Oct. 2013

Having ridden coast to coast several different ways, endured some expressway marathons, scrabbled over and around a surfeit of crumbling mountain passes and even risked life and limb on a frozen northern adventure, the bar was just about high enough for one of those ‘…one day…’ rides. Yep, it was about time for a whopper.

This one goes a ways back and definitely needed some working up to. But, boy o boy is it a day dream filler!

This ride…

Righto, lets get started shall we…

Thursday and a group tour around Aomori has just dissolved leaving only 2 of us, a night’s accommodation booked at Lake Towada Saturday, 5 days of free riding, an approaching super typhoon and well… nothing better to do 🙂

Me: ‘Hey, what do you think about riding Honshu end to end via as many good quick roads as possible, NO expressway?’

James: ‘Sure. Just tell me where and when.’

Me thinking: That a boy!

Fast forward to Saturday morning and J sending messages and photos from the road on his approach to Towada via Oga Hanto leading me to switch off the phone. Yep, I was working till 6pm and had no intention of tormenting myself…well, maybe I checked a few of his photos from the road…

6pm came around soon enough and the feet were a Fred Flinstone yabadabadoo blur out the door. Around an hour later, the FZ1 roared to life and we were northbound with around 850km of mostly slab ahead.

Now, slab should be a dreary exercise in managing the toothpicks keeping ones eyelids propped open but the approaching typhoon had huffed and puffed up a fair old gail through Ibaraki and Fukushima. The action peaked when I swear I sailed through a burgeoning tornado sweeping the bike from one lane to the other then back again all in the space of a ‘Whoahooo Nellie!’ and not a thing to be done but hang on for the ride.

Now, slab should be a dreary exercise in managing the toothpicks keeping ones eyelids propped open but the approaching typhoon had huffed and puffed up a fair old gail through Ibaraki and Fukushima. The action peaked when I swear I sailed through a burgeoning tornado sweeping the bike from one lane to the other then back again all in the space of a ‘Whoahooo Nellie!’ and not a thing to be done but hang on for the ride. Now, slab should be a dreary exercise in managing the toothpicks keeping ones eyelids propped open but the approaching typhoon had huffed and puffed up a fair old gail through Ibaraki and Fukushima. The action peaked when I swear I sailed through a burgeoning tornado sweeping the bike from one lane to the other then back again all in the space of a ‘Whoahooo Nellie!’ and not a thing to be done but hang on for the ride. Now, slab should be a dreary exercise in managing the toothpicks keeping ones eyelids propped open but the approaching typhoon had huffed and puffed up a fair old gail through Ibaraki and Fukushima. The action peaked when I swear I sailed through a burgeoning tornado sweeping the bike from one lane to the other then back again all in the space of a ‘Whoahooo Nellie!’ and not a thing to be done but hang on for the ride.

Slowing down significantly only seemed to make things worse, with the gusts feeling like they were actually scooping up and tossing us about at will. Keeping the throttle steady in cruise mode and punching holes from gust to gust was a tad less dramatic and guaranteed to get me there sooner, as long as the errant branches, eye watering dust, trucks swinging around like wayward punching bags and all sorts of airborne nastiness could be survived.

Around Iwatesan, the fury of the four winds eased to a steady easterly roar. Then around Morioka, being as considerate as the omnipresent ones are, they turned on the shower to wash off the gusty dust accumulated earlier. Great! Nothing for it but to wick up the heated grips and hunker down for the final hundred or so kilometres. Longest shower I’ve had in a quite a while actually. Too bad it was cold.

The accommodation was lakeside which meant twisties and then through the hills around Lake Towada once off the expressway. Was excited about that till I got there and found the roads blanketed with autumn leaves. With a squiggle here, a drift there and a whole lot of cursing the FZ1 had got me there again and we finally rolled in to Yama no iie at @3:30am to find J up and full of beans chasing stink bugs with a vacuum cleaner. Yep, that was one loopy night!…

NEXT DAY

Nothing like waking up with the dawning realization that you have a bunch of days of riding ahead and that’s all!

Due to the late landing the night before, it was 8 o’clock. But, the sun warming the futon was a welcome alarm clock.

Bit hard to rise into biped mode with just shy of 4hrs sleep but there was riding to be done and the sun was out. So, up and at ’em!

Less than an hour later, the bills were paid, bikes loaded, riders suited up and the two yammies sounded a call across Towada Lake to the roads ahead.

