Mochi cream in Narita

yeah... It's all coming back to me. The iresistable frozen Mochi cream shop in the airport. As if we are trying to prolong our stay beyond the checkpoint, we have traced our way to the Mochi place and indulged in cheese cake and strawbery Mochi. A last glass of Draft Yebisu and a final noodle bowl with sliced grilled pork. We are leaving Japan with a taste of more...

Camels in Japan.

There are no Camels in Japan. When I first visited the US, in the late 70's, people asked me if I owned a Camel and if that is how I got to school. I always considered it a result of ignorance. Israel was a modern country and my Dad was driving an American car at the time.
During this trip to Japan, I had a few "Camel" gaffes and I am about to put myself to shame as a way of redemption.
Rice fields:
on the plane to Tokyo,a lady named Michiko was sitting next to me And we struck a conversation about what to see in Japan. I asked her where can we best see Rice Fields in the country. Well folks, the answer is everywhere. Other then down town Tokyo, there is no single road or view that does not include a rice field somewhere. We have 2,000 km of footage to prove it.
Buddha:
When riding into Kyoto, a giant Buddha statue was seen on the mountain above one of the town's shrines. Whe I was discussing what to see in Kyoto, with the concierge in the hotel, I asked what is the site of the giant stone Buddha. The lady concierge giggled in a typical Japanese way and told me that it was not Buddha, just a stone statue... It sure looked like Buddha to me.
Shoji doors:
Our first night was spent in a traditional Ryokan in Goyakama, a heritage village near Nagano. Danielle was interested to know how do the people here keep the snow out of the house, with the Japanese doors made wood and paper doors. She asked a girl who was sharing dinner with us, how do the doors with Rice paper windows, keep the snow out. The girl giggled and told us that it is just paper, not Rice paper... Didn't we always learn that Japanese doors and screens are made with wood and rice papers?...

Returning the bike

Time to drive the bike back to the Japan Bike Rent shop. Safta chan and I get on the GS one final time and program the location of JBR in the GPS. Two times right, and we are on the onramp to the 20 Expressway. 200 meters further, a frantic toll cashier, waves to us with a Luke Skywalker wand, and explains to us in fluent Japanese, that we can not ride two up on freeways in Tokyo.
It all came back to us. We new the rule but forgot about it. It stemed from a time when the police was cracking down on Yakooza gangs, roaming the city two up, shooting each other. He insisted we turn around and head back where we came from. Only this time, we were driving against the two lane traffic in kamikaze style, breaking one rule just to comply with another. I hugged the wall, turned my hazard lights on, and stepped on it. Safta chan had her eyes closed and was screaming...
Down the incline and a uturn, and we were safe again, back on our way on side roads.

June 2nd - Zaba san 50th Birthday

Feels good to be 50. Met a couple of geezers celebrating one's 74th Birthday Japanese style. Traditional dinner, visit to a Geisha lounge and a day of Golf. Sure have something to look forward to. There is life after 50...
We had grand plans for the day. A skyline drive or two, that would bring us to Tobe, the birth place of the cultured Pearl, and a harbor of a ferry boat that will bring us closer to Mt Fuji. A combination of GPS programing error (user error I admit) and lack of time, put us on a different rout. Shorter but never the less beautiful. As we got used to, twists, beautiful views and endless rice fields. The drive was fantastic.but by the time we got to Toba, the only available room we could find, was a mediocre Japanese style hotel. The people were very excited for having foreigners on a bike come stay with them. It was nice friendly Motel 6 stay.
The morning after we packed and left. Driving by Pearle island, we got on a ferry heading across the bay. An hour later, we were on our way to Shuzenji.

Aritsugu Kyoto food market

June 1st

For our second day in Kyoto, we had planned a visit to Aritsugu, the 450 year knife maker, and a trip to the near by Kobe, for a Kobe beef, steak.
The path to Aritsugo was going through a half mile long food market. Needless to say, by the time we got to Mr. Aritsugu's store, we had steamed Rice patties with leek and shrimps, bamboo wrapped rice patties with sweet minced beef, baby octopus, marinated in sweet soy sauce and grilled on a bamboo stick. yummmmmm.
A pickle shop with adjacent pickling room, provided some samples of Cucumbers, Aubergines, Bamboo shoots and Daikon, in fermented rice.
The knife store was a surprise. I expected an old man leaning over the fire stove, hammering his knives into shape. instead, we found a immaculate, modern designed store, with an astonishing selection of Japanese for each and every task from the finest carving knives to butcher axes.
One sided blade knives were presented with a left and right handed variations. After some consultation, I have chosen a knife to be added to my collection. Not that I needed another knife, but how often do you get the opportunity to buy a knife from Mr. Aritsugo's half century old establishment?
An hour trip on the Bike later, we were wandering the streets of Kobe. The town was nothing to write home about. It has been largely wiped out in the '95 earth quake and new meaningless buildings have been erected.
A web search and some walking around brought us to a reasonably good teppan yaki restaurant. Our table side chef, prepared for us, simple but mouth watering filet and entrecôte of Kobe beef, accompanied with nothing but salt from a near by mountain.
Walking out of the restaurant, we both agreed that it has been the best steak we have ever had. Ever!!!
The trip back home (Westin Kyoto, that is) has taken forever. I forgot to turn off the "avoid toll roads" option on the GPS. I don't think I have ever rode 60+ km on surface roads. Surely not at night, on the left side of the road, in a foreign country.
Once again, a shower and bed were a welcoming finale to an eventful day.
Tomorrow is my Birthday and the beginning of the trip back north to Tokyo.

