Finding an unlocked phone in Japan is not an easy undertaking. None of the big service providers( Softbank, Docomo, AU) will sell you one without a plan.
Author: Malinda
All you can do is laugh…
Last night, I stayed near Fukushima. I took a scenic route through Mount Bandai- it was such a lovely day. I stopped for lunch in the city of Fukushima- it really is a nice place, and the people were incredibly friendly. While I had stopped for lunch, I found a resort that had a room marked down to 8000 yen, so I decided that that is where I would end my trip for the day.
“Two cycle oil”
Touring in Japan on a two stroke sport bike has been quite the experience! However, between the premium gas and the amount of oil this bike burns through, it has not been cheap. Gas in Japan is expensive (usually around 1.4/L) as are the toll roads (I spent around ¥5000 going from Tokyo to Nagano!!)
The race to Niigata
My day was off to a late start yesterday after struggling to start up the bike. Sometimes I’m not sure if it is a finicky bike, my lack of experience with it or the combination of the two. Usually I can start her up fine but sometimes I just can’t get it going, and then it takes a lot of time and effort and I hit the road feeling demoralized, annoyed and sweaty!
Typhoon Ju-Go (15)
So far, I have been very fortunate in my trip to not have encountered any typhoons. In fact, it only rained on me once so far and that was when I was already on my way to my hotel room. I consider myself lucky since I am traveling through the country during its typhoon season, which runs until the end of September.
Destination: Unknown
Now that the Fujisan hike has been accomplished, I feel like I can spend more time enjoying my new bike. No longer constrained by bus schedules or proximity to the train stations, I can now focus my efforts on planning more detailed routes. I can also remove about 30 pounds of hiking equipment from my bike which I am really excited about!
My first Onsen experience in Lake Yamanakako
After descending Mount Fuji, I had more energy than anticipated, despite the 2.5 hours of sleep. There wasn’t really anything near Mishima that I was interested in checking out, other than the Izu Peninsula. However, it didn’t seem like a good option given the day. I didn’t have hours of riding in me, and all the hotels I found were going for hundreds of dollars.
Continue reading “My first Onsen experience in Lake Yamanakako”
The ocean of clouds
My journey to Mount Fuji started off incredibly frustrating. You need to reach the trail head by bus as it is closed to personal vehicles. During off peak season (which happens to be now), the buses leave Shinfuji station only twice a day, once early in the morning and once in the late afternoon, contrary to the timetable I found online that showes buses leaving every 2 hours from Mishima station until September 10th.
NSR first ride
Today did not start out very well for me, and if there is such a thing as getting your ass kicked by a bike, I’m pretty sure I endured it today! Spending nearly an hour on banking, struggling to pack a 40 litre backpack for my Fujisan hike, running off of 4 hours of sleep and having logistical frustrations, I showed up to pick up my bike nearly an hour later than I had planned.
Tokyo Traffic
As jet lag strikes with a vengeance, I find myself wide awake at 3:30 a.m. local time.
Yesterday, I made the trip to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo with my Uncle. In order to get the bike registered in my name, I am told that I require a notarized signature by an Embassy official. This is pretty much a CAD$50 exercise where the official attests that they have witnessed my signature. The entire process should take less than 10 minutes. (Well-in my case, it took about 1.5 hours but due to a non-administrative mix up on their end, so I won’t get into it). On Monday, I am heading to Yamanashi to finish the registration and insurance process and then I will officially take possession of the bike.
The drive to and from the Embassy gave me a good opportunity to assess the traffic conditions in Tokyo. My first piece of advice would be to ensure that you are very comfortable with both the signage and traffic signals. This should be very intuitive, but in case it is not, I would suggest that you make sure you are so comfortable with them, that they take you zero time to process. The highway signs in Japan are very confusing due to the sheer complexity of their urban highway system. You do not want to be in the situation where you have to struggle to figure out your direction as well as the road rules. The latter should be completely intuitive before you even think about throwing a leg over! I found an excellent resource online that does a good job explaining all the rules in English for motor vehicles, non-motorized vehicles and street cars. Most of the signs are intuitive or similar to North America so it is not a big undertaking. However, keep in mind that in addition to the traffic rules you must follow, you will also need to read the traffic laws for other vehicles, both motorized and non motorized, to better understand how they will maneuver when you are sharing the road.