The romance we enjoyed of riding through Japan yesterday has definitely been tarnished, the traffic seems slower, the day more humid. The temptation to jump on the expressway has been there all day but the cost is insane. We’d jump on the expressway out of the airport and 8km of riding had set us back $20. A few hours would set us back $100’s

By days end we’d found a small campground, and paid for our first accommodation seen leaving Tokyo. As the only campers the evening did feel a little lonely and the humid wet air and still falling rain made for a wet evening. We’ll make an early start tomorrow. We’ve made a decision to head for Jim and Trish’s in Yokohama, from where we’ll base ourselves for a few days and head out to explore Mount Fuji.

With Jim’s kind help we’d dragged our bags up to their 11th floor apartment and collapsed. Amongst new friends and having soaked and srubbed the road grime from our bodies in the their wonderful Japanese bathroom the day suddenly didn’t seem so long, with a drink in hand we loughed and chatted until past midnihght

The smart sparten door’s of Obey-son traditional home slid open and we were at once welcome in, our outdoor shoes swapped for traditional indoor slippers. Obey-son’s wife bowing and bidding us welcome. With in minutes we’re beeig led through a multitude of small but immaculate rooms, each with a clear and separate identity and purpose. With introductions mad ein the reception room Obey-son ask’s us to follow him into the ‘tea-room’, gently explainging the importance and value of the room, the invitation and the time we will spend there. “Every moment is unique, each introduction to someone new a single opportunity. We must make sure to have a good conversation” Obey-son explains in soft round English. We already know we like him. There is a sincretiy about him that is admirable, comforting and noble. Sat at low tables his wife enters, kneels, placing the tray of tea on the Tatami matting, bows and waits for Obey-son to gesture her to serve. Lisa, Jim and I wait to sip on the hot bright green frothy tea unitll Oby-son has taken first sip. The slightly Sout tea taste unusual but good. We watch as Obey-son’s wife takes her wide lipped mug in her right hand, turngin it 3 times clock-wise with the left. Outisde just past sliding rice paper walls I can hear the trickling of water as giant coy swim and stone lined pond at the base of the tumbling water.

Instatly I reminded of my dad, and the hours we’d spend together watching the TV drama Shogun on British TV. He’d love this. I wish he was here.

The moss green paint on the walls enhances the feeling of the impeccably design garden flowing into the interior living area. The home had been designed and constructed 40-years earlier by Obey-son’s wife’s father. A tall densly packed thicket of bamboo rubs and whispers moved by the wind. From the external wooden walkway a precisely laid rock path meanders around larger boulders to the heavy set wooden fence that protects this sanctuary.

Two hours later, the tea’s been drunk and we are loughing out loud sipping on Japanese beer. We’ve snacked on neatly cut crustless sandwhichs,each sliced with suregeon like precision. This is just too cool!

We move to the garden each of doing our best to fight off, the attach of giant steroid fed tiger mosquittos. I fail miserabley but things are about to get bizarre. Happily accepting the help of Obey-son to apply some traditional Japanese mozzy’ remedy to my forehead, to ease the monster bite over my right eye brow, Obey-son accidently applies a little tto much of the alchohol based potion, it trickles straight down and into my eye and my afternoon of controlled polite behavior comes to a sudden and shocking end. “Oooooh yaaaa fuuuckin’ baaaastard” I shout suprising my self as much as anyone. With my eyes on fire, I feel Lisa’s horrified stare, more than see it, Oh c’mon it was a knee jerk reaction. In the ensuing moments Jim rushes off to get some water, practically decapitiating himself in the effort, by the time I can eopen my eye, Everyone including Obey-son is in hysterics. Jim’s stood over me looking like an extra from the film ‘Fight Club’ a bright red stream of blood trickling from the open gash on the top of his head, down his forehead into his eye and down his cheek. I’ve said it before…you simply couldn’t make this stuff up! Just check out the video below, you get the idea.

With a level of composure finally re-gained we thank Obey-son and his wife for their incredible hospitiality (and understanding), and kindness. The three of us carrying on laughing as we walk the hill back to Jim’s apartment.

With Lisa in her element later in the pm, we’ve walked around a supermarket and are steadidly tucking into esqusite sushi Bento box back at the apartment. Each delicate mouthful a treat.