Tracing the lake around the northwest coast(454), it was damp, still carpeted in autumn leaves and dastardly slippery. We took our time easing our way around to the Nishi-Towada IdeYu Line(102) and it was no better but is always a beautiful road, even in testing conditions.

Then, onto the Soube-bypass to get across to the Towada Road east(102) down to Towada. Glad it was downhill as the FZ1 needed juice. The roads were drying, the wind had died down and the sun was doing its best to brighten the hills. So, tank getting low, switched off the engine and sailed as far downhill as the slope would take us. But the road signs made it kind of tough as they do things a little differently in that area… Seems a hairpin is but a curve in Aomoriland.

Made it to gas and then pit stopped for some breaky before the run north. Trying to stay out of traffic, the 394 and 25 were a a lot of fun and had us making good time. Then it was onto the 338 or the Nuclear Hyper Line as we had named it a few years ago, as it is wide open and a good cruise through the forest tucked away on the coast by the Higashi-dori Nuclear Powerplant. With the barbed-wire topped electric fence and cameras in the bushes on the east side, it does inspire more than a little paranoia… get over that though and it’s a great road for the north run up to Shimokita Hanto(peninsula) into Mutsu.

Then it was north on the Mutsu-Hamanasu Line (279) all the way to Oma for the true start of this ride. While there, we had to have some of the famous Maguro(Blue-fin Tuna). And it was good. A fried lunch set for J and a sashimi set for me. Yep, if it isn’t cooked, J’s not into it! He prefers things cooked up…

2pmish, Rider furnaces burning Japan’s finest tuna, photos at the north tip of Honshu taken, it was time to turn it around and head south. The late and slippery start had certainly set our schedule back so we weren’t expecting to make it as far as planned but thought we’d give it a go. Back down the Mutsu-Hamanasu Line (279), tracking the west coast of the axe handle this time, we were making good time but the sun was fading behind the cloud cover. Just before sunset patched into J, sena to sena, and called a combini stop.

I’ve ridden that road 3 times now, twice with J and what are the odds we would stop at the same Sunkus we stopped at the last time we were up there? Well, that’s the first one that came up and where we pulled in. Fed & watered and realizing we were about 350km behind schedule, we decided on making a run for Hirosaki after some fuel for the steeds. Plugged in this route and off we went: 279-4(south)-242-MichinokuDoro-123-44-27-7 into Hirosaki station.

Once in Hirosaki, it was time for a real feed and watering at a local Izakaya(pub with decent food) followed by some much needed slumber at the Hirosaki Route Inn.

Distance for day 1: @390km

Distance from Oma: @ 190km

NEXT DAY

6:45am and the Rolling Stones strummed in on telling me to get off their cloud…

An hour or so later with a belly full of Route Inn buffet breakfast and a hankering for twisties, the morning routine commences…

Tank bag zips on, zumo drops in the cradle, givi-box locks down, tailbag clicks in, leg swings over and the ignition key rolls around to 12 o’clock. Welcome to day 2..? Or is it 3?… Ok, day 2 of the Honshu End to End!

Blue sky from horizon to horizon, temp around 10deg and we were doing the red-orange-green stop-n-go out of town when J patches in over the intercom, ‘Car on your tail.’ Shoulder check and move aside as a Subaru screams by with a young agro guy all pumped up and rubber-necking a death stare only to look ahead and find a red light. Of course we filter up front and then take a look to see he isn’t thinking of escalating things and he seems to be shrinking in his seat somewhat. Light goes green and we leave scooby-doo behind. At the next red he’s suspiciously pulled into the middle lane 2 cars back. Yep, leaving troubles behind time.

We hit the UshuKaido(7) south out of Hirosaki then switched over to the 282. 75 odd kms later, swung onto the 341. Knowing the 341 is scant on fuel but dripping in twisties and curves for many horizons, we pulled in for some gas. While there, the Sena-Smartphone-Zumo bluetooth combo needed re-pairing as I hadn’t had any tunes. Had stumbled upon a pairing combo that allowed screen search and call notification for the phone through the Zumo and the Walkman from the phone went straight to Sena in stereo. And of course, the Zumo streamed directions to the Sena. The pairing went like this: 1. Disable bluetooth on the phone and Zumo and power-down the Sena. 2. Enable Bluetooth on the Zumo and wait a minute or two. 3. Enable bluetooth on the phone and wait another minute while the phone and Zumo do their pairing thing. 4. Power up the Sena and wait for the notification saying the phone and audio were connected. But, missing any part of that pairing and things weren’t so flush. Maybe no phone, tunes or zumo guidance. Later in the ride, I would figure out that just pairing the Sena and Xperia first for phone and Walkman and then chiming in the Zumo, only for guidance, worked out to be far more stable and convenient. Especially when only stopping briefly to dump the bilge.

