and ride. I was stationed in Moriguchi city, Osaka for about 2 to 3 weeks about 30 odd years ago so this trip to Osaka will bring back fond memories of my youth. |
24th October
Flight on time from BKI Kota Kinabalu to CAN Guangzhou airport. Flew on CZ Airline (China Southern Air) and it's actually decent. The airline said it would provide free accommodation for the layover on a twin sharing basis. Why refuse free accommodation even though it is twin sharing? It's only for a few hours and good for a shower, meal and some sleep. LOL Arrived the hotel around midnight and the hotel offered me a room by myself which was perfect! I think they wanted to avoid the hassle of communicating with me via translator as I don't speak Mandarin. Had some fried noodles just outside the hotel. https://images2.imgbox.com/38/5d/gkdBSBUR_o.jpg |
Hotel room at Guangzhou.
Very spacious room. https://images2.imgbox.com/dc/a2/wVj8waoy_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/1a/19/ihOPd0Yg_o.jpg |
25th October
Early morning pickup by the shuttle bus at 0600 back to the airport. Airport is about 15 minutes only. Flight to KIX Kansai was on time. Clearing immigration experience: a female officer asked how long I was staying in Japan and I said about 3 weeks. She then asked why I indicated 30 days on the online digital form. I actually chose 30 days as it was the default when I filled in the form online around 6 weeks prior. She wasn't happy about that but I stayed cool and said my son filled it in for me. She looked at my passport again to check my year of birth I guess and saw that I was an old bastard so she stamped my passport. Make sure you fill in the form exactly with the number of days you will be staying in Japan! Had some anxiety when my checked bag did not show up at the luggage carousel. But finally it did. Sigh of relief when I saw my bag. Walked to the Kansai airport train station and found the machine to print my train ticket which I had pre-purchased from Klook for the Haruka Express Limited which goes direct to my stop at Shin Osaka station without changing trains. It's slightly more expensive than using the other trains but it's worth it for the convenience of not changing trains. Try changing trains when you have a wheeled bag of 20kgs, a helmet bag, a carry on duffel bag and using your mobile phone with directions on where to go at the same time! Upon arrival at Shin Osaka station had some difficulty finding my way out of the train station. Found an English speaking information counter and it was then easy to find my way out. Used Google maps to walk to my hotel which is about 10 minutes from Shin Osaka station. There were some stairs I had to carry the wheeled bag up and I was wearing my new boots the Forma Terra Evo low. As the boots were new it wasn't comfortable walking around. Had a nice Japanese beef rice dinner at Yoshinoya followed by some sandwiches at the ubiquitous Family Mart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshinoya Retired back early to the hotel to re-pack my bags and riding gear. I use a wheeled bag for all my clothes/gear and inside I have a Enduristan Tornado 51L when I fly. I hand carry a smaller waterproof duffle bag on the plane which has my riding jacket and pants and laptop/kindle etc. I remove all the armour so that it is easy to fold the gear. I also have a helmet bag I hand carry. Helmet is a trusty modular HJC RPHA90. I will then transfer the contents of the wheeled bag to the Enduristan Tornado and duffel bag for touring and leave the wheeled bag at the bike rental shop to be picked up later when I return the bike. I use ROK straps to secure the 2 bags to the bike and bring my own Quadlock phone mount. I have a Xiaomi phone for navigation which has offline maps downloaded for the country/region I am at. Normally I just have 1 SIM card on my other phone but bought 2 SIM cards so that even the navigation phone would be able to have data and get updated road conditions. I used Docomo and Softbank mobile networks. Leaving CAN Guangzhou airport https://images2.imgbox.com/17/bb/oAvmf361_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/75/9d/66yMkuis_o.jpg KIX Kansai airport https://images2.imgbox.com/93/0e/CshgJt49_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/5b/81/zWi3KOKm_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/29/9e/WZ0SpWGr_o.jpg Dinner Osaka - Yoshinoya https://images2.imgbox.com/47/77/8p1GQki9_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/29/12/Vm19xsfp_o.jpg |
Good mate, looking forward to the next instalments
Wayne |
26th October
Checked out of R&B Hotel around 0900 and walked to Shin Osaka station and then took the train to Senrioka station. From Senrioka station walked 15 minutes to EZ Moto Kansai. Left my 2 waterproof bags at the hotel together with the boots. I wore my running shoes and brought the wheeled bag together with my helmet bag. The wheeled bag was actually empty as I will leave the bag at the bike rental shop. Once paperwork etc was sorted out I installed the Quadlock mirror mount and then rode back to the hotel which was about 30 minutes away. The hotel has it's own parking lot so there was space for me to park the bike at the car park and then set up the ROK straps and mounted the 2 bags. Rain gear, portable tyre inflator, tyre repair kit, WP rain gloves, laptop goes to the topbox. Departed from R&B Hotel around 1130 hrs. Ride to Hashimoto is about 3 hours and Osaka has lots of traffic. Lane filtering is allowed