Ride to Chiba

[Chris]

On Sunday I took advantage of the great weather and went across Tokyo Bay to Chiba peninsula to ride. It's much less urban over there.

First off was a stop at the ATM to get some yen.

Then the wife and I headed to the ferry port at Kurihama, about 25 minutes away. There was a ferry loading as we rode up so there was no waiting before riding on and getting the bike tied down.

Ready to go..

I like motorcycle rides that include ferry rides. They make a nice break. This is a shorter ferry ride than across the English Channel or over to the Isle of Mann but it's still a nice 35 minute break watching Tokyo Bay go by and dodging all the ship traffic.

 

[Chris]

Ride to Chiba - 2

Ride to Chiba - 2

Here's our ferry on the Chiba side...time to ride!

Heading south along the peninsula Rose spotted this temple dug into a cliff face. We found our way back to it and it turned out to be a real find. Not large, but very nice.

Here's another view:

And the view from the temple looking across the bay was pretty:

 

[Steve]

Hopefully there are more pictures coming, but yes, I have to agree there is something special about a ferry ride.

I got to ride a couple last year, crossing the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. On one, there were only about 4 or 5 vehicles (I didn't bother to really count them, but there weren't many), on the next ride there were 34 on the same size boat.

.

 

[Chris]

Ride to Chiba - 3

Ride to Chiba - 3

We decided to stop for a drink and a bite to eat in Tateyama around lunch time. The colonel got my vote today.

After lunch we started up the Pacific coast of Chiba. In one little town Rose started beating on my helmet and yelling "go back!" She had spotted these carp banners flying as we crossed the bridge. The Japanese originally would fly carp banners on a certain holiday to celebrate their sons. Now I'm told that they tend to fly the banners to show all their kids. I'm not sure I have anything close to the right story there but it doesn't matter..I think they're charming. With 3 sons of my own I need some of those banners to fly back in Tennessee.

Here's a closer view:

Then it was back on the coast road heading north on Route 128. The beaches on this side of the peninsula are popular with the Japanese surfers but I only saw a few today. The water must still be pretty cold.

 

[Chris]

Ride to Chiba - 4

Ride to Chiba - 4

Heading north towards Kamogawa we passed through a lot of tiny towns like this one. The Japanese use road markings like this extensively. I'm assured by friends that this type of pavement actually offers better traction than regular pavement but I can't bring myself to trust it, especially in the rain. Sorry, pavement isn't supposed to be red.

We passed a lot of little fishing ports like this one with a few boats drug out of the water.

Coming into Kamogawa we ran into a little traffic so it was time to pass in the gutter. No problem, the gutter lane ahead is clear! Sorry for the picture tilt, I was using my left hand to manage the camera, the right to work the throttle and brake, and dodging cars. Typical day in Japan...

At Kamogawa we turned on Route 34 to head across the peninsula to get back to the ferry port. The interior of the peninsula still has a lot of farms like this:

Here's another shot of the farms:

 

[Chris]

Ride to Chiba - 5

Ride to Chiba - 5

Made it across the peninsula in pretty good time by pretty much ignoring details like speed limits and solid yellow lines. Made the 6:10 ferry with time to spare and used the extra time to take a couple of photos. Here's the fishing port in Kanaya.

Waiting for a ride with the rest of the boys:

Here we go...my ship has come in...

Unloading at Kurihama on the other side. And now for home!

 

[jbs80106]

nice ride...

nice ride...

and pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

[IanC]

Nice shots! Good to see mum going for long rides again. Hopefully that means her ankle is healing well.

 

[landshark]

Nice Pictures,
The carp are for Boys day, on girls day they stack up dolls in the appropriate room of the house.

If you havent already been up there i recommend "The venus line" in Nagano near Suwako. Its only short, but its got great views and good corners.
I also would love to ride a bike around Tokushima. When i went there the roads were great and there was a good bike to car ratio(For Japan).

 

[Chris]

Thanks for the tips Landshark. The most common places I ride to looking for fun roads are either Chiba or the Hakone / Mt. Fuji area due to fairly easy access. I also like the Izu peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture. As for Nagano prefecture I've been up to Matsumoto to visit the castle and in the Japanese Alps near there to enjoy the snow but now I'll have to go back to try your tip out.

Thanks again.

 

[landshark]

Thanks for the tips Landshark. The most common places I ride to looking for fun roads are either Chiba or the Hakone / Mt. Fuji area due to fairly easy access. I also like the Izu peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture. As for Nagano prefecture I've been up to Matsumoto to visit the castle and in the Japanese Alps near there to enjoy the snow but now I'll have to go back to try your tip out.

Thanks again.

No worries,
I am jealous cause i never had a bike in Japan, i only drove these roads.
Matsumoto isnt that far from Suwa.
Suwa is the place that has the biggest fireworks show/festival in Japan. It Would be a great ride to go there for the festival and stay a couple of days.
There are many great backroads around the highways(no tolls!) that are really well maintained. Unfortunately i lived south and not near Tokyo, so i cannot give you any direction, sorry.

All the Japanese alps have awesome roads, but as you would know, you just have to find them

 

[Larry D]

In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why I like this site so much. It's great to see the landscape and share in people's rides from all places near and far.

Thanks for the trip to Japan !!!

 

[skreemer]

Awesome pics. I vacationed in Japan twice a number of years ago and this brings back a bunch of memories. Unfortunately for me the last time i was there I was just 20 and didn't do enough research on being able to get my own vehicle and get out and about.