22nd DAY: Tokyo City

The hotel reception wanted to assure we left by 10am, bikes and all. They didn’t like the idea of us leaving any bags or our scooters there while we were in central Tokyo. Our plan was to stay up all night and go back early in the morning as soon as the day broke. We went to the station to put our bags in the lockers, and find a place to park our scooters without having to pay. We found the perfect spot amongst some other scooters and bicycles at an apartment complex near the station. We put them license plates facing the wall in case anybody noticed our Osaka plates. As we were getting ready, someone came home and saw us there. We got a little paranoid they might call the towing company or something. We left trying not to think about it.

It was a long train ride but I was excited to see what the boast about what the most expensive city in the world offered. First on the list was Shibuya where the famous pedestrian crossing is. Not so interesting, unless you like to shop. We found a good Indian restaurant and filled our bellies with nice warm curry. Other than that, there isn’t much to see so we walked towards Shinjuku where there are more malls, some nightlife and the Japanese style red light district.

On the way there, we stumbled upon this stadium. There were many people walking in so we followed. Inside was a big wrestling competition for children. It was real entertaining to see so many children interested in such a sport in Japan. I figure it’s because it’s similar to sumo. Nigel thinks it’s because they’ve got a bid in for the Olympics in 2016 and they’re preparing.

Either way, it gave us something to do other than the usual tourist stuff. The stadium was next to the park so we ventured in. There were people doing all sorts of activities, such as, tap dancing, hip hop dancing, playing catch, running, cycling, bubble making, and even 2 fenced off areas for dogs, separated by weight. I’m glad we decided to walk from Shinbuya to Shinjuku, otherwise, we wouldn’t have seen this common life.

It was now getting dark so we made our way to Shinjuku.

Apparently, you can find used girls underwear in vending machines and other strange things but we found none of that. We just saw the normal cigarettes, drinks, and food tickets for restaurants. We walked into one business thinking they’d be in there but to my surprise, we found a small stall full of girl’s pictures. I’m not sure but my guess is you choose one of the girls and the owner calls her to meet you for services. Dangerous to have one of these around after you come out of a bar, drunk and horny.We walked around the small area just to check it out. One of the hundreds of hustlers on the streets trying to pull people into their establishment started talking to us. He could even speak Chinese. I was impressed. His Chinese was better than mine but that’s not saying much. He followed us for about 50m telling us we can get in for free, the girls take off all their clothes, many beautiful girls, etc… I would have had a peak if it weren’t 12000yen ($130US) for an hour. The girls probably didn’t even speak English anyways.

We were a little curious what the fascination was to Japanese men so Nigel really wanted to try one with Filipinos. The poster said 980yen for 40 minutes all you can drink, which sounded reasonable so I agreed. It was a brand new bar so it was quite well decorated. The problem was the girls all looked too old for my liking. They ushered us to a seat with a bottle of whiskey. I failed to realize that that was what they were offering for all you can drink. I naively ordered a beer, then 2 more. During that time we chatted to the women, and sang a couple songs on the karoke machine. It was fun but you know these women were only talking to you because it’s their job. The 40 minutes were up and after declining to stay longer, they gave us the axe to the jugular. Each beer was 1500yen ($16US). Our bill came out to 7100 yen ($80US). We left there feeling completely robbed and furious at ourselves for not being more careful. This is after the women were telling us that we should be careful for the African hustlers at Rapongi, the place with pubs and discos where we were heading to next. It was them that we needed to be careful for. Never will I make that mistake to go into one of those places again!

We got out the station, turned the corner and bam, there they were. The street was lined with Africans. They weren’t afraid to talk to anybody but I was happy to know that they’d leave you alone if you asked, unlike the other Japanese guy. We stopped and had a conversation to one of them. He was real nice. He told us how they’d come here to make money and look for a Japanese wife to get away from the strife in their own country, fair enough, makes sense. The next guy we talked to is named Dennis. He was happy to meet me but we kept going. We saw Kingston Reggae bar so we stopped there and finished off our beers from 7-11. In the process, we talked to another guy. He talked about his previous business but went bankrupt and how he has a wife there and how he’s trying to start something new. He was from the delta in Nigeria so he must be happy to get away from that.He escorted us up to his bar. It was still happy hour until 11pm so drinks were a reasonable 500yen instead of the usual 1000yen in that area. You weren’t allowed with no beer in your hand, either, otherwise, they’d kick you out. I had a bottled Guiness. There weren’t many people inside but the music was good. We were having fun but it was time to go to 911.