in Japan but I don't see many bikers doing it so I chose not to filter in traffic. With the numerous traffic lights and traffic it also allowed me to view Osaka city in it's hustle and bustle. Arrived Hashimoto around 1500 hrs and checked in to the hotel. The check in time is 1600hrs but the old man allowed me to check in early. Went for a late lunch around 1600 hrs. Check in time in Japan is late, ranging from 1400 to 1700hrs and check out time is 1000 hrs the next morning. Accommodation in Japan is expensive per se when compared to countries in SEA (South East Asia) and I noticed that the prices rocket up if I wanted to book accommodation the next day. So, what I did was I booked all my accommodation all the way until I departed Osaka and chose hotels with free cancellation. That meant my schedule was rather rigid and I had some overlapping hotel bookings on certain days. Making use of the free cancellation feature of which some hotels allowed up to 1 day before check in and others 3 days before check in allowed me some degree of flexibility for my rest day which I had not decided yet and also in case of rain where I would skip 1 overnight stop at a city. And I actually did have to skip 1 city due to the rainy weather forecast. My strategy worked fine and I saved money on the accommodations. My budget in Japan was no more than 7100Yen or USD$48 per night. As a side note, I am from Sabah, Malaysia a developing country. USD$48 might be low for folks from Europe or US but it is high especially that I am now retired. I use Google maps to check out the city I want to stay at and then filter out the hotels by price. I then use Google maps link for the shortlisted hotels to go to the OTA's. I find that this also saves some money. If I were to go to the OTA's website and then search for the said same hotel it would actually cost more. I played around using a VPN on my research so that my IP address would be seen as coming from another country. I used OTA such as Booking, Agoda primarily and a few with Trip.com and Expedia. And I also discovered that Agoda's exchange rates were unreasonably high. Booking, Trip.com and Expedia were reasonable with their exchange rates. On the average I discovered Agoda charged around 6.5 to 9% extra with their currency conversion. I am not sure if this is unique to Japan only. For my upcoming trip to Vietnam in February 2025 I am using Booking.com as my primary and Agoda will be my secondary choice and I factor in Agoda's extra charges if I do decide to book my accommodation with Agoda. Sidenote - I have always viewed Agoda's reviews as suspicious and trust Booking.com's reviews more. |
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At R&B Hotel Shin Osaka car park after setting up the bike and ready to go.
https://images2.imgbox.com/ab/d4/Hd1Y8o49_o.jpg Sandwich, Hashimoto. That was all they had as it was late already. https://images2.imgbox.com/4c/21/1VZHq469_o.jpg Hotel 46, Hashimoto https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/20/7UF0arLZ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/9e/e6/k4SiMvfG_o.jpg Dinner, Hashimoto I was still hungry as the sandwiches I had weren't filling. https://images2.imgbox.com/98/f1/aQd3zu23_o.jpg |
27October
Hashimoto to Tanabe ATD 0945, ATA 1400 hrs. Ride time: 4 hours 15 minutes Pleasant weather and route was nice & scenic. Lots of tunnel cut through the mountains. Light traffic and temperature was 21 to 26 C. https://images2.imgbox.com/bd/b4/h9MFADkf_o.png https://images2.imgbox.com/db/eb/dCEb0DM3_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a7/54/iKwxF4TT_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/9c/ee/WNL9YY7p_o.jpg |
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28th October
Tanabe to Nabari ATD 0830 ATA 1500 Ride time: 6.5 hours Long ride today & slight drizzle along the route. Temperature was at 14C at one point and the ADV150 windshield which is very low and no handguards it was cold. Was wearing my summer Astar leather gloves but switched over to the Astars mid-season WP glove and immediately felt warmer. Though if I took off the WP gloves when I stopped for a break, it was a challenge to put the gloves on if my hands were wet. The Clover jacket I had put on the inside thermal layer and closed all vents which made it bearable. The Clover Ventouring pants is a summer pants so I was feeling cold. Stopped to put on the rain jacket and pants and felt toastier! Scenery was beautiful but because of the fog and light drizzle I concentrated on the road. Traffic was light. One thing I noticed was that as you pass the smaller villages, there are hardly anyone walking along the streets. It's eerily quiet. https://images2.imgbox.com/99/43/obFSGmxb_o.png https://images2.imgbox.com/e3/df/6LR251A3_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/9d/88/3chKIJkm_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/15/br1l0sQz_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a6/f5/oyOtPcGB_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/76/87/HkvjBaCp_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/00/b6/G07TuiOl_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/d6/92/6ba44f9A_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/11/RfjIYiZu_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/fb/e7/Echtsoiv_o.jpg http://https://images2.imgbox.com/29/62/LoSyoJmY_o.jpg |
I went to Yoshinoya again for lunch. They are all over Japan and the food is tasty and price is reasonable.