Cool thing was, no matter what the combo or pairing dilemma, the intercom was always there for a chat with J. But, we generally kept the chat short and riding long. Occasionally though, the conversation did roll by with the road and for the first time I measured the duration of a phonecall-like chat in kilometres not minutes.

Ok, eyes back on the road! We were behind schedule, remember? About 300km behind when we hit the road that morning. So, as much as I wanted to ride the Aspite Line(23), and I reeeeallly wanted to, we gave a nod to the mass of bikers milling around the combini north of the turn-off and sailed right on. The 341 is a great road in itself and within about 3 corners my Aspite desires were forgotten.

As the road climbed, the fall colors came down to meet it and soon we were snaking through the golds, oranges and reds under a crystal clear cool blue sky.

Sailing back down out of the hills toward Tozawa Lake, the tunnels punching through ridges offered steady picture postcard views with each breach back into daylight.

From there it was west on the 46/341 to 50 and from there we jumped our first bi-road out of town and into the fields, eventually finding our way onto the Mizuhonosato Road and then the YuuheiFruitLine.

But you know J, can’t take him anywhere…Stop the Steal!

After a quick turn west on 342 it was south again on the 108 and onto the 398. Now, the 398 was another one of those glad to be here roads that included a long peg-plow inducing climb up the OyasuKaido! But, somewhere between 2 and 3am on one of the route planning nights, I’d seen a road that wasn’t there and plotted in a dirt-bike/rock hopper road. Doh!

So, some route juggling was in order. And well, there was no other option than to snake, weave and wear off some more tyre shoulder all the way down the other side of the 398 on the Senzantsu. Best routing screw up of the day that one 🙂

That brought us down to the twisty 457 and a Panorama line like 253 before a decent stretch along a meandering 47. Then, 28, 347 and the next one was a routing gamble that seemed worth taking at the time but put us here…

But, things were a lot better on the other side

Some snaking winding and rolling downhill into Higashine for a much needed feed, rest and fuel. The sun was well on its way east when I trundled out of the convenience store, plenty of rider fuel in hand, and spied the day’s logo.

We just had to get some pics and check out what the f### they were selling. Seems it was some kind of hip streetwear place with a coolkat owner and a gaggle of skater bmxer type punks milling around. Seemed friendly enough and they didn’t mind us parked out front.

Rolling up the ear plugs, getting ready to hit the road, and the shadows were getting very long. We were in for some night riding. J wasn’t especially keen on that but I promised to keep us off goat trails and bi-roads. Besides, we were still behind schedule and I think the day had been too much fun already to give up now. Besides, we had been getting updates from those following us on Facebook, saying that the typhoon to the south-west had whipped itself up into the biggest typhoon in 10 years and Noah had even sent out a warning that things were going to get nasty. That was likely to make the next couple of days a lot less enjoyable so we had to make the best of the brilliant conditions we had at the time. But it was getting cold…nothing the heated gear couldn’t handle though!

So back on the dusky road, it was the 13 south to the 268, 113 and then the Budo-Matsutake Line to the 13 again. Mmm, lots of 13s at night? We survived and even thrived, once on the 121(#####23L). Then, it was the 459 west before turning south onto the 43 and a little west on the 49 before swinging south again on the 252. And the 252 it was set to be for the next 125kms. But… yes there is often a ‘but’ when improvising, isn’t there.

Well, we rolled into Aizu thinking that with it being a tourist mecca and all that, fuel wouldn’t be a problem. Well, seems no one drives after 6pm in those parts and it was already after 8pm. Sprinkling softly, we pulled in to a MichinoEki west of Aizu to find the lights on, maps a plenty and some nice benches(yep, J noticed them). It was a lonely beacon of lumen goodness in an area darker than the inside of a caveman’s colon. We weren’t alone either with a bunch of folk sleeping in their cars. Victims of the fuel curfew also, maybe? Anyway, we called upon the riding community and SNS to help us out of a bind and what a community it is! Within 15 minutes, 5 active fuel hunters were on the job feeding us locations, names and ideas. Unfortunately, the phones at those places weren’t being answered. Fortunately, I married a gem and she coaxed an elderly lady into opening a pump for some stranded riders in such cold weather.