We’ve been searching all over Japan for a real disco where there is a dance floor or one that’s bigger than 3m squared. The search was over. I’m pretty sure Rapongi is the only place in the entire country. I wanted to test the rule about the beer so I didn’t order a drink until they asked. It took them about 30 minutes before they approached me but I didn’t want to go as far as to see if they’d boot me out. As the night continued, it got super congested in there. Many girls but I couldn’t find one that stunned me. I approached a few but was unsuccessful. Nigel on the other hand met a cutie. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a friend that could entertain me. She felt tired and offered us to sleep at her place since she knew our situation. Nigel gladly accepted. I accepted not so gladly but the alternative seemed bleak. I waited outside for them to get ready. In that time I talked to a cute Korean. She was positive, and offered to introduce me to her friends but then Nigel came and said he was leaving and if she could take care of me. She said it was cool to hang out as long as I didn’t latch on to her. It didn’t look so positive anymore so we got into a taxi and left.

We had no idea where she lived but 15 minutes, and 4500yen later we arrived. She lived with just her father. She had the entire upstairs to herself. We hung out in the living room for awhile but she had to pack to go to Hawaii the following day and she said she had to wake up at 9:30am so they left. I happily slept on the foldable couch with a blanket and air conditioning.

21st DAY: Rainy Season is over, so STOP raining already!

It rained over the night furiously but it stopped by morning. We had a long drive ahead of us to make it to Lake Sagami. We figured the best thing to do was camp there and take the nearby train into Tokyo to party, check out some sites, and of course, some local talent. Boy were we wrong!

We got to Sagami by 4pm. We went to our trusty computer to look for a campsite. We saw one posted on a local map that wasn’t on the internet. This one was definitely closed down. It was down a steep hill a fair ways from the away anyways. As we were leaving, it started to rain. It came down fast and hard. We drove to the next site. It looked more promising. It was in a big park. It even had gates. We waited under the shelter of the entrance hoping for the rain to subside. It didn’t. Nigel went in to see how much the camping was. It was a joke. 6500yen ($70) if you had your own tent, 12000yen if not. Then I checked the other 2 sites up the opposite side of the road. Again, no luck. Both of them were closed with no one in sight. Other than that, there were nothing but LOVE hotels everywhere. We weren’t about to take that option. I figure it’s the secret getaway destination for young couples, or mistresses or something along those lines. The rain slowed so we opted to continue forward towards Tokyo to see our other choices.

The first town we hit was called Takao but we headed further for Hachioji. We ended up at Nishihachioji Station before we stopped. There found some lockers we could ditch our bags into while we ventured into the city but the problem was we still couldn’t find a hotel or guesthouse in sight. We kept going to Hachioji and kept looking. We searched for up to an hour and the only thing we could find was 4900yen each. We were tired, hungry and wet so we unwillingly took it. Nigel originally wanted to party that night but there was no way. Neither of us had any energy for that. The good thing was the room was clean, warm and inside in another comfy bed.

So the great idea to camp works really well if:

1. The campsites are open.

2. It’s not constantly raining.

3. Maybe get there a little earlier so we’re not always looking for a place in the dark when they may be closed because it’s at night but I doubt that. It’s just been a bad year. Slow economy, later rainy season so there’s been cooler weather so no one wants to camp, except us.

20th DAY: Blessed Day!

I woke up to a terrific surprise. We hadn’t seen the sun for what seemed like a long time. It was essential to go for a swim in the lake with blue skies like this. The sunlight heating up my skin felt joyous. I lay there soaking up heat like I was a lizard. It didn’t take long until the clouds came back. That was our cue to blow this joint. At least it didn’t rain.

Nigel saw an indoor batting practice place and had the urge to try it. I remember my childhood and how bad I was at hitting so I felt hesitant to go in. I felt more confident after watching him go. You could choose the speed of the pitch, thank god. He chose the 70km/hr machine. It looked like a reasonable speed so I did the same. The machine was very accurate. It even switched up location and speed slightly. I did far better than I ever expected. Even got some better hits than Nigel did. I guess I wasn't as bad as I thought. It was my 2^nd pleasant surprise of the day.

We got to Nagano and it was blazing hot again. We decided to park the scooters at the station and walk to the closest temple. Amazingly, it was free. It was similar to most other temples we’ve seen except for the massive 20 feet wooden guardians at the front door. We took our time and got some nice pictures. Next we went into town for lunch. We were sad to see the Indian restaurant we wanted was closed. We settled for Italian food.

In our short stay in Nagano, I was thoroughly impressed. It is right in the middle of Honshu. It held the 1998 Olympics in surrounding ski hills. It’s the location for the famous macaque monkeys that bath themselves in the onsens (hot springs) and it’s close to many outdoor adventure kind of stuff in the nearby mountains. I’ll without a doubt be coming back to this area for the snowboarding some day.

