Japan cities and villages

Day 1 - Departure 
Departure flight to Osaka.

Day 2 - Arrival - Osaka
You will be picked up from the airport by the tour guide. In the afternoon we go by public transport to the motorcycle rental and become acquainted with the motorcycles. We ride back to the hotel via a nice route through the center of the city. Osaka is the second largest city in the country.

Day 3 - Osaka - Kamiyama
We ride out of the city and follow the busy main highway for a short section still along the coast towards the south. Just before Wakayama we take the ferry to the island of Shikoku. This island is often called the Tibet of Japan because of its rugged mountains. A traditional culture also prevails on this island. It seems that development here, especially in the interior, runs a little behind that of the rest of the country. As soon as we leave Tokushima we ride on narrow roads into the mountains. One comes across hardly any traffic and the route which is mapped out takes one along deserted parts of the island. We visit an old wooden temple, a waterfall and a reservoir. We stay overnight in a traditional spa resort. This is actually quite normal for the Japanese but for us it remains rather special. Hot spring water flows from the tap in the bathroom into the bathtub and on the ground floor of the hotel is a hot spring bath with all facilities.

Day 4 - Kamiyama - Matsuyama
This will be a long and varied day. We ride out of the valley, following the highway for a while until we come to a deserted lake area. The route along the lake offers beautiful views. We leave this road for a very narrow one which climbs upwards steeply. After a village of two houses, the road narrows even further and we ride for about 20 km through a deserted pine forest, crossing over a pass once more, this time with even sharper bends. Returning to the highway, we ride to the north coast of the island and have lunch in the industrial port city of Niihama. This provides an excellent contrast between the coast and the mountains. We ride on the highway further to Imabari for a fine view of one of the longest bridges in Japan. This bridge connects Shikoku via a series of intervening islands to Honshu; there is a good view of it from the observation point. Via the coastal road We ride on Matsuyama via the coastal road where we stay overnight.

Day 5 - Matsuyama - Hiroshima
In the morning we visit Matsuyama Castle. This castle stands on top of a mountain on which the city is built. The castle was built in 1602 and is accessible via a cable car. It is a charming walk back down the mountain. After lunch we ride to the port and take the ferry back to Honshu island. We come ashore again on the outskirts of Hiroshima from which point it is still an hour’s ride to the hotel. We stay here for two nights.

Day 6 - Hiroshima - stay
Hiroshima is, of course, famous for the tragedy of 6th August 1945 which heralded an end to the Second World War. Nowadays Hiroshima is a nice busy city with over one million inhabitants. The memory of the Atomic Bomb is kept alive still by many Japanese. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, otherwise known as the A-bomb dome, is one of the most interesting places that you can visit today. In 1996, it even became a UNESCO World Heritage site. The remains of the building stand today as they were immediately after the bomb.  In addition to the dome, a park has been built with several monuments commemorating the event and highlighting the country’s anti-nuclear stance. The museum nearby the monument is so awe-inspiring that you will leave it with a similar point of view. There are also other attractions in Hiroshima such as museums and parks. A simple walk through the city or a ride on the subway can be just as interesting too.

Day 7 - Hiroshima - Sakai Minata
Having left the city, we ride a way to the mountains north east of Hiroshima and come for the first time on the Japanese toll motorway. We will do this a number of times on this trip to cover greater distances through less interesting regions faster. We ride to the north coast of the island, ending the day along a couple of good roads along the coast.

Day 8 - Sakai Minata - Kyoto
This is a connection day. We bridge the long distance through a less interesting region via the toll road. This is a busy industrial area and as a result less interesting to take smaller roads. Nearer to Osaka one must watch out for the junction points of several busy highways. At the end of the afternoon we arrive in Kyoto, the former capital of the empire.

Day 9 - Kyoto – stay
Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan known for its many temples and shrines. At first glance, however, Kyoto is a big city with neon lights and busy traffic. One needs a full day to look around in order to appreciate the city. There are more than 2000 temples and monasteries (thirteen of which fall under UNESCO) and dozens of gardens and museums. If one simply lets go of this view, searching instead for the classic Japan, then one can have a very different experience.

