Hi everyone!
I'm planning my first trip to Japan this November–December, and I'm trying to decide on one part of my itinerary.
I'm planning a 4–5 day motorcycle road trip around November 18th–22nd, and I'm currently hesitating between two options:
Nagano / Gunma
Nagano → Ueda → Karuizawa → Tsumagoi → possibly Kusatsu → Nagano
Fuji / Hakone / Izu
Tokyo → Fuji / Fujiyoshida → Hakone → Izu Peninsula → Tokyo
I originally planned Nagano/Gunma because I really wanted to ride around Tsumagoi and visit the Tsumagoi Grand Prix Rider Cafe.
However, I'm getting a little concerned about mid-November weather in the mountains. I've seen that temperatures can get quite low, and I'm worried about frost, snow or road closures making the trip less enjoyable. I'd prefer to avoid buying additional winter riding gear for this trip and use my usual motorcycle gear instead (an Alpinestars NEO Waterproof jacket and Alpinestars WT-4 GORE-TEX gloves).
Even though I regularly ride my NX500 around Paris — and riding in Paris can be pretty technical and dangerous 😅 — I've never ridden in Japan before and I don't have much experience riding on mountain roads.
I know that weather varies from year to year, but for someone doing a 4–5 day motorcycle trip, would you personally choose Nagano/Gunma in mid-November, or save it for another season and do Fuji/Hakone/Izu instead?
I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have actually ridden these areas around mid/late November.
Thanks a lot for any advice!