The Secrets of Japan - CJA2502
Busy day today...for the tourguides :-) Organizing everything, motorcycle paperwork... doesn't sound much, that's the secret of the behind the scene work:-) The award is our Welcome Briefing, everybody relaxed and in a good mood! Shira & Brian, Madison & Michael, Michael S., Andrew, Chris, Joe, Jeff from the US, Warren and Stuart from Australia, Siegfried, Tim, Jürgen and Michael from Germany want to explore The Sectrets of Japan and that is our target. We are looking forward to it!
In the morning a car show gathered opposite of our hotel but we don't have the time, we want to hit the road! Firstly on the highway out of Tokyo passing Kawasaki, Yokohama...all names one heard before and now we are here! Crossing over to the sea we meet the Sunday cruisers all enjoying, especially the beach, surfers, sailors, everyone is out. After a coffee break we take of into the mountains on the Izu Peninsula...beautiful and great ride! And then we see his majesty Fuji-san. Fantastic! After lunch on the twisty Izu Skyline until Mt Omuro, going up with a cute chair lift and nice views from the top. The last kilometers to the hotel on the windy coastel road. What a beautiful day!
Looking out of the window in the morning, the clouds hanging deep over the ocean though the colors of the vegetation so intense, so different from home the shades of green here in Japan. After half an hour riding rain sets in but eases later and we ride on a twisty single lane road thru the misty, foggy forest, moos covering the rocks, ground and trees. Reaching the ridge again it clears up and we proceed on the Izu Skyline North to our target today: The holy majesty Fuji-san, 3.776 m high, home of the Kami. Deep clouds again don't promise anything when half of the group decides to ride up Mt Fuji. What a fun road zigzaging up to 2.400 m, no traffic, a bit bumpy but super grip, on top a mystic atmosphere with the fog and then it clears up for 30 seconds....Yiehaaa! What a day on these twisty roads in Japan!
We should have this view on Fujisan from our nice hotel but...it is hiding, only some glimpses on the cone... Okay, then let's ride it! Our group members which didn't do it yesterday and some more:-) did it today in the morning. Great ride up there and also getting down from the plateau on curvy roads with super asphalt. After we hop 2 valleys on tiny and twisty forested mountain roads before we come to one of the best tea growing regions in Japan. Green tea or Macha tea, also flavoring all kind of cakes, ice cream and even rice. And the roads are challenging, single lane, partially steep and hairpins, just fun in this beautiful vegetation. The last stretch on the highway in order to avoid the bigger citys at the coastal line and we arrive in Hamamatsu and getting closer to our ferry crossing tomorrow... Well done riders!
The first thing on the agenda this morning was a ferry ride to Mie Prefecture. The weather was at its best and so we set off in two groups at different times. On the other side of the ferry route, part of the Pearl Road was one of the riding highlights of the day. We were also enchanted by some of the hidden side roads in the dense forests. On the coast, we met one of the pearl divers who dive for the famous oyster pearls here. Shortly before Kumano, we ended this wonderful riding day at our fantastic 4-star hotel.