For dinner I had some beef tongue but found out the restaurant I went was expensive. Settled the bill and went to the ubiquitous convenience store to get some more food. https://images2.imgbox.com/ae/9e/5d22tpi7_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/29/62/LoSyoJmY_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/2d/64/ouv9hZt6_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/3e/b3/39MPztsg_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/77/91/JzjFGtyo_o.jpg |
29th October
Nabari to Nagahama ATD 0815 ATA 1415 Ride time: 6 hours Rain ALL the way. Started with a drizzle and then medium intensity rain. It was cold at 12C. Wasn't a fun ride. Did not go out to eat dinner as it was raining and there were no nearby convenience stores. I just has instant noodles. The next morning the host made me 2 huge rice balls for breakfast. I told her I don't take breakfast so she wrapped it up for me for lunch. I would have liked to stay another night at Nagahama to explore but I have a rather rigid schedule due to the accommodation booking. https://images2.imgbox.com/39/1c/vsHzJbxk_o.png |
https://images2.imgbox.com/8f/59/y1QpltSE_o.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/57/eb/tZ0Lh0o5_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a5/d1/2mGXhSKJ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/fb/f3/YPvBIgxI_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/36/b3/hjdogVsF_o.jpg Every day the convenience stores along the way are where I get my coffee fix and have a ciggie toilet break. https://images2.imgbox.com/75/d2/XRW5kIoL_o.jpg |
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https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/3d/0Y5SwZHQ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/29/2e/rNX0y6aJ_o.jpg Okonomiyaki pancake. Too greasy for my liking. https://images2.imgbox.com/fa/19/sqtjckaA_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a4/7d/1XWAfjpE_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/f8/91/kWZSpXxJ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/6f/e2/vn6E61rM_o.jpg Hanging all my gear to dry with the heater on. https://images2.imgbox.com/88/6a/iTzhwcMr_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/58/8e/YbY6dKRn_o.jpg |
30th October
Nagahama to Fukuchiyama ATD 0840 ATA 1240 Ride time: 4 hours Sunny day even though at times it looked like it would rain in the distance with dark clouds. The weather was so good I did not bother to stop for pictures unless i wanted a short break. Enjoying the nice weather! https://images2.imgbox.com/53/54/Kvc6BKay_o.png |
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https://images2.imgbox.com/8b/30/ks2F3GUU_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/c7/Htl0sQkA_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/6f/c7/HrZfT7ig_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a5/39/ThqOPx6E_o.jpg Quiet street. This would be repeated during my tour. https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/e8/6qjwa2lt_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/bb/e1/fAj5P07s_o.jpg |
Yummy lunch at Kura sushi.
The sushi is not outstanding but it is value for money. I ate a lot! https://images2.imgbox.com/c0/15/kG4ManFZ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/89/0c/FNtYOt0Q_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/b6/b7/qUC4dq5o_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/7f/0f/1KY0u9CB_o.jpg Nice noodles but if it was a little less salty it would have been better. Every overnight stop I will google for restaurants and look for top rated reviews. https://images2.imgbox.com/82/35/jx0R1Cy9_o.jpg |
31st October
Fukuchiyama to Tsuyama ATD 0815 ATA 1220 Ride time: 4hr 5min https://images2.imgbox.com/64/9c/VmUl0wo3_o.png |
Nice ride with excellent weather.
