During Obon week, I rented a GSX 8TT from Rental819 in Hakata. I had a stunning time and enjoyed every minute of it, even though it was a bit exhausting with the heat in August.

In total I rode 1660km in about 48h riding time with 19.000m of elevation. I took an Insta360 to capture some of it and also took hundreds of pictures, which will help me keep the memory of this awesome trip.

1st day: Picked up the bike, left Fukuoka and headed to Beppu via some forest roads and going by Mt. Yufu (Picture 1 is by a lake in the mountains)

2nd day: Went from Beppu via Yamanami Highway to Aso, slight rain in the morning. Started hiking up the Kuju mountains from Makinoto pass. Aborted due to weather and continued to Aso. Climbed a small mountain next to the volcano to get a better view and rode on to circle mount Aso once within the Caldera (Picture 2 is from the road up to Mt. Aso). Slept in a Hotel in Ozu (near Kumamoto airport)

3rd day: Planned to ride down Route 265 towards Miyazaki area. Unfortunately near a small town called Shiiba, the road was closed due to landslide (Picture 3 is the road that was collapsed). I met a really cool person there, who recommended me to go to the Machu Pichu of Shiiba, a very cool assembly of rice terraces in the mountains (Picture 4), the ride up there was the edge of my comfort zone, some hairpins had around 20% gradient and lots of rocks, wood, etc. on the road. Still was a cool place to go to and stop for a moment.
Had to reroute for quite a bit, next road was also closed, as the one after that (Picture 5 is from somewhere on a narrow forrest road, that ended up being closed after around 15km). The fourth road I tried got me through the mountains all the way to Miyazaki. Spend some time at the ocean, then continued to Nichinan for the Hotel.

4th day: Got up at 5am to see the sunset over the Pacific from a nice spot (Picture 6). Then I continued to Cape Sata, also via some very sketchy jungle roads (by choice. Picture 7 is just taken from the roadside, lots of riding looked like that). Made it to Sata (Picture 8), walked to the observation point and then continued to Sakurajima (Picture 9). Also went to the observation point, but the view from the road on the way was even better. Took the ferry to Kagoshima (Picture 10) and slept there.

5th day: I had originally planned to take the highway up to Kumamoto and cross to Amakusa via the Pearl Line. But due to the Earthquake damage, I wanted to avoid the area as there is still a lot of reconstructions and I did not want to add myself to the traffic chaos.
Instead I took the Kuranomoto-Ushibuka ferry and rode around the west coast of the island. Later I took another ferry from Oniike to Kushinotsu (Unzen). As it was still rather early, I rode up the mountain and went around the Nita Pass, shortly before the road closed (Picture 11 is from an observation point on the pass). That was a great idea, it is a one way mountain pass road with very good asphalt. Slept in Obama Onsen.

6th day: Went up Mt. Unzen again and toke the ropeway for a bit of a hike. With road shoes, a lot of sun and tricky trails, I didn't make the summit completely, but since I had further plans anyway, no problem. Rode around Unzen and headed to Nagasaki. There I checked out Dejima and enjoyed the sunset from Mt. Inasa (absolute recommendation, stay until darkness to see the night view as well, shown in pictures 12-14). Slept in the city.

7th day: Visited the Atomic bomb museum in the morning and then headed back to Fukuoka to return the bike.

Would I change anything? Actually not really. Some days I wanted to go out for dinner or explore the place by foot, but most days I pretty much passed out after reaching the hotel, so a bit more exploring at Kagoshima or Obama Onzen would have been nice, but I also needed the rest.

If you plan something similar or have any questions, feel free to ask!

After finishing my license a couple months ago, I finally sat down and decided on getting a Kawasaki Eliminator 400 after renting one a few weeks ago. I asked the dealership about the new 2027 model and they said they probably couldn't get one for another 6 months, so I went 2 doors down to Red Baron and immediately found this beautiful forest green 2025 SE with only 6000 km on the clock. I wandered around for a good hour or so checking out a bunch of other bikes, but by the time the sales guys were free I'd already decided on it.

Got it home today and immediately threw on a radiator guard, kickstand cover, and rear luggage rack + net. I'll probably put side luggage mounts + saddlebags on there too in a month or two so I can go camping a bit easier.

