Riding Without Maps

We left at about 8:30 yesterday morning and got home before 3 p.m. today - so really, we didn't go too far or ride too hard, but it was a great getaway and a chance to explore an area we'd never before ventured. Because we were familiar with the road, and sort of knew where we were going, we didn't even pack any maps, which made the return a bit more fun. And, extra bonus - we even found a here-to-fore unknown road that is our ticket to a glorious ride right to Yamanakako!

Going to Nanasawa onsen, we took the 246, which is a Prefectural Highway, but is not too heavily trafficked once beyond Gotemba. We made a pitstop ot McDonald's and a motorbike shop, then continued our way to the Nanasawa onsen area.

We arrived a bit early, and did some touring around the area, which had a lot of bear warning signs posted. Despite the promises, however, we didn't see a single bear.

We stayed at the Fukumatsu Ryokan, which had seen better days. The tatami in the rooms was old, the wallpaper was yellowed with age and peeling away from the wall, and the chandeliers in the stairwells, once perhaps glamorous, were mainly burned out and featured moth carcasses inside.

However, the location in the quiet town, the hospitality of the owners, and gorgeous meals, and the absolutely perfect outdoor wooden bath made up for it.

Dinner was an elaborate spread that included fresh fried fish, inoshishi nabe (wild boar 'soup'), and, most interesting of all, shika sashi - raw deer. The deer meat was actually frozen, and honestly tasted better than when cooked - we were able to compare because Brian, against all polite custom, sneaked the deer meat into the boiling soup to cook it!

Coming home was even better riding. Our bikes were still in the zone, and as we got an early start and were in no hurry, we just cruised around rather aimlessly, checking out one scenic place and another, planning to turn back and retrace our route along the busy 246, until we saw a sign pointing the way to Yamanakako, an area we are quite familiar with. So, after cheating a little by checking a book of maps at a nearby convenience store, we decided to chance this unplanned route.

We then also found a whole new (to us) road back home from the lake, which was windy and scenic, and had none of the traffic of our usual Yamanaka route, and offered a majestic view of the lake to boot...

And, as often happens when venturing out and about, we met a few fellow motorcyclists, a couple of older gentlemen, one of whom offered to get a shot of us together...

Not far from home, we decided to stop for a bit of a 'refresca' at our very favourite place, the Gotemba Kogen Beer Hall:

And finally - I made a little map or our route:
View Motorbike loop - Susono-Nanasawa-Yamanakako-Susono in a larger map