The Gambler I depart Nagasaki day twelve into steady rain. I had experienced nice weather in other key areas so did not feel too disappointed. But it did ruin the plan this morning to visit Iki island north of Nagasaki, a old coal mine full of abandoned buildings. Regular readers […]

Santa Coming Leaving southern Kagoshima region on day nine my progress is slow, without elaborating I have to stop at every rest room and eventually seek out a pharmacy to get some medicine. Have to discard my plan to explore Nagashima island, the morning has been lost and I need […]

Day seven, I got my washing done last night, most hotels in Japan have coin laundries and it makes motorcycle touring easy. Wet roads and some light rain riding south. Small break allowed me to grab this photo. Japan from here turns tropical. Some surfers out but not much of […]

A fist full of throttle Leaving Kochi on day four of my tour the weather is perfect. First up a unexpected find. I was riding beside a dam merely to avoid the main road with no knowledge of it being anything special but the scenery was amazing. After here I […]

I love lookouts. Viewpoints. Or observatories as they are called in Japan. I decided to ride around visiting the best ones I had found on Google maps. I waited until after the Japan golden week national holidays to ride south to avoid the crowds but depart straight into rain. The […]

Day eleven – Oita to Shimane prefectureThe Chukoku expressway is quite curvy from Kyushu north. The FJR is fun bombing along sweepers so I joined the Lexus drivers in the fast lane for awhile. Very amusing. I rode across to the west coast on route 315. It is a nice […]

Day six – Yamaguchi to Fukuoka prefecture.Having set off for Tsushima in part one I was confronted with typhoon coming to Japan but decided to continue. I spent yesterday inside from the rain and now was ready to ride on. The FJR1300 affords a lot of protection from elements, that […]

Tsushima at it’s furthest point from Japan is less than 50km from South Korea. The above map shows where Tsushima is located. History or war buffs might recognise the name as where a famous naval battle took part in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese war. It was the first using the […]

Last year on my return from Hokkaido I stayed in Aomori prefecture and enjoyed one of Japan’s major summer festivals. I actually did not know about it prior to arriving and by sheer chance got a room thanks to a late cancellation. I was so impressed I decided to design […]

Nagasaki to Kanagawa Day 11 Continuing my journey north from Goto islands. Last night I had to decide if I stay another night in Sasebo and sit out the rain or ride on. Accu weather is a terrific tool for riders and my take on things was rain being widespread […]

Goto IslandsDay 9 Today is the day I go to Goto islands.But first I am off to Mt Unzen to see another view point. (part 4 is here) I had wanted to visit this place last time I came to Nagasaki to see Gunkajima (Battleship island) but it rained so […]

Miyazaki to Nagasaki Day 7 I continue riding south today. I am going to run out of road on the mainland if I keep going that direction. But first a Japanese style breakfast served at the Green hotels chain to set me up for the day. Breakfast also included a […]