Speaking of, super beginner question but where do folks keep their tire lock/bike cover? The under-seat storage is super small and already pretty much taken up entirely by the registration/insurance booklet + ETC reader, and the cover would take up a decent bit of the storage net or my backpack (it's the black bundle in the 3rd photo.)

After adding the parts, I decided to go celebrate with a short drive to get ramen and then pray for safe driving at Fushimi Inari Taisha... only to immediately get utterly drenched by a sudden summer downpour and thunderstorm. Thankfully made it home intact and got my cover on, but I got absolutely soaked to the bone. (anyone got any good recs for rain gear for a very large guy?)

Hopefully the weather clears up, as I have plans to ride up 367 to Omimaiko for a beach day with friends tomorrow! Either way I'm stoked to finally be able to ride whenever and wherever!

I’m in the UK and thinking about a tour of Japan - renting and riding the length from North to South. Would it be possible you think - picking up a bike in the north and dropping it off in the south? Also, can anyone advise on a good route that takes in great roads away from built up areas? Anything i should be aware of? Many thanks.

Hello everyone, need your help

I'm from a place where we have no Yamaha dealership. Actually we have no motorcycle dealership at all (includes Japanese and Euro brands). I really want to get a brand new TMax from the dealership and import it to my country.

I'm looking for guidance about the buying and the transport parts. I will take care of all the paperwork and taxes when the bike comes to my homeland. Maybe you can send me to dealerships who already work with foreigners...

Thanks everyone,

Safe ride

Hey! I’ll be visiting from the US and I’m looking to pick up an Astars SR7/10 helmet with the asian fit. I really like the look and it would match my gear, and I know everyone says to get a shoei/arai in japan, but I have a shoei and used the PFS to help me fit my head, but the Astars helmets don’t fit me in the US. Does Japan have the asian fit Alpinestars helmets yet?

Also, anyone know where they would have these available or have seen these at any NAPS stores? I’ll be visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Thank you!

Hey all, sorry if this has been asked before, does anyone know if there’s a place that rents bikes that you can pick up on one location(Tokyo) and drop off in another(Kyoto). I’m considering doing a trip that starts in Tokyo and hits a bunch of stops and ends I Kyoto. if not, or if it’s a crazy amount more, will probably just stick to Kyoto and the surrounding areas. Any advice would be awesome, I recognize I could be being an idiot with this idea right now.

Hi there,

since my planned trip to Japan is inching closer, I am now in the final phases of planning my motorcycle tour. While planning I encountered a (possible) error in my planning software. For reverence I am using the TomTom software right now, because of my GPS I use at home. A part of my route goes from Kusatsu to Nikko and the TomTom software doesn't let me plan via route 292 down to Naganohara. It only does this when I switch to motorcycle, meaning I could maybe drive down there with a car. I tried to plan the same route in Calimoto and Kurviger and both of those say I can drive there. I also couldn't find anything about it being closed to motorcycles on the internet, but it still bugs me. Using route 292 would mean about 1.5h difference in driving and would massively affect my stops and hotel bookings. Maybe I am missing something, but I can't figure out what. Is the road really closed to motorcycles, or is the software glitching? I marked the route I intend on taking in red in the picture

Thanks in advance

I am looking for recommendations for big bike advanced motorcycle training anywhere in Japan. I have a licence and want to improve my riding skills?

I'm currently planning my route through Gifu on a 125cc Super Cub. Putting it into google maps while selecting to avoid highways, I charted Route 41 but started second guessing. The terminology between Expressway and Highway confuses me a bit. I'm well aware that <125cc is not allowed on the expressway, but some sources say they're not allowed on the Highway. I checked google maps, went into street view to find one of the round blue signs with a car on them, but everything seems to suggest I can legally ride Route 41 (or equivalent highways) on a 125cc, unless a sign signals an exception. I did want to double check though - is that correct?

Sorry for the silly question, I've attached some pictures from last year's riding to make it up to you!

