Two weeks ago.Snow Corridor on Shiga-Kusatsu Highland RouteI've experienced it.......
I'm off to Fukushima Prefecture for GW.
Our goal this time.Bandai-Azuma Skyline~Bandai-Azuma Lake Line~Bandaiyama Gold Linethe run of the
Night rental. Overnight stay.
I've been using my company's corporate credit card to pay for my clients' expenses on their behalf, so I find myself accumulating a lot of points. This time, I used the points to book a business hotel to enjoy Fukushima Prefecture. Stay for free!
However, it was impossible to book a hotel with a hot spring because it was the day before GW.....orz
So, I rented a bike in Tokyo at 8:00 p.m. and headed for Fukushima Prefecture on the Tohoku Expressway.
There was only one person who rented before me. He said he was just doing a quick ride.The odometer on our rented vehicle read an amazing 93 kilometers!The tires have just been peeled and are in new condition.
Although it is during the break-in period, a liter class sports tourer can cruise on the highway at a speed a little higher than the designated break-in speed....... There was no traffic jam on the Tohoku highway at night. We arrived at Fukushima in no time at all.
It's a warm GW, with temperatures exceeding 25 degrees Celsius during the daytime, but the temperature was in the single digits on the Tohoku Highway when we passed through Nasu Kogen. My hands are cold: ..... I need a grip heater: ..... While I was saying that, I checked into the hotel.
In front of the hotel, there was a line full of touring riders' motorcycles.
I brought this with me from home and went to bed early.
I can't get up that early, though.
I asked for a wake-up call at 6:00 a.m., but it was 6:30 a.m. when I woke up. I went to the dining room to have a buffet breakfast, but it was packed with families, so I passed. I lingered in the room for a while and then checked out a little after 7:30 a.m. ....... The previous night's stay didn't make much sense.
Touring Community on FacebookSo, even without a smartphone navigation system, I got off the highway at the Fukushima Nishi Interchange and headed for Takayu Onsen without getting lost.
It's a good route even without a navigation system, as all the roads (Bandai-Azuma Skyline, Bandai-Azuma Lake Line, and Bandai-san Gold Line) are marked with blue signs. We were soon on our way to the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, checking out the comfort of the new Ninja 1000.
Bandai-Azuma Skyline
It's hard to tell from the picture.sea of cloudsWelcome!
The weather was fine with short sleeves, but there was still a bit of snow on the ground. After a short break, we continued on our way. There were a lot of cars on the road to Jododaira, so we continued our slow ride.
As I was riding, I felt that the Shiga-Kusatsu Kogen route and the Izu-Nishi-Izu Skyline have many shoulder spots where you can stop and take pictures of your bike while riding, but I didn't find many of those points on this route. The parking space is usually in a place where the view is not good..... I'd like to go back on a normal weekend when it's more empty, but as soon as we passed through Jyododaira, the number of cars dropped drastically: ...... And what appeared in front of me was.....
Snow Cloister!
There were still walls of snow on both sides of some of the roads around 1,600 meters above sea level. As expected, it was not as good as the 2,000-meter-high Shiga-Kusatsu Kogen route, but it was still spectacular.
We had the luxury of running along the snow corridor in the sunny weather, which made it possible to wear short sleeves, but it didn't last very long, so the only photo points were around 1,600 meters above sea level. Is this the highest point of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline? Actually, I had seen the indication of the road surface in a photo posted by a friend on instagram, so I didn't hesitate to stop and take photos here.
We continue our pleasant ride along the road. A number of spectacular views appeared in front of us: ..... But as I mentioned, I couldn't find a spot to take pictures. I promised myself that next time I would come with my own bike and action cam.
Bandai Azuma Lakeline
As the name suggests, this is a pleasant road that passes through a number of lakes (Lake Akimoto, Lake Onogawa, and Lake Hinohara).
Bandaisan Gold Line
The route goes down the mountain towards Lake Inawashiro. On the way, we passed through the slopes of the Alz Bandai ski resort, so it was surreal to see artificial snow equipment on the roadside.
Roadside Station Bandai
This is another roadside station that I learned about on Facebook. We arrived at around midnight, and there was a line at the cafeteria, so we went to a food stall to satisfy our hunger.
Soba soft. Faint aroma of soba. Not only this, but the taste of soft-serve ice cream in the touring area is extraordinary.
Bacon cheese & onions & asparagus.
Lake Inawashiro
After taking a break, we went to Lake Inawashiro. The north shore is crowded with cruise ship depots, but if you go around to the south side, you'll see the lake shore all to yourself.
The surface of the vast lake is rippled by the breeze, just like the seaside.
It's a little early, but I'm heading home.
I was actually planning to take Route 121 towards Nikko, but I was worried about the traffic jam on the expressway, so I decided to head straight towards Tokyo. However, I decided to take a detour down the road as much as possible.
View of Mt. Bandai and ......
Take a flower break on the side of the road........
Without even looking at a map, I just go south toward Tokyo, following my intuition and the blue signs. Free and easy.I guess touring should be done solo.
There were some traffic jams, but with the help of the Ninja 1000's strong torque and stability, we were able to get through more than usual. We arrived at the store with about 30 minutes to spare, which is always a bit of a hassle when returning a rental bike at the last minute.
As with all of my rentals, when I switch to the Ninja 400, I get the "this is good, no, this is good" feeling.
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