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Rolled out of the big smoke on the Shin-Tomei and was met at the exit by a scorchingly bright rising sun. The latest extension to Hadano is super smooth.
Great morning for flying. 😉
The misty mountains are in full summer greens.
Ikawa was a cool 21-23° and perfect for twisty riding.
Zarusoba and tempura lunch set while it drizzled outside at Umegashima’s road station.
Wondered why the light by the front door was on when there’s a tree growing out of the roof. 😂
And the rotting Suzy in the yard…
I see you out there Fuji.
Great to be out in the Minami Alps on a cool summer’s day. Good stuff Shizuoka!

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Shirakawago is a timeless glimpse at a bygone era and a place everyone visiting Japan should make an effort to get to. And it does need effort as it’s not the closest place to the main touristy draw cards. From its nearest big city Nagoya, it’s about a 3hr tour bus ride or 4hr by train and bus on public transport.

So, how about riding? It’s about 150km directly north from Nagoya and ought to take two to two and a half hours. However, I rode from Yokohama and the shortest route is around 360km and from Matsumoto to Takayama has some great twisties and fantastic views. But, winter snow and ice makes the short route dicy if it’s open. So, it was a safe 450km+ mostly expressway jaunt.

Whether you choose the short n twisty or long and high speed expressway, the short and long route take about the same amount of time.
5am and a big bright moon was lighting the way out.
The sun came out passing Mt. Fuji but the temps hovered around 5°c. I finally gave in to the cold and pulled into Hamamatsu SA to put on the heated base layer and gloves. Glad I did as the climb north out of the Chubu area saw the temp sneak down to 2°c. That last long 11km tunnel before Shirakawago was a very welcomed 22°c for a good stretch. 🔥
Was a little difficult getting over the pessimism brought on by the previous failures. Seeing dodgy surfaces when there weren’t any and keeping a strict count on kilometres to upcoming exits, just in case… 2014 was the worst when caught out and stranded by an unexpected blizzard.

Making it to that last long tunnel was like Shirakawago was rolling out a big warm welcome mat for all the effort.

There it is caked in winter’s wonder.
Covid culled crowds made it easy to get pics.
With the sun illuminating the snow and the wood of the gassho zukuri rich brown with inner warmth and clinging moisture, it was just as captivating and worthwhile as I’d hoped for.

Got to get back and stay longer next time… Next time… How many attempts and years will that take? 😂

And there it is start to finish.

11 hours & @950km

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As things stand, we are on for the 10th Coast to Coast. YES!

When:

Sunrise – 4:50am

April 30, 2022

Added caution and some changes due to the lingering plague do need to be taken into consideration in a few key areas.

1. Meeting

2. Routes

3. Overnighting

4. The Ride

5. Final Words

MEETING

Our typical event involves the gathering of a large number of riders, many shaking of hands, some brotherly hugs, close proximity talking, drinking and eating. There are varying opinions and levels of caution amongst the Twistybutts on how best to conduct oneself at present and that is cool but we can all agree that we are there for the ride so let’s focus on that.

* Respect each other’s choice to distance and wear a mask whenever gathered. *

For those preferring to completely avoid mass gathering and the potential for ‘an accident’ or those who refuse to wear a mask, let’s talk routes.

ROUTES

The typical Coast to Coast route will be available for those wanting to run that route. The start will still be somewhere on the Sagami Bay coast. It is always great to see everyone each year and the steeds gathered for the ride out. A highlight on the riding calendar!

However, things are a little different this time round for many and it would be great to see that lead to some alternate routes with various start and end locations befitting everyone’s circumstances. So feel free to do your own thing. Especially if:

  • you don’t want to join a large gathering.
  • you want to start closer to home, finish somewhere other than Joetsu or run an alternate route.
  • you are too far away but still want to do a Coast to Coast.

We can use SNS to share our various rides and unique sites and challenges. Be great to see all the photos and read the tales from the road.

Here are some possibilities…

Plenty of twisties and touges needing dusting off all over Japan! Grab your local wingmen and make it happen.

OVERNIGHTING

Focusing on the riding and with a number of Twistybutts offering various preferences for hotels, camping and day trips, there is no official Twistybutt Hotel this year. Sad yes. End of the world, no.