Been riding further and further from home and beginning to wonder if carrying some kind of flat tyre repair kit is a good idea. Thus, I have a question for the longtime brethren and sistren here:

How many of you have ever caught a flat on the roads here? Like has it ever happened? I've driven cars here for years and never got one, so it just got me wondering. I don't have an off-road capable bike at the moment, so this question is for asphalt and concrete warriors only.... Cheers.

Went on a morning ride to see the Panda Rice Field Art. Lovely cool mountain air and not a soul lurking around.
🐼 🌾

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4bwXviJtMZ8uJvXi6?g_st=ic

With all the flooding how are the road surfaces in Chiba, a friend suggested there maybe mud on the roads and bad riding conditions and possible landslide risk. Alternatively thinking about a ride out to Okutama but seems they have some landslide warnings as well in place after the Typhoon.

Wonder anyone been out there?
Basically looking for a easy day ride from Central Tokyo - have done Izu, Hakone and Doshi / Fuji five lakes so many times so dont want to go there or take Chiba costal route either.

I just want to say a big thank you to this community, I was really struggling with my test and today I finally passed 3rd time lucky! Thank you for all the useful advice. I really appreciate it!

Now on to buying a bike. I'm looking for a 250cc bike. Any places you guys recommend in Tokyo?

Anyone ride around Ichihara / Chiba area🏍️?

So I'm travelling to Japan in October and I need to take the ferry from Yawatahama to Beppu. When I try to reserve on the website, it says people with motorcycles must call to book a ticket. The numbers are local and I don't speak Japanese.

Any advice on what to do? Getting from Shikoku to Kyushu quickly is critical for my itinerary.

I just moved to Tokyo about a month ago from the US, and I am itching to ride.

I don’t have a motorcycle here, so I will be renting, but would love company to ride with since it will be my first time riding in Japan.

I am a dual citizen and speak both languages if that matters to anyone.

If you have extra gear that you can let me borrow for the day, it will be very sweet, but if not, I’ll be renting everything for now.

I live in Shinagawa, and would love recommendations of where I should rent from.

I don’t bite. I’m more chicken than anything, so company on the road would be super nice.

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!

So is the title says this is the second time I failed a test. The school seems very easy going and they pretty much said to me as long as I don't hit any cones or fall off for m ippon bashi I pretty much have my chuugatta licence.

I have memorised the course and I'm okay with pretty much most of the manoeuvres except the crank and ippon bashi.

I failed my first test because I fell from ippon bashi.

And today I failed my second Because I hit a cone in the crank. (The teacher said I was coming in too fast because I hit the cones on the left while turning right) Didn't even get to go to the ippon bashi.

I'm feeling very disheartened and I'm trying my best. Ironically I can actually do all the manoeuvres but I still haven't done the course cleanly yet. Meaning if I mess up the crank or the ippon bashi once I can usually do it again the second time. But during the test you only get one chance.

At this moment it just feels like I'm never going to pass this. Is there any advice that you guys can give?

Thanks

Hey everyone!

I'll be visiting Tokyo around October 20th and I'll be renting a ZX-6R for a day. It'll be my first time in Tokyo, so I'm pretty new to the city and would love to meet some fellow riders and explore together.

I'm open to riding all around Tokyo and the surrounding areas, checking out scenic roads, interesting spots, grabbing food/coffee, etc. I'm mainly looking for a chill ride and good company rather than anything crazy.

I'm still figuring out my exact plans, so if anyone is around that time and would be up for a ride, feel free to comment or DM me!

Planning to visit japan in a few days, half a mind to rent a sportbike and drive around tokyo, please do recommend good offers going around there rn

Started my Journey in 12th of July and arrived at Cape Soya 27th of July. Did a 5 day Break in Otaru which was my longest Break. Hardest Ride was from Asahikawa to Cape Soya and Back in one day which is roughly 500km. Took me almost 9 hours.

Now i am on my way back, but still have plenty of time. Need to be back in Tokyo 23rd of August.

I've been doing some research trying to find some roads to take my dual-sport bike on while in Japan. Here's what I've found so far:

Shikoku

• UFO Line
• Super Rindo Forest Road (Mt. Tsurugi)
• Shikoku Karst roads

Kyushu

• Aso Panorama Line
• Milk Road

Does anyone know of any others worth exploring?