SBK Japan

18 Aug 2007

Noto is a long way from Tokyo (about 450 km), so I started off byf touring through Nagano. Chuo Hwy. past Suwa-ko, to Ina exit. Then R361 to Takayama, which is a very nice road indeed! Then R41 and R360 to Shirakawago. R360 is not for the faint of heart. Great sightseeing and lots of twisties, but very narrow, with very tight switchbacks. One switchback caught me by surprise, in too high a gear, so I had to slip the clutch and even put my foot down. Pucker factor up by one notch.

For those who don't know it, Shirakawago is a UNESCO designated Heritage Village, with very neat thatched roofs.


 

Same scene in winter.

An alternative to get this far, which I did a couple of years ago, is to stay on the Chuo Hwy. to IIda, check out Kiso, which is another neat old village, then R256 and R257 to Gero Onsen (very nice!), then R41 to Takayama, then R158 and R156 to Shirakawago. On R156, by the lake/dam, there is a famous 400 year old cherry tree (Shokawa). This whole route is quite beautiful. BTW, this picture was taken in the fall. Bloody hot this time! 

Anyway, by the time I got to Shirakawago, it was getting a bit late, so I got on the new tollway and blasted straight through to Himi on the East side of Noto Hanto. Pitched my tent on a campground right on the beach.

 

19 Aug 2007

Got up, made breakfast and went for a nice swim. Packed up, another swim and shower, then hit the road. Himi looks like a nice little town. I didn't spend much time there, but maybe I should have.


Rode up the coast on R160, then the smaller R246 (which is more scenic). All the way, there are very neat old fishing villages and beautiful scenery. Back on R160, a bit past Nanao, crossed the bridge to Notoshima.


Did a circuit of Notoshima, R47 and R257, then over the bridge and back to the mainland. R249 North, then peeled off on R34 to stay on the coast. These small side roads are great. Hardly any traffic, nice scenery, more old fishing villages.


Nice sea too, so stopped for a swim a few times (which was nice, since it was bloody hot!) Back on R249, some interesting sights:




Continued on R249, then peeled off again on R28, which has the most fantastic onsen hotel I've ever seen:


It's called the Lamp-no-Yado. Apparently "lamp" because there are no electric lights; just oil lamps. Only 30,000 yen if you want to stay the night, but they let me use the onsen at no charge!

The natives are friendly:


Very friendly!


Then along the North coast to Wajima, which is great riding and sightseeing all the way!


Checked into a very nice business hotel: Route Inn
 

20 Aug 2007

West and South on R38, R249, R49. Great roads, great sightseeing.








Next R36 (I kept on the coast all the way) and R249 again, to something really nifty: a road on the beach! Hard packed sand, so not too hairy on a big bike. Well, actually, I had the beginnings of a tank-slapper on the softer sand of the access road. Pucker factor up two notches ... But this place is worth seeing!

 

 BTW, take a small board with you to put under the kickstand, otherwise it'll sink into the sand.  And when you're finished with the beach, wash all the salt off the bike, very carefully!

 

Yet more swimming, then snack at one of the many beachside restaurant huts.

 

The next route was kind of boring, along the coast, through Kanazawa (BTW, there is a lot to see in Kanazawa, but I've been there before, so gave it a miss this time) and on to Mikuni. But Mikuni was very nice!


They have parks, museums, tons of hotels and minshukus. Seems to be a major vacation resort in the Fukui area. Probably should have stayed there a bit longer. But at least I enjoyed one night at a nice ryokan.
 

21 Aug 2007

Continued along the coast on R305. This is a great road!! Spectacular sights, good riding.






From there, I took R8 to Lake Biwa.


Biwako was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe there are nicer spots elsewhere on the lake. But at least I got to go for a bit of a swim and cool off.

After that, I tried to take R21 and R19 back towards Matsumoto, but traffic was hopeless, so I gave up and blasted home on the Chuo Hwy.

Anyway, all in all, it was a great tour and I highly recommend it. Just over 1600 km.