I’d only intended to ride out to see the autumn colours and thought I’d maybe grab a burger at GranPrix in Tsumagoi. But when I had to turn west for Tsumagoi, the coast seemed just as close and snow on the distant peaks was more alluring. Then I remembered it was salmon season on the other side of those hills, so to the sea of Japan it was.

Weather Gods: Lenient

Coldest: 2°C       Uncoldest: 11°C

When: November 23, 2025

Start: Yokohama Hammerhead, Kanagawa

End: Kashiwazaki Central Beach, Niigata

Length: @500km

Weapon of Choice: Yamaha MT10SP

Popsicle-prevention: Warm&Safe heated liner and gloves + heat packs on knees + heated grips.

Satisfaction level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Do it again? Absolutely!

Enjoy the Relive movie up top for the stop by stop details.

The 4am alarm went off, but I’d stayed up watching the MotoGP Sprint race the night before and decided to grab another three and a half hours shut eye. Finally got on the road just before 8am, almost 4 hours behind schedule but feeling well rested and ready to roll!

With the Mountain Day Twistybutt just over a month away and route possibilities still swimming around in my melon, it was time to check off two gnarly passes that traverse the ridges separating Yamanashi and Shizuoka.

The sun shone all day and the breeze stayed cool, though a little gusty northwest of Fuji. Still, the Road Gods were smiling, keeping our path clear and perfectly twistilicious!

Being delayed a week by rain meant fewer than half of those who’d registered made it to the start, but for those who did, what a great day for a ride, right?!