What's new

Ride Wrap up: Marin Day Weekend JP Alps Explorer

Stormy

Speeding Up
Aug 2, 2012
78
24
Hi All,

just wanted to share the great fun Gunnar, Taichi and I had on our JP Alps Explorer tour from Gifu to Chichibu. Pictures are here.

Highlights:
- Almost all backroads with very little traffic
- Amazing scenery
- Great company

Best sights:
- Amo Toge towards Takayama
- Venus Line
- A stunning river valley in Gifu prefecture along Hwy 256

Low lights:
- Mt Norikura closed due to bad weather
- A few unpassable rindos
- Realizing we did not have chain tool, when Taichi's chain bust...

Already planning my next trip,
Norm
 
Great photos, looks like you really got to see Japan.

One day I would love to do this.
 
Norm: It looked like you guys had a blast. I will be in Japan on a solo bike tour in early October and am interested in the areas that you passed through. Do you have any stats for the distance traveled, elevation gain, etc? Any specific routes, avoidable sections, towns, accommodations to recommend?

Thanks,

Jim
 
Norm: It looked like you guys had a blast. I will be in Japan on a solo bike tour in early October and am interested in the areas that you passed through. Do you have any stats for the distance traveled, elevation gain, etc? Any specific routes, avoidable sections, towns, accommodations to recommend?

Hi Jim,

Here are the links to Strava. For some reason, we got really lucky and we ran into very few issues. I had a contingency plan ready for Norikura - which we reverted to. Accommodation was also pretty straight forward. I had used jalan.net. Let us know your actual route and I think Pete and I can give you some more details. I am sure BTW I will do more trips as well, in case you are looking for company.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Hope this helps,
Norm
 
Thanks Norm. I may take you up on your offer although I don't think I'm at your level. I get in to Tokyo on October 3 and leave on October 22 and hope to get in as much riding as I can. Unfortunately, October is also a rather wet month according to the stats I've seen (hard to believe that it rains more in Tokyo in a year than it does in Vancouver!) so the exact route will be dictated by the weather. The tentative plan is to explore Gunma, Nagano, Yamanashi and Gifu with the highlights being Norikura, Mt. Fuji, the Venus Line, Utsukushigahara Skyline and possibly the Mt. Shirane climb from Kusatsu. I was last in Japan in October 2010 and rode from Tokyo through Tohoku to the Shimokita Hanto. This trip will focus more on the Japan Alps.

Cheers,
Jim
 
Back
Top Bottom