24th DAY: Mt. Fuji

The previous day was a gorgeous sunny day so I figured today would be the same. It was cloudy but they didn’t look so ominous. We didn’t have far to go so we prayed we’d have a clear day so we could get a good photo of Mt. Fuji. About half hour into our trip guess what happened? It’s quite predictable. We stopped to try to wait it out. We had to do some things on the computer anyways. About an hour later, we were good to go. It was clear for the rest of the ride until we got to the mountain. We had to stop again at a supermarket, under a sheltered area and waited some more. Of course Fuji wasn’t visible so all we could do is pray for a clearing in the next 40 hours. Nigel has seen it from the air before and wasn’t nearly as concerned as I was.

We had many campsites around the lake to choose from. We chose the one across the lake so the view would be good if it decided to show itself. By now, it was already night so we’d have to wait. We had a quick drive around the lake and checked out the surroundings. It was cool it wasn’t overly developed, as I thought it would be. It just had small pockets of towns sparsely located. It still had its natural feel. We then went into town for dinner and that was the end of the day. We were going to Fuji Q Highlands the next day, Japan’s biggest rollercoaster amusement park.

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.

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.

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?