The Ride

The origin of the C2C was in taking on an epic riding challenge aboard road ready steeds and enjoying the camaraderie of like minded riders through changeable weather over winding passes and all the while bettering yourself as a rider without running out of fuel! That hasn’t changed.

Let’s all get out for a Coast to Coast Twistyfest, round a lot of rubber, sharpen our riding skills and get to know our bikes better.

Looking forward to seeing the adventures via SNS.

FINAL WORD

All riders need consider their responsibilities to society and the potential spreading of unnecessary suffering. This goes for the various non-riders you’ll meet on your adventure as much as your fellow riders.

Be respectful and don’t be offended if you aren’t greeted as warmly as you greet others or expect. It’s not your backyard. Enjoy your ride, help make others similarly so and avoid anything that erodes that.

Finally, make your salutations to the riding gods for fine skies and to keep the roads and borders open!

WHAT IS THE COAST TO COAST TWISTYBUTT?

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With the lifting of the corona virus state of emergency and local prefectural no-travel requests, it was time for the steed and I to chase the horizon once more.

The waxing glow on the horizon hinted at a great day of riding ahead.
Bright but Fuji’s peak isn’t glowing yet. Sunrise is still behind us.
Headed up into Hakone to give the centre of the tyres a break.
Sunrise!
eMpTy10 drinking…again.
Fuji was everywhere for the first few hours.
What kind of frozen trickery is this? I’d dressed for the predicted 25°+ Max temp. Needless to say I was feeling chilled.
Pitstopped for breakfast at Misaka Touge. Tranquil until…
The Alfa club roared out of the tunnel. Some nice cars there though.
Eased 51km out of the reserve after being left parched by two closed gas stands closed before finding one open in Karuizawa. Last time I got 50km from reserve, I had to push it the final 300m. 😂
Always a tyre torturer and grin widener.

This was the road that inspired the second wind and got me to thinking that a Coast to Coast Twistybutt had to be done. From here on there were mostly epic roads, views and the autumn colours would be even better. Besides, the 502 was ahead and I’d read a few months before that it’d be open for the start of October. If you get to the 502, it’s all downhill to the coast, right? Onward!

292 was in fine form.
Manza is getting some colour.
Top of the world and back down to 13°C again.
Great to be back! It’s been too long since running this epic road.
The sun was falling and…
… the navi was saying a sunset arrival on the beach was slipping away. But the views deserved some photos.
Then it slipped away. Quite literally, I tried to get a pic of the sun but the road was only going downhill and by the time I stopped, it was but a glow on the distant peaks.
Pulled up at this odd boarded up joint for a look down over the coastline. Great location and views.
How far away is that coast down there in Joetsu?
30 odd minutes later, C2C580 Twistybutt done!
There it is. Out n back. Coast to Coast to Coast with a C2C Twistybutt one way.

The expressway run home was a cold monotonous cruise control enabled decompress. It was the easiest and most economical leg of the ride though and traffic was surprisingly light.

This twisted fossil thoroughly enjoyed the stretch of legs and right wrist. And the MT10sp is proving a great steed for such stretches. Just wish it wouldn’t drink so much. 😉

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Dawn, the fleeting waking of the land is worth it every time.
Great day of twisties with some bike and car spotting thrown in.

TAP the pics below for bigger images.

  • We got up to Daikanzaka around 5 and about a 1/4 of an hour before sunrise.
  • The Machine staggered off looking for his birthday…
  • Didn’t take long to pop up…
  • It was a bloody good one too.
  • So good we coasted down the Turnpike for a better look and it was a special one.
  • Then turned around and headed back up to escape the heat. Often some cool Machines on the Turnpike on a Sunday. 😉
  • Then there’s the jewels around the Turnpike’s crown..
  • That’s a rare one.
  • His mate on the Busa couldn’t believe how rapid the big Bimota was. 😂
  • Looking good old boy.
  • The Pirate bike was a ripper!
  • Heard this classic twisting its way to the peak before seeing it. A real howler. 👍
  • It popped in the sunrise light. Great colour combo.
  • Then there were the cars..
  • When it’s right it’s right!
  • More Porsches than I could count patiently.
  • A rare bird indeed.
  • Making tracks and the twisties were great under heavy skies around Ashinoko.
  • Who’s that?
  • Now there’s two of him…
  • There’s the birthday boy!
  • .. and his unwanted friend. 😂
  • Would he ride this looker?
  • Maybe this not so oldskool cool ripper?
  • Not yet. 😂
  • 🎶 Happy birthday mate. 🎶