We drove into the night looking for a campsite that was not tended as usual. It was dark, roped off, and a little creepy looking so we went back to a rest area that Nigel had seen on the way. It was huge! There was even a go cart track, a swimming pool, pond, and walking trails. The best was that there was light so we didn’t have to set up the tent in the dark. We found a quiet spot tucked into the bottom corner next to the bathroom and also a cover for our scooters. It was perfect except for the strange people who like to leave their engines on while they’re taking their rest. I got used to it after awhile. It was a great campsite for the end of a great day!

19th DAY: Outlook Positive

You should have seen our room. We had splayed all our stuff all over the room to dry. We had to get out of our comfy hotel by 10am so we got up at 8:30. With the amount of packing, eating, washing and of course using the computers, we were late 30 minutes to check out but luckily, they didn't care. Our day started real good. The sky looked like there possibly could be no rain, for a few hours anyways. We didn't have to go far so we hoped we wouldn't get wet. Myoko Kogen was only 35km away. This is the town that Tom and Nazomi from Niss were supposed to open their new ski school. And we were foing to help them find customers from Taiwan so we wanted to go there and check out the scene.

We started at the info center at the train station. They were real helpful. One man even knew Nazomi. He helped us find the hotels we needed to talk to and answered the 100 questions we had. Next we went to the resort and looked around a bit, took some pictures and videos but too bad, there was a big cloud hovering over the mountain peak. After that we went to the 4 hotels they suggested. 1st and 3rd were super nice and sounded like they were willing to do business. 2nd sounded like an option but we'd need a Japanese speaking person to talk to him again because he didn't speak English. 4th was more classy and more expensive so it's probably out of the question unless that's what the people are looking for. We left there feeling like this can very well be possible and this gives us more motivation to make it work.

We decided to check out Lake Nojiri. As we got there, guess what happened? Why of course, it started raining. It looked like a nice place to stop and I wanted to stay but as always there's also the pressure to keep going in case we don't give ourselves enough time to make it back to Osaka. In the end, I'm glad we stayed because it really started to come down an hour later but this time we didn't get wet, thank god!

18th DAY: Rain, Rain, Rain

There was a big lightning storm all night. We woke up with a break in the rain. We ate breakfast, packed up our stuff and tried to let the tent dry but the rain gods wouldn't have it. Luckily, they gave us a trickle before the heavy rains started coming and boy did they come. It was so hard we had to stop. We were backtracking back to Toyama so I could buy my ticket from Osaka to Naha. We eventually got there but I got my shoes soaked in the process. The cheapest flight I could find was 25000 yen ($280US). Super expensive considering I paid 16000 yen to go the opposite way. We hung out a bit more in a coffee shop because we were both dreading driving in the rain some more but we had to go even if it didn't slow and it didn't. We drove for 4 hours til we got to Joetsu not Myoko where we wanted to go another . We were wet and cold so we stayed in a hotel and lived it up for the night. It was 5000 yen each ($60) but it was dry, and comfy.

17th DAY: Toyama Airport

The day started differently than what we've had recently. The sun was out, and it was hot. We didn't get to the Toyama airport until about 2. We wanted to do some filming to make a small skit for the contest. We needed a shot of a plane taking off. We didn't know which way the airplanes depart so we waited for an airplane at one end. 30 minutes later, nothing came or left so we decided to go in and check the schedule. Nothing was arriving for another 1.5 hours. Luckily, they had wireless. During that time we unfortunately found out that there aren't any direct flight from Taipei to Toyama like we were hoping. This meant that we had to adjust our plans of flying Taiwanese into Japan via Toyama. When the time came, Nigel sped off to catch the plane take off but it was flying away from him and the footage was too shaky. We decided to wait for the next one at 18:10. We did some other filming and tried to book our hotel in Kenting for the contest. We went out again at the right end this time and we both filmed it. It's pretty amateur and not directly under the plane like Nigel wanted but it would do.

It was getting late so we went to look for the next mystery campsite. We found one on the coast, next to the beach and a swimming spot. When we got there, it was dark and it looked like the office was closed so we drove in looking where we could pitch the tent. There were others sleeping in huts so we went to the opposite side. We got there then saw the caretaker heading towards us with 3 others. Of course he was talking too fast for us to understand what he wanted even when we kept saying, "we don't understand," in Japanese. After 5 minutes of confusion we understood that we couldn't stay there. We could not camp at the campsite, nor could we stay in a hut either. He wanted us to leave. So we apologized and said, "gomenasai and sumimasen" for sorry but he obviously didn't accept our apology and started looking at our license plates and saying more stuff. We just took off shocked. We ended up pitching the tent in the dark in some marshy field next to the beach. I had no problems with that. This campsite was free.

16th DAY: Work Day

We woke up fairly early. We had a big day ahead of us. We wanted to sit down and have a proper day of work on the computer. We chose McDonald’s because it’s open 24 hours. We caught up on our blogs, and more importantly, put some ideas on how to win this contest on paper. We didn’t even do any work on learning Final Cut Pro at all, oh well. So nothing eventful happened except that we may not be allowed to do the 4x4 portion of our trip, which is the highlight of our itinerary. This really blows goats! We’ll see what happens.