Kyoto

We decided to take a break from camping Japanese style, and checked in to the Westin in Kyoto. A bit of indulgence, leading to my 50 th birthday....
In Kyoto, I had one spot marked on my to-do list. Aritsugu, a 400+ years old sword maker joint, that has now reverted to kitchen knifed and utensils. In a small but well designed store in the market of Kyoto, Aritsugo lived up to the expectations. We are off to Kobe today. Looking forward to a good steak. More about Aritsugo when we get back to the hotel tonight.

Safta chan in the kitchen

Day 2 - the ride

It was anything but routine. Driving out from the Ryokan, we started a climb. Up the mountain range that hosted the famous Nagano winter Olimpics. The first leg took us on a twistie road at 3-4000 meters elevation with magnificent views of bamboo meadows and snow top mountain ranges. Plumes of steam rise from the slopes here and there.
Spotted with ski resorts, some with ski runs that were still open. Temperatures dropped to 10c. / 40f on the way. Coming off the Japanese Alps, making sure we do not hit a stray monkey along the road (yes the famous monkeys that hang out in the hot springs, wander on the road between baths),
we drove toward the north westrn coast of Japan.
A couple of hours later and a bowl of steaming tempura Ramen, we got to our destination for the night. Gokayama, a UNESCO heritage listed village. More about our experience there in tomorrow's bit.

Gagaga googoogoo this is Day 2

5:30 am
Getting my sleepy head out of bed. Sleeping on a futon on the floor was not so bad after all. Not sure how much the Biru and fatigu contributed to it.
The weatherman predicts rain for today and drop in temperature.
Going to crawl back under the blanket. The room in the ryokan is nippy.

On the road to Kusatsu

Grilled beef in Tokyo

Day 1 - gearing up

We definitely started out in grandeur. After checking in to the Park Hyatt, most famous from the scene in. "Lost in translation",
we have gone out to an exquisite dinner in a Japanese restaurant..
Some of the highlights included an out of this world Hamachi Sashimi, Medium rarer Kobe beef sirloin grilled in a lotus leaf on the table and an amazing bowl of rice, creamy egg, lobster and sea urchin.
All accompanied with a cold semi dry Sake.
This morning, I am off to pick up the bike. If I manage to keep it eventless, We should be able to be on our way by noon
Nagano is our target for today. Mountain twisties and Onsen hot-spring Bath houses. How bad can it be...

7:23 PM
We settled in the Ryokan for our first Onsen and a Futon bed on the Tatami. In other words, we got to the local Motel 6 in Kusatsu, and got to the room with extra hard matress, green tea and a bath with bath water that has been used by the previous guests.
the heated seat on the toilette is the only Ray of light. Safta and I are being brave. We read the book and try and respect the habits of the indigenious habitants of Japan.
It's actualy very cool. We had an amazing drive through the mountains leading to the Ryokan, through rice fields and picturesque villages.
8:30
Dinner was served. Not as good as last night but quite delicious still. Chicken Shabu Shabu, Bamboo rice and Tuna sashimi were my favorites.
In an hour we are going to soak in a hot bath. Yet another first time for the day. Our eyes are heavy. It's been a very long day.

Chapter 2: Packing

It's strange packing for a bike trip that starts somewhere else. Usually when we pack for a trip, we each have our saddle bag and are bound by the available space. We got it down to science on our own bike and are now struggling with how much to take. I think we nailed it again but will find out only when we get to Tokyo late tomorrow. My motto, you can dump access and buy whatever we miss. It's not a big deal either way.

So... why do I care? Not sure.

Chapter 1: Planning

Trip planning is like foreplay. It's wayyyy fun but should not distract you from the purpose of your activity. Enjoy it while it lasts and move on to the main course when the time is right.

The Bike is all sorted out. The routes are plotted and highlights have been identified.

We went through Top Ten books, Japanese top 100 roads, Tony Bourdain's recommended spots as well as Chef Morimoto's favorites.

The kids have been safely deposited with Grandpa and Grandma, accompanied by Mia, our trusted nanny, and with paraphernalia such as dollies, diapers, Swimsuits, Sun tan protection, etc.

We are excited, hyper ventilating, a little bit sweaty... Did I mention foreplay?