It was chilly but I layered up. Would be nice to have heated grips as my hands felt cold without any handguards even though I was wearing WP gloves. Rode slowly and enjoyed the ride. If speed limit was 50kph I kept around 65 to 70 kph or followed the pace of traffic if any. Wanted to visit Takeda Castle but it was closed. pity..... I did go to the Tsuyama castle which is smaller. https://images2.imgbox.com/98/c2/j0DIatz2_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/4c/40/0tMMwQvX_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/5b/a3/nzIHhMG5_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/85/3b/GzUbwm82_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/fe/30/8ihi79OG_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/9f/b7/5H5bZjz9_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/95/20/LZYFnl2i_o.jpg http://https://images2.imgbox.com/66/48/sDIlt5IY_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/c5/f7/ybmSUWEo_o.jpg |
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1st November
Tsuyama to Mihara ATD 0815 ATA 1300 Ride time: 4hour 45min Rain all the way! Supposed to go to Bitchu Matsuyama viewpoint but because of the rain I decided to skip and head direct to Mihara. Weather forecast was heavy rain and strong winds for today and tomorrow. I decided to cancel the next destination Gotsu and stay another day at Mihara for better weather. Fourtunately the hotel at Gotsu had free cancellation. When I reached the hotel at 1300 the man at the counter said 1500hrs for check in. I had no choice but to wait and I was quite miserable as my pants were wet due to the rain. And due to the heavy rain, I could not go anywhere for food either. So, I went to the toilet to dry up as much as possible and waited. At 1500 hrs the man was no where to be seen and he finally appeared at 1520 hrs. I was actually quite pissed as I wanted to change to something dry and more comfortable. The hotel was supposed to provide free breakfast but there as none. Not even coffee or bread. |
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Pit stop for ciggie break.
However when you want to take a quick leak in Japan, it is not so easy as you have to go to the convenience stores. The only way to take a quick pee is unless the road is very quiet with no houses nearby. https://images2.imgbox.com/20/f0/TEZBkiAi_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/70/06/0pVivQnm_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/b0/02/Wb1PDXi8_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/d4/cc/G5SuYEg8_o.jpg At the Nice Inn, Mihara https://images2.imgbox.com/96/7a/p8HmhuLA_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/b6/f5/DBquXlup_o.jpg Dinner. I wanted to order some more but they said they close at 1930. https://images2.imgbox.com/26/76/Pjnz6FK6_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/9a/09/4f4NHiYJ_o.jpg |
2nd November
Mihara Since the weather forecast was rain I stayed another day at Mihara. Borrowed a umbrella and walked out to see Mihara city on foot. https://images2.imgbox.com/f7/52/zuIvdDPb_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/89/c7/eF4nZ7Yf_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/67/AE2Uk5fR_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ea/ab/LPGl2OU6_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ff/c4/O5aZF2vk_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/5c/32/W4bc4NBd_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/24/0c/Pc8L4Gvf_o.jpg |
Lunch
Lunch was only 1,000Yen at this place which had good reviews on Google maps. https://images2.imgbox.com/22/66/RQao1gyq_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a0/11/MldyB8l7_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/97/WBqan55q_o.jpg Dinner. This was 1500Yen. https://images2.imgbox.com/c5/63/SzfYAF9e_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ae/b0/JBn4YXHB_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/85/f1/5VawkR9K_o.jpg |
3rd November
Mihara to Matsue ATD 0815 ATA 1300 Ride time: 4 hours 45 min Nice weather after the wet weather the last 2 days at Mihara. Today marked the start of the return loop back to Osaka as you can see from the map. I am so close to Hiroshima ........ but like I said I am not a fan of big crowds. The temperature was chilly at 10C and my hands were getting numb after 30 minutes. The sun did come out around 10ish and it was more comfortable to ride. I must say the Honda ADV150 scooter is fun to ride. I rented a Yamaha NMAX 155 in Sumatra, Indonesia and a Honda Forza 350 in Chiang Mai, Thailand and that's why I got myself a Yamaha XMAX 250 after selling my Triumph Tiger 800. https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/ac/MYI0yiiH_o.png |
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I stopped here to swap gloves and at the junction ahead there is a traffic light. There is a car waiting for the light to turn green. Even after 5 minutes the light was still red and the driver did not proceed.
