Traveling Man Joe: June 2014

Jun 23, 2014

Selling Number 8

Owning a motorcycle in Japan. No, owning and riding a motorcycle in Tokyo. It had taken 10 years in Asia to get here and now it was to end.

As my Japanese coworker commented when I showed him my licenses plates after having just returned from the DMV, "Shinagawa, central Tokyo. Not some far out place. Cool"

You see in Japan there are no 東京区(Tokyo City) Kanji plates. The most legit plates are the 品川区 (Shinagawa City) plates. These mean you live right inside central Tokyo. Not only that I had proper paid parking.

The motorcycle was old and not lacking in eccentricities. However years of riding had prepared me. It was a dream come true. Elevated highways that cut among the buildings. Tunnels that led deep under the city. Narrow roads that went past temples and the original Kanto neighborhoods.

For now, my time was up. I sold the bike back to its original owner, because he had taken such good care of the ¥80,000 motorcycle. His care, diligence, and willingness to negotiate had enabled me to ride a true piece of Japanese art and engineering.

This ride would take the motorcycle back to its owner and me to the completion of a nearly impossible goal.

Nagano, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Afterward

I had ridden 9-days to stand in the cold in-front of a monument for a few minutes. Seems this entire trip had just summed up life.

The trip had begun like most, with anticipation. It’s exciting setting off for a destination that is not easy to reach. Initially the temptation is to rush to the goal. However in doing so you end up missing everything along the way.
There was the cold and rain. Realistically I should have brought better gear with me. It would have made the ride so much easier and likely longer. But at a certain point equipment restricts the freedom you set-out to enjoy on a motorcycle.
Luck was on my side. Aside from the motorcycle eating through a bit of oil and being grumpy to start on cold mornings, it ran flawlessly. There were no accidents. A smartphone ensured I never got too lost.

Making it back always leads the enviable question, what is next? While the route is still sketchy, the trip is going to be epic.

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 12

Sunflower Ferry from Tomakomai, Hokkaido to Oarai near Tokyo

Disembarking the ferry

Tsukuba, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 11

The original Bikuri Donkey

Ramen Sakurajima, arguably the best ramen shop in Hokkaido. The silence and respect the patrons had for this bowl of ramen reminded me of church.

This might be the best bowl of Ramen I have ever had

Hokkaido, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 10

It has been said the terrain and buildings of Hokkaido resemble Europe more than Japan.

Hemp growing wild in the mountains outside of Sapporo

Hokkaido, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 9

The street signs in Wakkanai are in Japanese, English, and Russian

Coastal fishing village in Wakkanai

Small fishing port

Cape Soya

Cape Soya, Japans Northern most point

Hokkaido, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 8

The 232 Coastal Highway

Halfway point from the Equator to the North Pole

Cape Noshappu in Wakkanai

Hokkaido, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 7

Rain and cold. Hokkaido typically does not share mainland Japan's rainy season, but this year it did. So into the mess I rode, taking the fastest route from Hakodate to Sapporo.

Arriving cold and wet, I first warmed up and then headed out to pour a beer for myself at the Asahi Extra Cold Bar.

Sapporo, Japan

Tokyo- Hokkaido: Day 6

Deep in the Shimokita Peninsula lies a Osorezan temple. A Buddhist monk found the place after years of trying to locate a worldly embodiment of purgatory. It lies in a valley alongside a lake. As you descend into this place the smell of sulfur builds in the air long before you arrive.

In the Buddhist tradition it is an old man and women. One wishing to cross the red bridge that takes one to heaven must first take off their clothes to have them placed on the branches of a tree. Their weight upon the branches determines whether a person crosses the bridge to heaven, must wade across the river through purgatory to find heaven, or is sent to hell.