What a great day! Perfect morning after heavy rains with a coolish run out to the Minami Alps if Yamanashi in an attempt to get over into Shizuoka…alas, it was no to be.
Did get to see and ride plenty of other cool stuff though.
Now that’s a Sunday sun-up view! Today wasn’t like that. In fact, it was overcast, steaming and threatening rain. So, it was time for something different. Let’s get cool. 😎 Straddling the Shizuoka Yamanashi border, Abe Touge is rarely open on the Shizuoka side but does climb to around 1500 metres so thought it a cool place to round some rubber up to. At 5am by the coast, it was already 28°C and some altitude would be welcomed. So, over Hakone Touge we went and then hop skipped and jumped over to the Shin Tomei Expressway. Saw this little Honda with a monster top box when I stopped to rehydrate after exiting at Shin Shimizu and enjoying the twisties up the 52 to Tomikawa. Turning west off the beaten path with towering peaks getting closer, the local welcoming party was out……. to terrify! From small to large, it seemed all the waterfalls were flowing. And the scars of rivers gorging on rain were very fresh. Climbing and getting cooler. This was a comfortable hillock to admire the view, until the ants mounted their assault. 🏃 Look at that landslide! If the land slides in the mountains and no one is there to see it,… And with the climb came the low cloud loving carpets of moss. Almost there. Too bad it was thick with cloud or Fuji would have been a great sight from here. Made it! But the warning sign showed major damage on the Shizuoka side. Shizuoka lockout. Oh well, at least it was a dryish and a refreshing 20°. Back down we go. How must it have looked in full flow, tearing at the banks? That looks menacing. So, that’s what the impeller of a hydroelectric turbine looks like!Still more landslides… An old but well kept school.The blue sky unfurled for Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan – the world’s oldest continuous hotel. Magic riding out to it too. It had been a good run and with a traffic free climb up the Motosuko Road to the base of Mt Fuji, the MT10 found some other steeds to hang with before the run back through Hakone and home.
All done, 485km and some well rounded rubber. Until next Sunday….
Always enjoy watching your travels as they’re not in all the usual popular places. You are one of the few to look at a goat track & take off up it to see what magical spots may be hiding off the beaten track. Most of us would just shudder,shake our heads & pass it by. Cheers for sharing.
Touge Express 
Always enjoy watching your travels as they’re not in all the usual popular places. You are one of the few to look at a goat track & take off up it to see what magical spots may be hiding off the beaten track. Most of us would just shudder,shake our heads & pass it by. Cheers for sharing.
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Cheers for taking the time to show your appreciation. 👍
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