This is it. I leave in just over 1 week. Only a few more things to finalize but otherwise I am finished planning and preparing. This will be my first solo trip (of any great distance). The anxiety is growing every day, but I know, just like always the moment the bike starts rolling it all melts away. The scale of this trip has grown far larger than I ever dreamed. I will talk about the basics of the trip here and share my rough map below, but this blog is meant for R+R so further posts and comments, pictures and maps, will be posted in my solo blog,
My Violent Heart. R+R is meant for OUR adventures together, but before we even get to that point, Ryan and I both have some stepping stones we must achieve first. So it is only natural that we both post (briefly) our solo events leading up to our eventual first R+R ride.
Have a gander at the map (some of the map is cut off in this view) and the details are below the map.
View Here we go. in a larger map
I could write 10 pages on the details so I will try to keep it brief here.
24 days. Around 4,000 km by bike. About another 4,000 by boat (I think, hard to measure). I will be traveling during typhoon season. I will pass through not only the hottest parts of Japan (during the hottest season) but also one island I will go to (Yakushima) is the rainiest place in all of japan. I will visit (with my motorcycle) around 12 different islands. I will drive by 3 active volcanoes (and ride to the top of one). I will visit 12 new prefectures by bike including Okinawa. I will visit all four of the most extreme cardinal points on both Shikoku and Kyushu Island. I will visit the 2nd atomic bombing site. The Japanese Space Agency's "Cape Canaveral," the island and forest that inspired Princess Mononoke (which also has the oldest ceder trees in the world). I will attempt to catch a "Sumo Bullfight" as well as try to witness some of the dog-fighting (not to the death) they offer in Kochi. I will also visit the island that holds the worlds records for most densely populated place on earth (it has since been abandoned for 40 years, but that is why it is such an attraction!). See a few temples a few castles a few gardens. On the 2nd to last day I will (try) to catch the largest and most famous dance festival in all of Japan (it is the equivalent of Brazil's Carnival. It is 3 days long but I will only see the first day) Hopefully like my Honshu trip 1 year ago, the best parts are the surprises along the way.