15th DAY: Traditional Silk Making Huts

We finally went to the morning market on this day. We arrived at 11:30am and many stalls were packing up. There wasn’t so much to buy so all I got was a local doll indigenous to this area, very cute! There was another market but it was too late so it was pointless. We went back to the hostel to pack up. Getting to Shirakawa-go was a little confusing. We were going north on Route 41 and was supposed to turn left on Route 471. I saw a small sign saying 471 so we turned but it started bringing us south so we had to do a circle. We saw another road labeled 471 and took that road.

It cut to the left and brought us back to 41 eventually. And as they say, 3^rd time lucky we found the proper road. Little did I know, this route took us high, high into the mountain ranges on a twisty, turny, narrow road. We had gone so far in that we had thought we had past it for a moment but we got told at the top where there was a man ticketing people to enter a nature walk to keep going down. On the way down we saw a lovely waterfall right next to the road but with no room for a car to stop so we felt special. Unfortunately, there was an accident between a car and scooter. It looked like everyone was fine, no serious damage to either vehicle so they were lucky. I startled the cop as I glided by because my engine was on idle and he couldn’t hear the engine. Soon after that, we arrived at the viewpoint to Shirakawa-go without even realizing it. The only reason we knew is because of the sudden it bustle of tourists taking pictures.

This is definitely a great site to see but I do think it’s a little out of the way and I was hoping the huts were still manufacturing silk but it was just a museum showing the tools they used. It was the most interesting to see the roofing though. They’d use thick bundles of straw thatched together and cut the ends to make it flush. Each roof would be 50cm thick. They even replaced the roof every season.

To do that, they’d need hundreds of people working together to complete this massive task as the frames were large enough to house up to 20 families on the base floors with the top floors for the silk worms and equipment. Very interesting but also very busy. We saw some more gassho villages while going north that didn’t have modern houses between them. I recommend seeing those ones instead. It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site so you can look it up.

Now we were on a quest to find our 5^th campsite, and back in the tent. No more picturesque mountains, mist covered rivers, mesmerizing sound of running water or feeling at one with nature. Back to the real Japan that tourists seem to associate Japan as. We did manage to find a terrific campsite on a widened part of the river that’s secluded and surrounded by rice farms. Once again, thank you docomo for your help! The wireless

internet we use that can be accessed anywhere there’s a phone signal.

14th DAY: Rain Delay

We were supposed to go to the morning markets, check out the old town, see some more temples, drive to Shirakawa, then find a campsite near Toyama this day but as soon as we wake up, both of us decided against it. The raining didn’t stop from the previous night until 12:30pm. That was our opportunity to have a look around. First Nigel had to mail his broken camera back to Taiwan for repair. Morning markets were done so that was out of the question

now. Of course, it started downpouring again but we went to the restored old town anyways. The architecture and streets haven’t changed since the development. It was nice to see aside from the swarms of tourists and the buildings being converted into souvenir shops. I had no idea that this was such a mecca for tourists. It’s good news for Rocky. He needs to tap into that market somehow. GO FOR IT ROCKY!

13th DAY: Takayama Torrents

Rocky wanted to have a goodbye lunch with us but he was still busy so we took our time to get to the fishing center. We didn’t arrive until 2pm and waited for another hour before Rocky had time for a break. He a big BBQ with around 200 guests to prepare for that upcoming weekend so you can imagine how much planning that takes. We had cold soba noodles with tomatoes and pickles. We talked more about future plans and possibilities and stuff. It was so sad to be leaving. We said our final goodbyes but I have a feeling we’ll meet again.

We had promised the patisserie friend to visit him at his café. He makes some of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever seen and tasted. It gives me an orgasm just thinking of them. I ordered a chocolate cake and coffee. He showed us a photo album of cakes he’d made in the past. There were pianos, dogs, volleyball, basketball, police car, fire truck, etc… He said he gets customers from all over the region. I understand why, it’s no surprise! His café was also his house so he decided to show us his upstairs. It was unfinished but still very nice. It was simple, with a good view of Hagiwara and quite spacious. Unfortunately, it was getting late so we had to leave, in the rain.
It rained in buckets and slowed for the duration of our ride. But after we arrived to Takayama, there was a continuous downpour all night long. We opted to stay inside and use the computer. Using Mac OSX is a novelty these days and it’s a joy to use my own computer for the internet. We had a big day planned the next day so we went to bed relatively early.

12th DAY: YAY! Freshly Baked Western Bread!

Gero spa is famous in Japan for its high alkaline onsens. If you mention Gero to a Japanese person, their immediate response is onsen. They even have a free, public, outdoor, mixed, nude onsen under a bridge. As you probably know, I have a difficult enough time going into male only onsens.