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Steamy summer fog lingered in the valleys.
Was still too early for the primitive people to be up and about, apparently.
Leaving home and trundling through the lowlands saw a steady temp of 27-29°c. I’d dressed for that and the heat of the day ahead. Climbing into the mountains, it kept getting cooler and the run upto 411’s peak from the east saw a good stretch of 15-17°. Thankfully, the soft breeze wafting up out of Uenohara on the west side was warmer and it quickly jumped back up to a comfortably cool 20°c.
Good morning Fuji San.
Running the Fruits Line out of Uenohara around to Fuefuki, the sweet smell of peaches was on the morning air and it was hard to resist a peach stop.
Yum!
Nice atmosphere, plenty of social distance and the peaches weren’t bad either. ‘Four to go please!’
Heading west to Minami Alps, thought I’d take a run at Yamabushi Touge. Websites were showing it intermittently open but it was a Sunday… On the way, stopped by Kenshinnotaki. Great waterfall, cool and refreshing mist falling from way above and plenty of colourful butterflies flitting about.
Yamabushi Touge? Not today!
That’s where the road used to be.
Looks like a full headland rebuild was in progress. Thought I could sneak around on that dirt road so gave it a go. It deadended at some chains.
Man’s armada lined up to do battle with the wayward whims of the river gods. The towering mountains made the gathering look positively punny. 😂
Now that’s a road.
Climbing again and the midday sun weaving its way through the summer green overhead cast dappled light making rock n debris spotting a challenge. MaTe got through unscathed. 👍
And not a cicada to be heard… Just a stream cutting its way down the valley.
But that light sure was as deceptive as it was captivating in some places. See how things can disappear in it?
While most of us avoid flying off the sides of mountain roads…
Although it got a bit hot here n there, top of 35°c, all in all a good rubber rounding day.
And it was great seeing Fuji San through a clear sky again.

460km done and home by 3:30pm for a nap. 😂

Bad choice of music 😂

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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….

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POSTPONED – Until further notice…

Too much uncertainty around restrictions to go ahead with this at this point in time.
We’re all getting tired of the waiting game but gotta keep our hopes up for a gathering of the Twistybutts sooner rather than later. Hang in there all.

So, who’s keen for trying the Coast to Coast #10 on September 19, 2021? Yup, this September.

It’s still warm but cool on the Peaks and most mountain passes are open. There is a chance of typhoons scuppering things and we’ll have to deal with that. If we start the salutations to the weather and road Gods now, we oughta have a good shot at a green light.

As to the State of Emergency, that’s out of our hands and will be dealt with as the restrictions dictate. In any case, social distancing and respect for local covid concerns along our route needs to be a top priority.

Anyway, if you’re keen, pencil it in and let’s see if we can’t have a ride to see out the warmer weather.

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Got out for a leisurely 320km through Izu to see out the year.

Left home late and it’d warmed up to 5° which wasn’t bad. The temp followed altitude and sun between 2° and 15° through the day. Scottoiler(blue screen) showing 5°C
After following the coast and snaking up the Tsubaki Line then wriggling down the 20 and into central Izu, got to the Pizza Bus just before 12 but they said the oven wasn’t ready, come back in an hour. Nishi Izu Skyline is only a few kilometres away so away we went.
Dry, overcast and a little windy but the road was clean views were great. A Porsche club and a train of MX5 were up there stretching their legs. Sounded great!
Fuji was a beacon to the north. The tighter section up there was still in the shade, is all day this time of the year, and slick in spots. All the bikes were tiptoeing through there. This spot never gets old, even after 15 years.
Back for lunch and wasn’t the only biker there.
Lunch! Plenty of social distancing and the howling beagle to welcome you. The sausage, bacon and tomato pan pizza were good too!
Pit stopped at Takachiyama on the Izu Skyline on the way back for a view over Atami to Sagami Bay and where I was headed.
Looking out over Numazu to Suruga Bay and the setting sun, the haze making what lies beyond unclear, I thought ‘Yeah whatever 2020…’ Lit the wick on the MT10 and revved a crossplane tune over Hakone Touge and down across the Kanto plain.

It’s been a lonely year on the road. Looking forward to seeing off this plague and catching up with the Twistybutts in May!

Roll on 2021!