She didn’t tell her we were men and foreign though. Arriving at her 2 pump tiny gas stand, midway along the twisty and likely deer infested rt.400, there she was in her nighty, teeth likely still in the glass by her futon and hair a shambles. To her credit though, she didn’t flinch at the site of the two of us and soon had the fuel flowing. We helped by filling the tanks ourselves and gave her a few extra yennies for being a saviour to stranded riders. Oh, and the beauty show!

Back on the road around 9pm with a cool tank between the knees and 100kms of twisties and hillclimbs to go, in the dark, we wicked up the heated gear and got down to enjoying the road again. It was a nice night to be riding seeing as the sprinkles had stopped. Around Lake Tagokura the mist turned into fog and then pea soup and the road began to climb. Quite an adventure hillclimbing in pea soup, following the guard rail while stealing glances at the navigation to see that the lake was right there on the other side of the guardrail, not 20m away. That would be 20 horizontal metres and too many verticle metres! But, onwards and upwards we went and the fog cleared fast as we got above it and found the lake blanketed in thick cloud under a bright 3/4 moon.

Cresting the touge at around 900m, we had to stop as the view was just amazing! Breath-taking! The typhoon was blowing the cloud into the narrowing valley pushing it up the valley walls like a wind blown lake’s waves lapping at the shores, only in super-slow motion. Even as we were there, some tendrils of cloud came up to tickle the road before rolling back over the edge and slipping away down the cliff-side into the endless white below. Disappointingly, the phone cameras couldn’t catch the majesty of it and my camera’s battery was flat. Very disappointed. The car-lit shot was the only visible shot I got. On the other side of those big concrete bollards was an abyss.

Back in the saddle, we descended into the next valley, relieved not to find any fog. On with the ride we went, all the way along the 252, under the Kanetsu expressway and then onto the Mikuni Hwy in search of a convenience store. Around 1am we found one, fed like weary starving animals then got on the horn looking for a bed. Just before 2am in Tokamachi, we fell hard on soft business hotel beds until tomorrow. But, it was already tomorrow..so what day is it? Not again-

Distance for day 2: @690km

Distance from Oma: @ 880km

NEXT DAY

Late rise, shower and on the road at 8:30 for day 3 of the End to End.

Got to love Japanese business hotels and their willingness to accommodate the odd rider. We were parked not 5 metres from the elevator on the ground floor and almost street side. So, it was out the door, into the elevator, out of the elevator and loading the bikes, then one of the ladies from the desk came down to us to collect our key. Too easy 🙂

A short run down the 253 out of Tokamachi and we were back in the office, on our first Skyline of the day, the Ounuma Skyline(560)

Ounuma Skyline Touge runners

Great little but longish road that one, with fantastic views. A true skyline! It worked up an appetite so we made for a breakfast stop. 353-117. A fair way down the 117, having crossed the border into Nagano, it was 502 time and J patched in to tell me how excited he was and told me to go on ahead as he wanted to take a photo of the sign. J has a thing for Nagano and the 502 in particular which I soon found out about when I moved aside after having my mirrors menacingly filled with FJR. Past he went and was trackin that road like he was sleep walking a full bladder from bed to the toilet at home. FJRs shouldn’t be able to do that! Flip-rollon-brake stab-flop from corner to corner the FJR was working up a tyre sweat! It’s awesome following him when he’s truckin like that.

The top end of the 502 is a treat and often traffic free. Also, there are a lot of great views that we had to stop and just marvel at. In the distance the typhoon was lurking and looking to be all around us. We’d been lucky all morning but the merciful weather gods can only hold off so much for so long.