We started on the tourist street with all the souvenir shops just to look. We found nothing and no one. It could be due to it being aweekday, not sure. But we were told by Rocky to go into the gallery where we could make our own postcards. I went in reluctantly because I suck at art but I ended up having a lot of fun. The lady inside was 75 years old but had the most joyous smile. She couldn’t speak English and was talking a mile a minute in Japanese. We understood some but Nigel ended up showing her Rocky’s card and she called him and gaveher the scoop. She brought over a bookletof her international friends but mainly because she had a good friend from Taiwan which is where we are going to in August. She wrote down his contact info and gave it to us. So sweet!

We had a look on the walls of all the other postcards and was even more intimidated. I don’t remember the last time I picked up a paint brush. It took me awhile for me to know what

to draw but once I started, it was easy. It was nothing special but I was happy to complete something. 2 Japanese girls from Nagoya joined us midway but they were much better and faster than us and were gone in a flash.

When we were done, we wrote in the guest book, took a few pictures and she gave us a

bag of treats. It was great to see her kind face lighten up just to have people come into her gallery. I hope to meet her again.

Next we went to a hotel info office. We were looking for prices of local hotels

for future use. One man spoke English very well. He had everything we needed. He even gave us a DVD of the local area, and CD of hotel info such as pricing and what they look like. He was so helpful! He came outside with us to take a picture together and say goodbye. He will be coming to Taiwan in October to set up a booth in the World Travel Fair in Taipei. So there’s a chance we’ll meet again.

We went back to Rocky’s house after that and made some videos for a skit we’re making. You’ll get to see it one day when it’s done. It should be funny. We used David Peyrot as a special guest. He does a fantastic job!

Then we went to Ikumi’s little, once a week, outdoor bread stand. She had gone to France and learned how to make proper bread and is one of a small populous that knows how to do this in Asia. She opens at 16:00 and goes to 21:00 but takes all of the previous day to prepare it. Many locals of Hagiwara, where she sells it, comes not only for the bread but also to hang out and chat. At one point there were about 11-12 people there. We were only missing the beer. So Rocky introduced us to many people and we truly enjoyed ourselves. That’s what’s so great about such a small town. Everyone has time to do these kinds of things. And once you get introduced, they treat you remarkably well.

11th DAY: Sick

I did nothing today but stay in bed all day and watched tv or worked on my computer while Nigel got to go for a hike and see 6 waterfalls. He came back with pictures and they looked so nice. A little jealous I didn't get to go but I need to get better. But I probably could have taken some ibuprofen and it would of been all good, but I didn't. I just can't believe there are so many hidden treasures in this area!

10th DAY: Harvesting Wheat

We went to Ikumi's friend Nanako's farm to see what it's like to harvest wheat. She somehow acquired a machine used in the olden days. It's a very rudimentary system but interesting to see. It is similar to a spinning wheel in that you use your foot to push on it and make it spin. There's a thick wheel, which has metal pieces sticking out to knock the seeds out of the plant but there would still be the husk so you need to separate it by blowing it away. We used many methods: throwing it up and letting the air take it, but we kept losing seeds as well, blowing on it but after awhile you'd feel dizzy, and the most effective method was to cheat and use an electric fan.

When we were

tired, we went inside for some tea and snacks. There was sumo wrestling on tv so she told us all about it. There's a competition on right now in Nagoya but unfortunately, we can't see it or we'd have to backtrack and tournaments only happen once every 2 months.

Rocky and Ikumi has shown us

such good hospitality. I only wish him well. If you get the chance, you should come here and get in touch with nature and real Japanese culture. There's so many beautiful things to see here!

9th DAY: Rappelling

David and Nigel went on the river tracing tour again in the morning. I spent the time to catch up on my blogs and do some editing on some videos. They came back at 13:00 along with 3 other guests and we had some traditional style lunch. Ikumi, Rocky’s wife prepared for us sushi wrapped in a leaf with trout, sliced green onions, and spices, miso soup and bread which we cooked ourselves over a fire wrapped around a stick. It was all so yummy! We took a hung out until 17:00 and waited for Rocky to finish work.

We walked over to the bridge near the fishing center, fully equipped and ready to descend. He gave us a lesson on how to link the rope to ourselves and practiced that before he gave us a demonstration on how to do it. He came up and prepared Nigel to go first. It looked easy enough to me. Nigel was willing but still a little apprehensive. I don’t blame him. We were about 15m up. He came down smoothly. Next came David. He too was a bit scared too, but “it was something you just have to try once.” He looked comfortable but he didn’t want to try it again. And finally came me, the only person who isn’t afraid of heights. I admit, at first it really pumps up your adrenaline, relying on a rope to support all your weight horizontally, then jumping off and you’re just hanging there. It kind of feels like you’re suspended in a chair.