Then after another 2 or 3 minutes, the driver of the car waiting behind got out and walked to the traffic light to press the pedestrian button I guess. Less than a minute later, the lights turned green. Shows hows patient and disciplined the Japanese are. https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/31/ZgvKlM10_o.jpg http://https://images2.imgbox.com/3a/31/ZgvKlM10_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/1e/cf/3HVlZw7X_o.jpg |
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4th November
I had booked 2 nights accommodation at Matsue as my rest day. I normally take a rest day from riding after every 6 or 7 days and try to choose a city which has more things to do and see. There is some ceremony for young children here but I felt embarrassed to take too many pictures as I felt it was not respectful. https://images2.imgbox.com/b0/03/OTBclEDj_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/86/46/kY1j2uL5_o.jpg |
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View of the hotel. https://images2.imgbox.com/39/db/Gkns3LCf_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ee/ca/3oEPW3zQ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/bf/9c/SfAsJaXm_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/30/d5/qgRHbZi0_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/8d/e9/U56NmvWU_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/0d/79/of57i1A3_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/84/4f/yuC2uWgt_o.jpg |
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https://images2.imgbox.com/1b/a0/hX6OWSTy_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/e9/a6/AMeZQ7F7_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/41/8e/dFGUT3ma_o.jpg I got to see Japanese women in their traditional kimono and I must say they look lovely in that attire. The young boy looks smart! https://images2.imgbox.com/dd/8d/hZSSAZBk_o.jpg |
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https://images2.imgbox.com/8c/06/9GysSy66_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/0e/a5/F7EF8qiS_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/da/50/J8aPXNbs_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/ba/lXkUo3dU_o.jpg I walked to the city centre for dinner which was about 10 minutes away. https://images2.imgbox.com/87/99/jGeo40Iy_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/d5/58/jgjdsn0t_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/47/3b/G74LjV6Y_o.jpg |
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Nice ride with pleasant weather but there was a slight drizzle along the way.
Japan's back roads are all scenic so don't have any favourite route to be honest. Stopped at the Hayabusa station and they have a Suzuki Hayabusa there! Nice. https://images2.imgbox.com/b9/45/HRsZorzT_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a8/e6/ingI4TFj_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/a1/50/nVtFUZLm_o.jpg |
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Lunch
https://images2.imgbox.com/0a/83/oUBpyt2v_o.jpg My accommodation for the night. I was the only guest. https://images2.imgbox.com/6a/ff/iOEaZR7O_o.jpg Awesome view https://images2.imgbox.com/84/b8/uIbngGTZ_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/4f/7a/Lq6mjdLa_o.jpg Dinner https://images2.imgbox.com/78/64/c6SmVCqL_o.jpg |
6th November
Iwami to Fukuchiyama ATD 0830 ATA 1300 Ride time: 4.5 hours https://images2.imgbox.com/26/4c/iHcdvilj_o.png |
I went to the Tottori Sand Museum first before heading to Fukuchiyama.
The sand museum was interesting and very realistic. There was a slight drizzle when I set off and the rain was intermittent all the way to Fukuchiyama. https://images2.imgbox.com/c6/ff/NT0B0H3Q_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/86/21/q2IuiT4K_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/6e/fd/5XQpDtMf_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/2c/1a/hj7VfbnC_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/10/66/wCNkzdhE_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/76/47/bsw0dfOd_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/cb/89/yqTmgFQD_o.jpg http://https://images2.imgbox.com/89/8d/gPhWOF7D_o.jpg |
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View from my room.
Tottori is a beautiful town beside the majestic sea. https://images2.imgbox.com/4a/c6/uRvLCnTn_o.jpg Tottori Sand Museum https://images2.imgbox.com/8d/73/M5QpLJ8b_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/93/2b/AvKkYWLA_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/2f/7e/dGL1L1Rp_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/3f/62/xfT43QaL_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/89/7f/befvh4Zk_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/74/fd/vlOTmdwD_o.jpg |
7th November
Fukuchiyama to Osaka ATD 0715 ATA hotel 1045 Ride time: 3.5 hours Today is the final day for riding the reliable Honda ADV150. Weather was good and rode straight to the hotel to dump my bags at the hotel first before returning the bike. There was no parking at the hotel and I asked 2 traffic attendants if I could park for 5 minutes. They said no and I then asked where I could park then. Those 2 jokers said in English I am busy! WTF! Rude Japanese but of course they are the tiny minority as Japanese are very polite. I then rode around the block looking for a place to park the bike. I saw a street where bikes were parked and there was an empty slot. Wasn't sure how the system works though as there is a steel cable to lock the bike and pay. I stood there trying to decipher the contraption for a few minutes. |
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How great are those ADV160’s!
Had one in Indonesia and loved it. Used Nmax in Japan. |
Saw a young man waiting on his bike and asked him to help using Google Translate.