Before we knew it, there was a to-bogon run snaking down the mountain, a giant ski jump across the valley and we were in the winter Olympics area and in need of fuel! Like an alcoholic with intimate knowledge of out of the way bars, J had us covered with “There’s a Shell at the bottom of this set of switchbacks.” And of course there was. 👍

Tanks topped off, we took the 38 to 403 and around lunch time had a feast on the climb up the 97 to 900m. Then, somewhere along the tail of the 97, spits were hitting the screen. It spitted and spatted along the 504 – 96 – 360 and by the time we hit the 36, the typhooon was no longer knocking at the door, it was here! So, it was time for J to get his wets on. There was some kind of hikers/bushwhackers service area we rolled into and it was well kitted out. Drink machines, souvenir area and all log walled. Plenty of brightly colored, stick swinging forest folks clucking about, too!

Not really sure what they were all smiling at, trudging around in 10c rain. They were all probably looking similarly at us 🙂

Prepped for the wet, back on the road we went. And wet it was and getting wetter! From 36 to 31 to 147/148 it wasn’t so bad. Then onto the swifter 306 and the heavens opened and stayed open! Trucks going by in the opposite lane were like wave makers and the wind was picking up again. I was not in a good place, struggling with a migrane all morning and the concentration needed to ride in those conditions didn’t help. Without heat, I was cold and my goretex gloves had been overcome by the rain, waves and wind. The helmet was wet inside as the fog alleviating crack of the visor was enough, in these conditions, to flood the eye-port area of the X11 .So, we pulled into the first MichinoEki. Time for a hot substantial meal and to re-evaluate our situation.

Dripping wet with a short in his heated gloves that gave him a buzz every time he touched the clutch or brake, J was all for a break but wanted to get going and get back on schedule. Road hardened and distance addicted, he is a friggin machine!

Sitting down with a big hot meal in the restuarant, J walked in and the conversation went something like this:

J displeased tone: So, what are we gonna do?

Me grumpy: Seriously, if this is gonna be the next 2 days, we aren’t making Shimonoseki.

A long break ensued, until the hot goodness of the local food fired the rider in me and I could speak logically and positively again. Picking up the smartphone and running the weather angles, it was apparent that nothing had changed from earlier and it was just the beginning of a long wet afternoon. The rain was everywhere with no work arounds or ways to avoid it. We’d have to float on through or give it up and hole up somewhere. We’d come too far for the later. Back to the maps and route and decided Takayama(@150km away) would be possible at a safe and steady pace with a few more breaks than usual. J agreed, of course, and an ember of hope was still glowing on this ride. But, there was a more serious question: Can we make Shimonoseki?

Original plan was to be at he westernmost point of Honshu by Wednesday night. Impossible now! I had to be back at work Friday morning and did’t care to be climbing off the bike and straight back into it so.. I told J, come Wednesday night and if we aren’t within 6hrs of the goal, I’m heading home. Of course he said he was in for the whole run by hook or by crook!

So, donned the heated gear and packed everything up nice and dry for some serious scuba riding. Back on the road with the heat of the jacket and gloves, things were far better. It still amazes me how much difference rider comfort can make.

Southward and onward, 306 – 85 – 432 – 321 and then west to a blocked 278. Yep, we tried but the landslide was permanent. So, back around to the 25 and then onto one of my favorite roads, the NomugiKaido(158) from Matsumoto to Takayama. As it meanders its way along a river, tracing a gorge/valley, the views are great, twisties even better and it climbs to almost 1500m before ducking into a long tunnel leaving Nagano and pops you out in the highland wilds of Gifu. The down side is the dodgy old leaky tunnels and, as it is the only road running directly from Matsumoto to Takayama, the tour buses and trucks are tough to get by in those great twisties, especially in bad weather.

Before the action started though, we pulled in for fuel with the worst service I’ve had in a very long time! A dinky family stand with a lumbering troll that stuffed the nozzle in the tank without an ounce of concern. Disturbingly, he had nothing distracting him nor had we given him reason to be pissed. Seems Ma may have been the reason as he trudged inside to speak at 200% volume with Ma doing the same and ignoring me when he didn’t bring back my change. I had to go in to get it and he almost threw it in my hand like it was the thing to do. I give them the title, unofficial title, of worst pump monkeys of 2013 and beyond. Peanuts!

Anyway, away we went and wound our way along the Nomugi, climbing, winding and dodging manhole covers. All the while the rain was getting a little heavier. I was glad to make it to the mega tunnel at the top and I was bone dry from wrists to foot sporting the BMW Streetguard 3 suit with a Montbell Goretex shell-jacket over it, Warm & Safe ultimate touring gloves and TCX Goretex Tourmaster boots, unlike my sopping wet compadre. He must have felt like he was finally come up for air!