I think I’d like to do this more often. Next time, something a little more challenging.

8th DAY: River Tracing with Rocky

We woke up early to eat breakfast but didn’t have to meet Rocky at his work until 13:30 so we spent the morning working on our computers. He had a great internet connection and his house was so comfortable. He eventually called us and told us to come at 12:30 because his guests had arrived. I had no idea what we were in for but I’d seen some pictures from his facebook album. I definitely wasn’t prepared for this. I had never heard of river tracing before. It is where you wear a wet suit and follow the river upstream, taking the hardest path possible. At times we were chest deep. Rocky even went through a tiny little crack, and nearly slipped on his way out on the other end. No one else wanted to try. We were sometimes plunged in chest deep, climbed up small waterfalls, dove down with a mask and tried to get as close as possible and even went behind one of them. In the difficult sections, Rocky would use a rope and support you up in case you slipped or were unable. He said the river was bigger that day than any other day he’s seen it. We’d survived the climb but I didn’t make it back to the car without getting 3 leeches attached to me. 2 were still small and hadn’t sucked so much blood but the other 1 was a big fatty. Rocky burned him off of me and put salt on him. He shriveled and about 50ml of my blood oozed out of him. I didn’t think anything of it really until my leg wouldn’t stop bleeding for 5 hours. It was so embarrassing because I was helping Rocky serve food for a BBQ dinner for his guests. They were from the area so they understood. Then David woke up from his long journey hitchhiking from Fukuokua. He had been sleeping upstairs since 14:00. We prepared and ate our dinner in the candle lit darkness of nature with a running river next to us.

The whole experience this day has been fantastic. He knows what adventure is and he knows how to take care of his guests well. I highly recommend you to come here and give this a try!

7th DAY: Heaven!

Sleeping on sand or dirt is one thing, sleeping on wood is another. Funny thing is, I'm getting more and more used to always being on the floor, it's part of Japanese customs. I still prefer the western way though. My point is, our bungalow was nothing but a hut with a light. The campsite was surrounded by mountains, rivers and trees. A part of Japan probably 95% of tourists don't see. We hung out for a bit after we packed our bags because it was still raining. Apparently Gero, where we are going, is famous for its hot spring but that wasn't the reason we were going there. We wanted to see the gorge and waterfall that Rocky had talked so much about in Niseko. We figured it would never really stop raining so we decided to leave when it slowed down. About halfway there, we stopped for about 2 hours to do laundry, buy some groceries, and Rocky a gift (bottle of wine).

We arrived in Gero at about 16:30 and gave Rocky a call. He told us to meet him a bit further up the road. His wife came out to greet us. They were at her parents house preparing fish for a BBQ the next day for his guests. He was wearing a butcher's apron, had fishy hands, but I was happy to see him. We finally fulfilled our promise to visit him. After that, he needed some more groceries, then we went to his house, dropped off his stuff and went to an onsen. Yikes!

I avoided going to onsens while at Niseko because they're separated genders, you're surrounded by stark naked guys, and mainly, I'm a little uncomfortable walking around balls out. Rocky gave us a dinky little towel so to speak to cover up my dong. There were several baths, some were different temperatures, some sauna rooms, a mist room which was my favorite, couple outdoor ones and one very interesting one where you sit in a cubicle and your head is the only thing sticking out. It ended up being a fun experience. I'm not eager to do it again but I'll be more willing.

6th DAY: Close Call

We woke up to my cell alarm at 8am. Soon after we heard some noises outside. Nigel had a peak through the crack. There were several grounds keepers cutting down branches atop a 15m ladder. They were too busy to realize our scooters were right behind them under the facilities hut. We both got paranoid and packed our bags furiously. We didn’t want to get caught and have 5 guys yelling at us in Japanese. Then Nigel says they saw our scooters and went down to the main building to tell the others. That was our cue. We ran out, packed our bags onto our bikes, got on and rolled down the zig zag pathway downhill. As soon as we got out the front gates, I turned the ignition and sped off scott free.

We stopped at the lakeside park to regain our composure, take a bath and have breakfast. This is one of Nigel’s fears entering these campsites at night when there’s no one there and not paying. Someone catching us and getting the police involved. I don’t believe they would take it that far but it’s a possibility. Thus far, other than the 1st day where we could have gotten away but took too long, we hadn’t paid yet. But by the end of the day, we ended up paying for a bungalow later that night. It was 2520yen ($26). Originally, it was that price just to pitch the tent but after some negotiating, we talked him down from 6300yen. It was just a shelter with nothing in it but a light and a plug, very Japanese! Atleast it was out of the rain and wet ground for another night where we could dry our things from 2 nights before.

