Riding across Japan

A couple of months ago I did a ride through northern and central Japan. Unfortunately not on the beloved Viffer, but on a rented F800R.
I made a bit of a video of the trip and thought I'd share. It's a beautiful country to go riding through, especially in Spring and Summer. If you're ever able to get over that way I'd highly recommend renting a bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQFYDXoGzWo

 

pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

you rode all over 1!!! nice video... the end shot was perfect...LOL

 

Enjoyed that, thanks! +1 on the final scene.

 

How much to rent the bike? Enjoyed the vid, thanks for sharing.

 

That was fun. Cool video. I'm afraid I'm going to have that song stuck in my head though for the next few hours at least.

 

Hi. The F800R cost around 2K US for the 15 days. From this place http://japanbikerentals.com/

 

Wow! Cool ride. If you would, tell me more about riding there? How much does it cost for food and accomadation? Do you need anything special to go there, like an International license, visa's etc.? Would you go again? Did you ride in Tokyo, or other big cities? Did you go to Honda's museum? How long did you go for? Or whatever you have time for. Very professional video, do you do that for a living?
If anyone wants to ride in Western Canada, let me know, as I've lived here for my entire life. Northern Canada, as well as Alberta and British Columbia have a lot of world class roads and scenery. Want isolation? Try Northern Alberta and the Yukon Territories. Great in the summer. Crappy right now! Unless you like highs of -20C.

 

Great video, when i get time to get to grips with Go Pro Studio this winter am going to have a go with one.#
Best of all the Japanese ride on the PROPER side of the road!

 

Wow! Cool ride. If you would, tell me more about riding there? How much does it cost for food and accomadation? Do you need anything special to go there, like an International license, visa's etc.? Would you go again? Did you ride in Tokyo, or other big cities? Did you go to Honda's museum? How long did you go for? Or whatever you have time for. Very professional video, do you do that for a living?
If anyone wants to ride in Western Canada, let me know, as I've lived here for my entire life. Northern Canada, as well as Alberta and British Columbia have a lot of world class roads and scenery. Want isolation? Try Northern Alberta and the Yukon Territories. Great in the summer. Crappy right now! Unless you like highs of -20C.


Hey man. Thank you ☺
I don’t make videos for a living, but I love to play with editing software as a bit of a hobby (Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop for this video).

Riding over there was surprisingly easy. The single most important thing on my trip was the GPS with Bluetooth, that I rented with the bike. You just punch in where you want to go, and it talks to you (in English). Without that I would have been lost as soon as I left the rental place in Tokyo (and believe me, jumping on a bike in the middle of Tokyo when you don’t speak nor read Japanese is pretty daunting!). But within seconds that voice starts guiding you, and it becomes a thrill once you relax and think about where you are.

You need an International Drover’s Permit. I’m Australian and it was very easy to get here. I’m guessing Canadians would have no problem too. And of course your motorbike license.

I’d definitely go back. It’s a beautiful country and very safe. There are lots of convenience stores all throughout Japan where you can make food stops. Lots of petrol stations too. You only need to learn a couple of key words to fill up with the right fuel. Pretty much all you need to know is given to you by the rental guides in a booklet you carry with you. Even a little card with message to the cops, should you get pulled over for whatever reason and they don’t speak English. It tells them you’re a tourist and has contact details for them to call the rental place if there’s a problem.

I rode through a few large cities – Tokyo, Sapporo and Niigata. Most of the big cities are toward the south though, which I didn’t get to on this trip. Again – the GPS is the key to not getting lost.

I didn’t get to the Honda museum in Tokyo. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time after I dropped the bike off. Next time though!

And yes I would LOOOOOOVE to ride in western Canada one day! About 10 years ago I did a road trip in Alaska, and we drove through a bit of Yukon and BC too. I can only imagine how stunning it must be up that way on a bike.


Wow this is a long reply.
Take care & ride safe.

 

haha. yes it definitely makes it easier when you're not finding yourself riding into oncoming traffic!

 

Great reply! Thanks. That is one ride I want to do before I die. I think #1 is through Europe though. I want to go for a few laps on the Nurburgring, and also blast on the Autobahn. I also would like to go into the Yukon Territories on a dual purpose bike. There are lots of dirt roads that were made in the 1940's during the War. They were going to build a pipeline to secure a supply of oil, but never finished. It was too expensive to send trucks & equipment back so they just abandoned it. It is a "Heritage" site now. In Cycle Canada (great mag) they have shown a few trips up north to different areas. In 1992 Three of us rode up to Alaska on bikes. Amazing trip, but we only had two weeks, and never got to do as much as I'd like. Going to go back for a month, minimum. After I saw the movie "Into the Wild" I wanted to go visit the spot that dude lived in the bus at. I guess they gotta go and rescue a few people every year from there, or from the area. ...and the best part of riding in Canada? We ride on the "right" side of the road! (Haha) I'd be freaked out about turning onto the wrong side of the road. Cheers!

 

Nah there's nothing to riding on the other side of the road. After a near head on collision or two, you learn quick smart which side to stay on! That Into The Wild bus is in Denali National Park. I don't think it's all that far off a small road, from what I've read. I'd love to ride up into arctic Yukon in Summer. There aren't that many roads in Alaska to get away and get some proper isolation, unless you're prepared to hike. Or own a sea plane!

 

I'll dig out my articles on the Yukon etc., and try to post them. Pretty interesting.