After the tunnels, there is a rest area so we pulled in for a yap and refresh even though it was probably 50km from the fuel break. Besides, it was chilly and I had bladder that wouldn’t wait. While we were patting each other on the back for braving such conditions and survivng, a gaggle of bikers on all sorts of machines came in in dribs and drabs. We felt pretty ashamed to see a few girls on small bikes in there who pulled in, adjusted gear, had a giggle and scooted back out into the rain… and the rain was getting heavier.

Time for a weather check and… the heavens were set to unleash over the next few hours so Takayama was definitely going tho be our terminus and we would have to deal with whatever was coming between here and there. It was downhill and for once I was glad to be behind a dump truck as it was moving at a decent clip for the conditions and parting the standing water and rivers running across corners. We had our plow in front, heat turned up, not far to go and we were riding into the peak of the typhoon.

Soon, the streets had spots of man-made light here and there and the number of buildings and cars slowly increased. We were heading back into civilization straight down into Takayama and shining brightly thru the rain was the A-one Hotel logo. Good enough for us, we pulled into the main entrance and parked under the eaves.

Next thing I remember is apologizing in the foyer for the pool forming on the shiny floor below me as my gear continued shedding water. To the staffs credit, they never complained, just smiled and handed out towels to get the hands dry enough for filling in the check-in form.

Later they would suggest an appropriate place for a feed and fluid change, supply us with umbrellas to keep our shoulders and heads dry there and back and give us a good farewell on the way out.

What will tomorrow bring us now the typhoon has peaked? We need to step on it if we hope to get this ride done!

Distance for day 3: @305km

Distance from Oma: @ 1185km

NEXT DAY

Finally, a good 7 hour sleep. Time to rise and shine and things have to be better than yesterday, don’t they?

An exploratory look out the window showed drizzle with a ray or two of sunshine on the distant hills and J got real excited seeing a lady in a short sleeve shirt. Things were looking up. Welcome to day 4 of the End 2 End.

Wriggling our way out of Takayama, the drizzle was there but so were patches of clear air too. Headed west on the 158, we pulled into the first combini after the big golden-horned temple complex. Standing under the eaves, we wolfed down some fuel and then it was time to get rollin.
First road, and I’m usually one to leave the best to last when feasting but the uni-directional route was dictating the menu so the GujouKaido/SeseragiKaido/HidaKaido(73) south was first up! If this was to be entre, the day could only get better. And it did. The rain was soon gone and the steeds were galloping. From the 73 to 257, 472, 156 and then some twisting and snaking through typhoon debris to the 4km shot through the Taraga tunnel to the 52. Like that road north but we didn’t have time as we were headed south and making good time. So, south it was but that top snaking part of the 256 is a niiice road 😉 Then we were rolling west on the 79, to 40 via the 157 and some creative road linking.

The weather was real primo on the 40, we’d had a good run and it was great to be REALLY riding again after the scuba-like adventures of the day before. Ahead of schedule for the day, it was time for a fluid change and rest up at the Yume san-san Tanigumi Michi-no-eki.

After a monumentally long leak, some rays and a peruse of the route options, it was back on the road – Biwako bound and there were rain clouds on the smartphone’s horizon…

The 40 going west terminated at the 303 which we took northwest and all the way to Kinomoto. For the run around the top of Biwako, we threw our fortune behind the lucky rt.8 before rejoining the 303 and then south on the 161. The grey heavy rain clouds cruising east started spitting on us as we hit the 161. Before long it was cats and dogs and we were truckin on the bypass. Swinging around to the 303, again, didn’t bother patching in with J to see how he was doing. He was already soaked, for sure and still there in the mirrors. Best to keep on truckin which no one does better than him.

Next turn put us on the 367 headed south-west and the rain was strong and steady! The road’s truck grooves were pooling and the traffic had us trudging along at a suburban pace in minimal visibility. It was getting depressing and the gloves, although heated, were sopping wet. Time for a break?

J agreed so we pulled into KitsukiShinhonjin Michinoeki and found ample cover. Probably a local market when not flooded. Just the ticket for some rest, drip drying and getting a grip of where we were at and headed. J went in search of coffee and I got to figuring whether we could make Tottori for dinner.