The next day, we’re supposed to meet up with Rocky Osaki and possibly David weather dependant. The drive through the mountains along the raging river has been breathtaking so far so I’m sure there’ll be more of that tomorrow. Really looking forward to it!

5th DAY: Wet n' Wonderful

At night, it rained continuously. I had woken up in a puddle. It was soaking through my sleeping bag and starting to get me wet, so needless to say I got up. It was 8am. I didn’t know what to do at first but then I remembered, there’s an outlet under some shelter with a desk at the camp reception that was closed. I brushed my teeth and ate some breakfast as I gazed into the lake soaking up its beauty and sounds. Then I plugged in my earphones, turned on my computer and started working on editing my videos while Nigel lay asleep in the continually growing puddle under our tent.

An hour or so later, Nigel woke up and we sat there waiting for the rain to stop. We talked and used our computers wishing for the same thing in the back of our minds. It didn’t stop until noon. We jumped onto our scooters and filled up our empty tanks for the journey ahead. But before we could even consider that, we moved all our stuff out of the tent and moved it all into some sheltered area to dry. We used that time wisely and did our blog entries.

We were finally ready by 4pm. Sad to say, this night coming is going to be our last night camping aside Lake Biwa. I miss it already. The next day will be in the mountains near Gero, where Rocky from Niss lives. I’ll get to that later. On the way, we stopped at a department store and did more shopping, this time to look for a tarp to solve our puddle problem. While there I bought a chair, batteries for my camera, rain jacket and my favorite ice cream bar for just 88yen.

About 2 hours later, we found our campsite. It was deserted, like the last place. It was the best place we’d found so far though. It had its own tents setup already. It even had a foam mat inside, and best of all, it was super spacious, you could even stand up in it. We also had our personal picnic table right outside our door. It was on the side of a hill looking down at the lake. Can’t wait to see the view in the morning, should be astonishing!

4th DAY: Rainy Season

I woke up early, restless. I felt sweaty and needed to take a bath in the lake. I unzipped the tent. It was going to be sunny, I could tell. I jumped in feeling at one with nature. There were others around so I tried to be discreet with the bar of soap. One guy was fishing, another lady was walking her dog and there was the grounds keeper. After I finished cleansing myself, he came up to me and started talking. I had no idea what he was saying. All I understood was that we couldn’t camp here, we needed to go around the corner. We were leaving that day anyways. We ate, packed, and were ready to go. That was when the rain started. Same weather as the day before. We covered up all our gear, I put on my raincoat and off we went. Nigel got soaked so we stopped under the overpass and waited for the rain to subside.

Not so long later, we were on the road again but didn’t know where so searched for an outlet. We found one, but what do you know, it started raining again, then left. We found a campsite at the north side. It was 4000yen so we kept searching. We found a prime spot further up (3rd campsite). Middle of nowhere campsite, no one around but us and a family of macau monkeys. We went for another bath, hid everything in the tent and food in our bikes, and off we went shopping.

3rd DAY: Thank You!

The day started early. Still tired from the 5 hours of sleep the previous night and 7 hours last night, I had to get up while Nigel got to sleep in. I had to go back to Kyoto, hope and pray my computer wasn’t taken and come back. I opted to use the train. It ended up costing me 1400yen ($15) but I had no energy to drive. 10 stations later, a transfer, 1 more station, and 20 minute walk, I arrived. I was a little alarmed at first when the workers at the restaurant had no idea what I was talking about but I figured Nigel was right, it would probably be at lost and found. They directed me to the information counter. Sure enough, it was there! So 4.5 hours of traveling later, I finally get to enjoy the beach. First thing I wanted when I got “home” was a bath. It’s been 2 full days without one and I’m sure I stunk. I cleaned, swam, and ate and then rested the rest of the day away after we decided we’d stay for another day here.

2nd DAY: F#$@&N Fiasco

All I have to say is, “what a series of bad events!” We started the day early. I could not sleep so I got out of the tent to eat breakfast. The caretaker of the campgrounds came over and said to me we needed to leave before 8am. It was 6:30. He said we could stay for free but at 8am when the others came, we would have to pay so we had to leave before then. We packed, and were ready to go but then he asks if we needed to use the computer to look for another place, so we did. Just then the others came and we did have to pay 520yen ($5.50) and they were staring and talking to us so we got nothing accomplished. With no plan we drove off and left our beautiful campsite.

We decided to drop off our bags at the nearest station and drive to Kyoto. Little did I know, Nigel didn’t like this plan. He wanted to take the train in and take public transport. I thought it would be convenient to have our bikes in the city and give ourselves some freedom. Partway there when we got a little lost, Nigel’s top blew off. We eventually found where we were and where we needed to go with some complications.

