My time with the bike came to an abrupt end after the municipal office in Yamanashi would not issue me a temporary license plate.
Shipping the bike back to Canada requires that I have the bike de-registered. Once this is done, I am basically un-plated. This means that the only way to bring it back to Tokyo would be with temporary plates.
Because of the size of the bike ( 250cc), it is not Shakened ( a rigorous inspection process required for all vehicles and motorcycles over 250 cc every 2 years). The Municipal office tells us that the only way to receive the temporary plate is to have the motorcycle Shakened. Since I leave in 2 days, this does not make sense. I decide to leave the bike in Yamanashi, where it will be picked up and dropped off at the port. As for me- I now have a 3.5 hour train ride ahead of me!
As I sit at the train station waiting for the train, it hits me- I am very sad to be without the bike! The adventure it took me on has been such a wonderful, life changing experience. It was my perfect travel companion and now that I am without it, the adventure is over.
As I sit on the train, I watch the view of the mountain grow more and more distant, and at the point where I can no longer see them is when it hits me that my time in Japan has come to an end. All that’s left now are the goodbyes. The evening before, I said goodbye to my cousin Hideki’s family. Today, I said goodbye to the bike, and tomorrow, I will say goodbye to the rest of my family.
My experience in Japan has been an unforgettable one. I feel as if I am not only leaving with a new bike but also a new family! Of course, they were always there and always my family, but now that I have truly gotten to know each of them, any previous communication I have had with them felt so impersonal in comparison. And I know that going forward, I will enjoy things like Christmas shopping for them so much more now that I have a better sense of what they are actually like as people, rather than a name. My Aunt Mari has tracked my daily whereabouts on a calendar as a memory.
The experience I have had on the motorcycle has also been unforgettable. The beautiful sights I have seen on the bike have convinced me that, although this was an expensive way to see the country (the toll roads are crazy expensive, the bike requires premium gas and regular top ups of Two stroke oil), there was absolutely no other way to have done it. I am sad to leave, but look forward to having a guaranteed place to sleep each night!
Although it was not always easy, this trip to Japan has made me a better person, I am sure of it- even if I was not “reborn” at the Zenkoji temple!
My journey in Japan is over, but my time with the motorcycle is not! I plan on doing some work on the bike over the winter and have really enjoyed having this journal, so I will continue to update it with stories of my new winter project!