By the time he got back, it wasn’t looking good. So, he sent out a rider SOS for accommodation between where we were and somewhere further west. Thankfully, Eric, aka Haildamage, came through with a place offering cabins in a ski area on the far side of Hyogo. Still being in Shiga, we just had to get across Kyoto and most of Hyogo and dodge the weather along our winding tasty route which was forecast to stay wet and oppressive. 😦

Waiting for a break in the weather took a while. The rain just kept a flowing. After an hour or so, a few breaks in the downpour was as good as we got and the forecast was showing the blast was past so we ventured back to ride some twisties.

Headed south and swinging onto the 783/110 and things couldn’t have gone more sideways. With nice tarmac ribbons weaving through tall cedar stands and over trickling brooks, it’s probably an awesome road when clean and dry. Unfortunately, that day it was healing after a bruising from the typhoon.

The cedars had blanketed the roads, so bad in some places the only way you could make out the road was to follow the leveled snaking between the tall brown trunks lining the road. James was able to find a relatively clear area to pull up and take a pic..

Slow going that carpet riding and we drifted apart. But it sure was enchanting and captivating with the small narrow guardrail free brook crossings that had a fair torrent of typhoon muck streaming below.

Making it out of there with the rubber side still down and not suffering from slippery-road stress induced lockjaw was great! Getting back onto a nice winding road was fantastic, even if it was still drizzling and misty.

That put us on the 38 westbound still. Another road with huge potential in better weather/conditions, it lead us up and over a pass and then wound down into a small town by the name of Nantan.

Middle of where?

Warmed, a little drier and chuckling again, the road was calling us back. So, west on 162, 12, 27 then snuck around Ayabe and Takatsu to the 74 and pulled in for a feed and called to delay checkin at the cabin and have a feed. Then off down the 429, up the 427 to 9 and down the 312. All rather uneventful and thankfully dry. The dark and cold were tolerable without the rain. Swinging west onto the 429 brought back twisties and a fantastic winding hillclimb and descent. Things were going smoothly and we were taking it easy and covering ground comfortably.

Not far from the cabin we swung south on the 6 and James, in front, starts swinging his head like he’d just stumbled into Hooters. But it was panic not pleasure. Nope, wasn’t Democrats country. 😂 But his mortal enemy was seemingly everywhere! DEER ! Tired and almost there, I took the lead and he ran sweep. Better to have the magnet at the back, right J? Pulling into the resort, where the cabins were, the place was teeming with deer. Seems it was some kind of deer sanctuary and they had all turned out for the arrival of the deer-killer and were eyeing off JamesK the slaughteter. Even saw an evil-eyed doe with a suckling fawn that couldn’t break her death stare! Spooky. Needless to say, I stayed as far from him as possible and nodded submissively to all the eyes I saw.

Anyway, we’d made it! The cabin was brilliant!

We unloaded, fired up the heater, stripped off the wet gear and emptied all the moist luggage for a good wicking in the dry and hot tatami room we’d converted into a dry-room. Actually looked like a touring bike or 2 had exploded in there 😀 Well, some beers, a good hot shower and some route reconfiguring and we were beyond bedtime. Yep, bed was magnetic and an unfightable force that night. I gave in willingly around half one.

Good news was, we were just over 500km from the goal and we’d resolved to go for it!

Distance for day 3: @475km

Distance from Oma: @ 1660km

NEXT DAY

‘..he’s going the distance, he’s going for speeeed…’ Good morning Cake and another day on the road!

The bed was warm and the heater drying the gear downstairs had warmed the loft nicely. I was kind of keen on staying there. But there was road to be ridden and with a little luck, a challenge completed. The roads of Okayama, Tottori, Shimane and Yamaguchi fired us up and had us on the road to meet the sunrise.

So, on with the run shall we…

North on the Inaba Hwy(29), 429 west which lead us out of Hyogo and into Okayama, 53/181down thru Tsuyama along the Tottori-Okayama border with a break for breakfast and gas. The weather was fine and the Izumo Hwy (181) west of Maniwa was smooth, winding and flowing, just where I wanted to be! Love that feeling!

The Izumo Hwy was arcing more northbound than we were looking for so we swung west again onto the 180 to 183. Before the 183 swung south, it was green(prefectural) road time. Yep, tight, twisty and narrow with Ryunokomadawa (a touge that’s not a touge apparently??) peaking at 690m. I was looking forward to it but the typhoon had been there before us and wiped out a section toward the end.