Day 10 - Kyoto - Ogimachi
After a short ride on the highway we come to the foot of the Japanese Alps; today we will ride into these mountains for the first time. We climb up into the pine forests and wind our way along clear blue lakes. In this region there are many traditional villages with typical architecture. It is a short ride today and there is enough time in the afternoon therefore to visit several villages. These authentic villages lie in beautiful valleys in the mountains. There are so many of these historical places that it is impossible to visit them all. We stay overnight in the village of Ogimachi.

Day 11 - Ogimachi - Matsumoto
We start the day with either a tunnel of about 12 km or else via winding roads and high passes to ride up to the high peaks. Regardless of the route, the region through which we ride is the middle of the Japanese Alps and is extremely beautiful. We are now at the highest point of the journey. A mountain range with year-round snow-capped peaks starts directly west of Takayama. We take the scenic Japan National Route 462 which ends at a ski resort but just before the end is a very narrow challenging road which leads us across the ridge to Japan National Route 158. A side road from this takes us to a deep cave. A bridge system built within the cave gives access to deep within it. We continue on to Shin-Hotaka Onsen. This is a spa town with the longest cable car in Asia, the Shinhotaka Ropeway. If there’s time and interest, we can go on the cable car up to one of highest Alpine peaks. After this we ride a few kilometers back and join Japan National Route 5.

Like many of the roads in this area, this road is only open during the summer months; for the rest of the year it is covered in snow. This road is also called the Skyline Route. It is one of the most photographed roads in the land and for good reason. We ride via Norikua at the end of this road onwards to Suwa. Given enough time we will do this via narrow mountain roads or else we will take the main road at several points. Suwa is situated on a mountain lake. Our hotel too is to be found at a charming location on the lake.

Day 12 - Matsumoto - Magome
A quiet riding day. We ride from our hotel on the lake southwards. Riding on narrow roads through the mountains we arrive for lunch at the small village of Magome.

Day 13 - Magome - Shimada
This will be one of the most varied routes of the trip. Beginning with a ride on a narrow road over a beautiful pass with stunning views, we will follow only narrow roads through pine forest for the rest of the morning. We arrive at the tea center of Japan at around midday. Suddenly everywhere one looks one sees only tea plantations. If we have time we can visit a tea museum for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. We wind our way further in between the plantations, eventually reaching Shimada. We stay overnight in charming and attractive yet simple hotel in the center of the city.

Day 14 - Shimada - Tokyo
We leave the tea plantations and head towards the highest mountain in the country. This is Mount Fuji at an altitude of 3776 meters. Well-trained runners climb the mountain from the last point accessible by road in four hours, after which it is a three hour walk back. We ride south along mountain and, providing that it is a clear day, there will be several views of the snowy summit. Next we begin the final leg of the trip, the journey to Tokyo. The closer one gets to the city, the busier it becomes of course. We could choose to follow the highway but it is probably more fun to follow the smaller roads into the city. Regardless of the chosen route, it is a fantastic experience to enter a city of 12 million people riding on a motorcycle. If we are a little late, one will be covered by a blanket of neon lights, skyscrapers and billboards. Our hotel is in the Ueno district, an interesting entertainment neighbourhood.

Day 15 - Tokyo - stay
You have two whole days to get to know Tokyo, the minimum time in which to do this. Tokyo has so much to offer that one could stay for weeks. We spend the morning of the first day riding along a pleasant route to return the motorcycles. The rest of the day can be filled visiting busy shopping streets, the electric city, large parks or taking infinite rides on the 13 metro lines. Or else drinking coffee in a café or eating sushi from a conveyor belt in the narrow streets or watching bizarrely-clad Japanese Goth girls in the Shibuya district. Tokyo is fun and never dulls.

Day 16 - Departure Tokyo