I wanted to go to the Emperor’s Imperial Palace because it looked big and thought it may be similar to the Imperial Palace in China. Boy was I wrong. The interesting parts were all closed off because it was Sunday and the grounds were nothing but trees and grass, boring! We then decided on Nanken Temple. It was a huge area with many temples surrounding it. We looked around, went for a hike up a trail to another shrine area but still not so interesting. Golden Palace sounded good. It was 400yen to do a 5 minute ircle around the place. The palace was okay but again, meh. We were done sightseeing for the day.

My scooter headlight was busted and we planned to do a lot of night driving so we went to look for a scooter shop. None to be found! We drove circles all over town. We got sent to Autobacs, Leo Moto, saw Honda and others. We called the bike rental place and told them about the problem. By now it was 6:30pm and getting dark. They suggested a shop but it closed at 7pm and it was too far. The 2nd one they suggested was closer but it was off the map. We flew to Kyoto Station, got the location and raced there. We arrived at 3 minutes to 8pm. They had the light, YIPPEE, but it was 2900yen ($30). Good thing the rental shop will pay me back at the end of the month. They’d better!

Relaxed and happy, we went to the mall to find dinner. We had burgers and smoothies. We hung out there to use the computers and charge our batteries. I went to the bathroom, came back and got kicked out at 10pm when the mall closed. On our way back towards the train station to pick up our bags and then look for another campsite 20km or more in the dark, I realized I had forgotten my computer in the restaurant. Smooth move Dennis! I had to go back the next day to pick it up. I was now relying on Japanese people’s honesty to get my computer back.

What a cursed day!

1st DAY: Fun!

We got to the bike shop at 13:30 and were on the road by 14:00. It felt good to be on a scooter again. We drove back to the guesthouse to pick up our bags then we were off, out of Osaka. They say Osaka is famous for their cuisine but I didn’t care. The place didn’t have any visual appeal at all, I needed out. We did Universal Studios and that was enough. We plan to do all the other attractions on a 2000yen special offer when we got back to drop off the scooters. But for now, we’re off to Biwa Lake, the biggest lake in all of Japan to go camping. We plan to do the rest of Japan this way. Sure we had to pay 41000yen for the scooter rental for an entire month but transportation in this country is real expensive and we’re going to save heaps on accommodation which hit me the hardest while in Okinawa. Plus, how do you expect to find campsites using public transport? Where’s the adventure in that? We’re going to be different than the other 99% of tourists that come here.

The road system is confusing as hell. Highways change number then change back later, they’ll take a detour around and come back to the same road as before further up, roads don’t have street names for both streets of an intersection, there are millions of intersections everywhere, and of course, routes aren’t clearly labeled most of the time. We eventually got there without too much difficulty, thanks to a bit of preplanning the night before. On the way, we went through some quiet mountain roads with quaint little Japanese style towns that were nestled in next to the mountains, cute. Lovely small city atmosphere when we got to the river leading to the lake. There were people canoeing, running, strolling riverside all around. This is the scenery and lifestyle I’m going to look for when I stop traveling and working.

When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised. We were on a small island, in the middle of a massive lake. The campgrounds were well kept but had no showers but the location was great! My biggest complaint though is those stupid mosquitoes. Is there a place in this world that mosquitoes don’t live?

Universal Studios Osaka, Japan

This was the first time I've been to any theme park associated with Hollywood. I was looking forward to seeing Goofy, Donald, Mickey n'stuff... But I guess it wasn't Disneyland so, unfortunately, they weren't all there. I saw Betty Boop, Sesame Street, Snoopy and gang, Peter Pan crew there, that's it, but they also had rides. It was like taking a step back into time. They were all from the 90's. These are the rides we did go on:

First, we went into 3D Spiderman (meh), then 3D T2 (well done show but must get rid of weirdo hostess talkin' a mile a minute before the show!), did I mention we're in Japan and everything is in JAPANESE?, 3D Back to the Future (crap), Jurassic Park boat ride (entertaining), Backdraft (fire room was cool but before that, they just talked for 15 minutes in 2 other rooms), Peter Pan outdoor theater show (excellent), Hollywood Dream roller coaster (could be better), Jaws boat ride (some lady blaring her screechy voice on the mike and not so scary), 3D Woody Woodpecker (very good acting & funny!), 4D Sesame Street (lame) and finally Peppermint Patty's waterslide in a boat (got soaking wet ass). It already started raining during the Peter Pan show but this was the icing. Then we found out, the parade of all the characters wasn't happening because of the rain which is why we went there, to waste time. So we left.

On the way to the train station, we hit up a restaurant. Amazingly, we found one that wasn't 200% normal price, great food and free non-alcoholic beverages, I think, we just helped ourselves because everyone else was. I had a great time but it was still lacking the big rides so I'll have to say I'm a little disappointed. There won't be a big recommendation for a $60 entrance. Off to find another bigger, better one than that! Tell you when I do!