Didn’t realize the road was out until rounding a corner to meet a dump truck reversing down the road toward me while I was riding on clay. Seriously, clay! Hadn’t realized that either… The truck honked his horn for me to back up…yeah, easy mate. Just a tick. Much slipping sliding and cursing later, the FZ1 was heading down the hill with a clay-shod steamy rider on board. But, we were away. Turned down the nearest trail going in the general direction we were and waited for J. Unfortunately, I was a little out of site and he sailed right on by into a similar nightmare I had.

Anyway, the 15 took us into Shimane, our 14th prefecture since starting in Aomori.

The detour took us down the 108-107 to our route on the 314 and a nice national road again. Took that west a little way to the 432 and south before jumping another prefectural road west, the Kakeyakamiai-sen (38) and Utsuki Touge. It was fun and just the beginning of a great stretch of roads as it meandered down a farmed valley with lots of banking and cranking. The turn back onto a national road at the 54 was a return to wide open views and 6th gear, sometimes. vid Next up was the 40 but we needed a break and a michinoeki took care of that.

After the break, we u-turned and headed back to the 40. Great stretch all the way into the 30 and up to the 9. The 40 really got J rolling and so was the camera (video) around the south of Mt. Sanbe on to the 30.

The 30 lead to the salty scent of the sea, the Japan Sea. We’d been tracking the coast all this time and this was the 1st time to actually see it. From there it was a long run down the San-in Road(9) following the coast. Quite similar to the east coast of Izu for the most part. A combination of wide open rolling roads tracing the coast and towns of small shops with too many traffic lights all the while with a great blue view to the norwest. It had it’s ups and downs and more traffic than we’d had to suffer in a while. It eventually ran into the Kitaura Highway(191) and the road got a little more interesting with elevation changes and towns further apart. The Kitaura Hwy also took us out of Shimane and into Yamaguchi, our 15th and final prefecture!

At some point we drifted apart and west of Hagi, our paths diverged. James, back on the scenic and smooth San-in Rd while I stayed on the Kitaura for the best part of 191! Seems most of the traffic followed James on the San-in as my path was void of four wheeled pace-cars and the road was great! A long winding climb through steep mountains before the same going downhill into Misumi. All that…nice road.. really had me feeling the miles so it was time to pull in for a rest and rider fuel.

Waiting out front of a combini where the San-in and Kitaura rejoined, James soon pulled in and he looked a little weary, not unlike myself I guess. 175km along the coast, fighting traffic and constabulary induced paranoia of riding on such main roads was taking it’s toll. So much so that when it came time to get rolling again, I thumbed the ignition which generated a flicker of light on the instrument panel and that was it. Damn! I’d was so beat that I’d left the ignition on, meaning headlights etc. Dead battery… Took a stroll and found a little bridge over the river behind the combini. So, pushed it up and rolling down the other side jump-started the FZ1 back to life. With a stutter and surge we were making power again and a short squirt in 1st brought a little life back. We were rolling again.

Next turn was onto the 34 with a quick jump across the 316 before rejoining the more rural section of 34. Fun but tight little prefectural road that wiggles its way around Toyota Lake. Got a good coating of bugs there! Also, J and I drifted apart again. The sun was on the slide toward the horizon and we had agreed at the last stop to just go for it. As it worked out, we ended up on slightly different routes again.

After a short link via 435, swung onto the 491 for the aptly named last touge of the ride, O-toge. From there, the 260 linked to the 262 south-west and then the 262 back to the 191. Yep, the Kitaura Hwy again. The 34 detour was a traffic free short cut 😉

So, southbound for not too long then filtered through some farmer fields looking for the road out to the goal. The westernmost point of Honshu, Bisha no Hana. But, the way there wasn’t as clear as some, maybe most, landmarks. After some head scratching, navi prodding and a lot of rubber-necking, there was a big sign at the entrance to a carpark. A short while latter an eager growl from the FJR could be heard bouncing off the hills.

We’d made it! From end to end through crazy winds, sleep-ins, a typhoon, hidden roads, fatigue, electric shocks for some and the ride of a lifetime for both of us.
Cheers for the ride J
Distance for day 5: @535m
Distance from Oma: @ 2195km

Special Note

Like to send a big THANK YOU out to those who sponsored us and drove us on to finish the ride. Thanks to you, around 80,000yennies worth of goodies was donated to orphans.