Hahahy yesss! Seeing (and staying with) Shiz was by far one of the highlights of the trip, was so cool to re-connect with him and get a local guide (even if it was just for a day). And yea, ~90% of those were from the Ricoh, the other few were just quick snaps from my iPhone. Was super pleased with ...

Hahah right? I'm bummed I got there right when they were closing on that Friday night (it was after my mad dash across all of Tokyo which took forever thanks to all the traffic) but they were still hanging around and were super cool. Was also having some issues with my bike's shifting that day and t...

Post 15: October 15 Saturday would be our last full day in the country and we planned to keep it pretty easy going as we had met up with Chanel’s cousin and her young son who were visiting from South Korea. Our day started with coffee (actually more fancy apple juice for me) and then we boarded the...

Post 14: October 15 After leaving Michael and Rio’s place on Friday morning we stopped by a local shrine for a quick stroll, followed by a small breakfast of tiny cakes and fancy apple juice at a nearby bakery. We then rolled through Osaka Castle where we admired the moat, took a few photos and fin...

Post 13: October 14 Thursday had us rising early to start our quick ride to Kanazawa station where we hopped aboard the Thunderbird, an older yet well-kept train that would take us to Osaka. I was particularly excited for this part of the trip as we were meeting up with one of my oldest friends who...

Post 12: October 13 After returning our rental car in Kanazawa on Wednesday afternoon, we put the bikes back together and found Jerry and Dennis who had just finished their ride in from Gokayama. We had some tasty Coco curry for lunch and then checked into our rental house before making a mad dash ...

Post 11: October 11 Yesterday morning, we hopped in the car and back-tracked a few miles to Shirakawa-go, a small mountain village famous for its thatch roof houses built over 200 years ago. We took a quick walking tour and even had the chance to see the interior of one house which was quite remark...

Post 10: October 11 On Tuesday, we checked out of our ryokan in Hakuba (which was so helpful and accommodating our entire trip, the host constantly checked on Chanel and gave her ice for her knee), had a final breakfast at The Clubhouse Hakuba and then hopped in our new rental Mazda 3 to head throu...

Post 9: October 11 After arriving in Hakuba by bus on Saturday afternoon, we put our bikes together and rode over to our home for the next few days, Oomuko Ryokan. We checked in and then rode up to catch the Grinduro festivities before ending the night at the Blizzard Hakuba afterparty with new fri...

Post 8: October 9 Saturday started with a casual start to the day at our rental house in Tokyo, followed by some tasty French toast at a nearby breakfast restaurant. We then headed to Ueno station to start our trip to the mountains, however we didn’t think to buy our bullet train tickets in advance...

Post 7: October 9 Picking back up on Thursday afternoon - we loaded our bikes on the train in Fujiyoshida and headed back to Tokyo, arriving in the extremely busy Shinjuku station where we re-assembled the bikes and rode away. Made a quick stop at THIS Brewing followed by dinner, then called it a n...

Post 6: October 6 Playing a bit of catch up from Wednesday night and yesterday. After our rainy ride into Fujiyoshida, we wandered around town and had dinner at a super traditional Izakaya recommended by our host. Ate more fried chicken and fries that were delicious. The next morning, the skies had...

Post 5: October 4 Our second day in the mountains greeted us with nonstop rain, colder than expected temperatures and our anticipated views of Mt. Fuji being hidden by clouds. Luckily, we made the most of the day by making a number of stops to warm up whenever we had the chance. Our FOERST break ca...

Post 4: October 3 Woke up around 5am and wandered down to Hakone for a scenic train ride up the mountain. Ate some breakfast on the train, came back to our hostel, then Chanel and I headed off for a short (but steep) ride up the mountain for our afternoon non-biking activity. After riding up the mo...

Post 3: October 2 Started the morning with a 5am beach stroll, walked a few miles around Kamakura exploring shrines and temples, saw a sweet S14 and then had another exciting convenience store breakfast before starting the day’s ride. Hopped on the bikes for another 40 miles that included a tour of...