Blogs

  08 Japan Three Island March 29th to April 7th

Riders and Non-Riders: Bob (XJR Yamaha 1300), Carolyn (Triumph Tiger 1050), Michael (Kawasaki Vulcan 400), Laurie (Riding in the support van with Akiko), Karl Triumph Rocket III), Scott (Triumph Sprint 1050 ST), Jessica (Kawasaki W650), Dennis (Triumph Scrambler 900), Arch (Kawasaki ZZR 1200), Dale (BMW 1200 RS), and Van (Triumph Bonneville 900).

Staff: Hirata (lead guide), Akiko (support van driver), Cameron (GIT - guide in training), and Phil (sweep guide).

     We all met at the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Faces around the room were lighter and laughter came quicker since we had had some sleep. We enjoyed a buffet of Japanese-style food such as fish, rice, miso soup, half-boiled eggs, pickled radish and cucumbers and a variety of other colorful things of which we were not quite sure of origin.

     We woke up to a bright blue sky and great visibility!

  We awoke in the valley to sounds of song birds and rushing water. Outside, you could see heavily forested slopes converge from all sides down to the resort village. The sky was again bright blue!

<Yet another blue sky day! The sun rose a burning ball of orange over a green canopy. There was a chill in the air. The cherry blossoms were just popping out on some of the trees. >

   This would be our second longest ride of the week, so I briefed everyone in my game face that I was going to be a "road bully" and crack the whip to keep everyone on the move. I did not want us to get in after dark.

  <Again, the skies were clear blue! After breakfast the group loaded into the van and Akiko drove them up the hill to a small hot springs town wedged into narrow valley called Kurokawa. Of the hot springs towns on Kyushu, this is perhaps the most famous of them all. The streets are very narrow, and the town is made up of a conglomeration of hot springs hotels, curio shops ....and a couple of vending machines. >

<We started the day at the Iwashita Collection: an unassuming building on the side of the road in a small town in Japan which happens to house one of the most impressive collections of motorcycles anywhere. One hundred and fifty unique motorcycles greet the visitor. One of which is a side car which was owned by Steve McQueen. >

     I walked out to the small boat harbor and watched the sun rise over the ocean. Small fishing boats made their way out to a calm sea.  Seagulls cruised along the shore. Not a cloud was in the sky, and already the temperature was rising. By the time we got on the bikes, it was as warm as it had been during the entire trip.

<This was to be our final day of the tour. Again (and I just couldn't believe it) the weather held, and we had clear skies with sunshine pouring down. We started the day by loading an old school bus, and headed for the Kazuribashi, located a couple of kilometers up the valley. >

  We were suddenly to our last day on the road and it was hard to believe that such a journey could come to an end so soon. Yet, looking back at all the adventures, it seems almost years ago when the riders all arrived in Cape Town for the first time.