He was a legend and helped me to attach the cable to the rear wheel and told me to pay only when I was ready to take the bike out. I wasn't sure how the system worked and asked if he would still be here in 15 minutes as I only wanted to dump my bags. He replied he would so I walked to the hotel about 6 minutes away with my bags. Left the bags at the hotel and hurried back to the bike. The young man was there and helped me to unlock the cable. I think it's free parking for 30 minutes. I gave him a bottle of Coca Cola I had in the top box for his help. I then rode to the bike rental place which took an hour in Osaka traffic. Altogether I clocked in about 2,000kms and had a blast riding in Japan. Changed my boots to running shoes and put the boots and riding jacket in my empty wheeled bag and walked 20 minutes to Settsuhi station for the train ride to Nipponbashi station. I got confused and either took the wrong train or got off at the wrong station. Wasted 1 hour trying to get my bearing right and finally arrived at Namba station and walked 20 minutes to the hotel. Glad I was in the running shoes and not the Forma Terra Evo boots. :oops2:doh |
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I rented a NMAX in Sumatra, Indonesia and Forza 350 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I recently got myself a Yamaha XMAX 250 after selling my Triumph Tiger 800. :scooter::scooter: |
Last coffee, ciggie, pee break on the Honda ADV150 at the outskirt of Osaka city
https://images2.imgbox.com/d3/a4/wvxFAoF5_o.jpg Total distance on the ADV150 = 1938kms https://images2.imgbox.com/21/c1/ILQWrw9t_o.jpg Nipponbashi Hotel with my bags still unpacked and riding gear on the bed. https://images2.imgbox.com/29/2c/M0QP8R8p_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/15/dd/UWxJCH79_o.jpg View of the street from my room https://images2.imgbox.com/9d/67/lWsVU5If_o.jpg |
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I had 4 nights in Osaka to do the touristy stuff.
I went to 3 bike shops to have a look at bike gear. I got the dark visor for the Shoei Neotec 3 and a pinlock which is much cheaper than buying it at home. Could not find the helmet centre pad for my trusty HJC RPHA90. It's actually difficult to find accessories for the HJC helmet. Got the above stuff from Nankaibuhin Honten. The Dainese official store had nothing much to see. I also went to 2-Rinkan which was further away from the city but having mastered the Osaka train it was easy to move around. Actually the train ride was quite nice. I spent a day to Nara to see the deer and temple but did not go to Kyoto. |
Checking out the bus schedule to KIX airport. This would be my best option as the pickup point is just across the hotel.
It's slightly more expensive but it's way more convenient than walking a distance to the train station. https://images2.imgbox.com/3e/9e/qAxYsiFF_o.jpg Shop where I got the Shoei Neotec 3 accessories https://images2.imgbox.com/a6/01/6tAhjuzf_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/ab/0d/QUWHHqpU_o.jpg Umeda sky building/Kuchu Teien Observatory https://images2.imgbox.com/07/7e/vYwNuiT3_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/7c/bc/ganthhkG_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/f1/b5/mvQ2e2fz_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/2a/ca/eBduTckD_o.jpg https://images2.imgbox.com/66/93/KHxOeB8t_o.jpg |
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Wow - you had a nice little trip in Honshu-Japan. Thanks for sharing the trip with us!
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ha...ha.... it was also the most expensive tour to date.
But it was nice and I really enjoyed myself. Would like to go to Tokyo as I have a younger brother staying there and I would like to visit him and ride too. Want to tour India or Pakistan or New Zealand for late 2025 or 2026. South Korea is also on my list but seems impossible to rent a bike there. Flight tickets to Seoul are reasonable as there are direct flight to ICN Inchon airport from the city I stay. South America is the ultimate tour that I want to do in 2027/2028 but will be the most challenging as have to buy a used bike there and due to the cost of flight tickets I will have to do it in a single tour of around 6 months. The hardest part for every tour is the detailed research of where to go. I like to have a rough route for my entire tour. Also have to check when to go and where to rent the bike. Avoid going during wet season if possible as I don't enjoy riding in the rain. About 10 to 12 Celsius is about as low as I can tolerate on a bike without heated grips, handguards and windshield. But will look like the Michelin man with all the layers on me! LOL :scooter::scooter::Beach: |
Thanks for the ride report, we are hoping to go there next April for a few weeks, thinking we will start in Osaka and rent bikes there as well:scooter:
Gino |
@Rondelli,
Go for it! Japan is great for bike touring! I want to go to Tokyo either in late this year or if not next year to visit my brother and rent a bike and tour! It's tough when you don't speak the local language but being polite and using Google translate helps! LOL :scooter::scooter: |
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