We round of the day with a wonderful meal in Yokosuka-chou just two train stops away. With beers cold beer, amazing food and new friends and out-loud laughter it’s hard not to love life.

I was looking for the words to describe this experience and then got an email from our good friends Danny, who'd visited Japan just weeks earlier. It makes my laugh out loud every time I read, and so i figured why re-invent the wheel, his descriptive is brilliant. I dare you not to laugh!

Just bear in mind that Danny's an Australian so you have to read with an 'Auzzie accent', crocodile Dundee fashion....enjoy!

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"I’ve finally figured out how to operate the toilet in my room without it hosing me down when ever i push a button.

Japanese toilets! Wow! The seat is heated, a bit unnerving if you’re not used to it, you almost want to look around the room, a seat that warm, usually has had a bum sitting on it.

The armrest (!) has a few buttons with pictures, which I have figured out to be:

A: A direct shot right up the clacker. This button has three settings – gentle, medium and brush your teeth. I really had to tighten my sphincter with this last setting.

B: An angled shot, probably more effective if I had a vagina. This one really tickles my balls.

C: An express hair dryer/bum dryer

D: I haven’t figured this one out yet. Kanji characters, I’ve pressed this one a few times and it doesn’t appear to do anything. Maybe its ordering room service? Powering up the webcam? I have no idea.

So that’s it, going to the bathroom has never been so much fun, I can now swagger around out in the big world knowing that yes, my bum IS minty fresh!'

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Warm bums aside, a highlight for me were visiting the Tsukayama Park, which is the site of the tomb of William Adams (or Miura Anjin, in Japanese) and his wife. You may have read James Clavell’s Shogun, or perhaps you are ancient enough to have watched the mini-series on TV in 1980. The story is based on the life of William Adams.

This whole area of town is named, Anjinzuka. Anjinzuka means “burial mound of the pilot” (pilot as in nautical piloting). “Aoi me no samurai” (Blue-eyed Samurai) is the local sake named after Adams. It’s worth looking out ofr and taste great. We found it in the Yokosuka area.
The English captain who was shipwrecked in Kyshu in 1600 could have had no idea of the legend he’d create. After Adams was shipwrecked, the first shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, made him teach ship building and other military technologies. Adams built the shogun an English-style sailing ship in 1604, and then completed a 120-ton ocean-going ship. In return, Ieyasu gave Adams a fief in Hemi (now in Yokosuka City). Adams married a Japanese woman and had two children with her. He chose to stay in Japan, often acting as a diplomat between Japan and other nations attempting to trade with Japan in Nagasaki. He had some trade and exploration adventures in China and Okinawa before he died in Nagasaki in 1620. There are several monuments to the “blue-eyed samurai”: one where he was shipwrecked in Kyushu, one in Nagasaki, one where he lived in Tokyo, and one near Anjinzuka Station (on the Keikyu line).

Adam’s was in fact instrumental in convicing the Japaense Lord that the Europeans would come in short order and would attempt to colonise Japan. 200-years of self imposed exclusion from the rest of the world followed. A fundamental choice that helped Japan to retain the complex culture we see and experience today.

Lisa is instructed on how to wear an authentic Kamono.

Amongst the fun stuff we’ve had to focus on getting us and our bikes over to Russia. Time is pressing and our precious Mongilian visa will be starting soon.
As Jim and Trisha’s guest we were signed onto the city like US Navy base hre in … and ended up paying what we thought was going to be a short visit to the ITT (Information, Tours and Tickets) department. The US navy puts on an entire department for the naval force here (enlisted and officers) just to fascilitate an easier means of getting around Japan, buying tickets to anything, arranging holidays, the lot. Basically a giant tour operator but just for the navy.

Well, inside we’d thought we’d ask if they were able to help us with purchasing our tickets to Vladivostock.

We now have our ferry booking confirmed with FKK Air Service Co. (yes, they are the ferry company) Main address is:
4-56, Shimozeki-machi, Takoaka city, Toyama, Japan, 933-0021. Tel: from inside Japan 81-766-22-2212 FAX: 81-766-22-7456 Telephone number for the Fushiki branch is 81-766-44-0106
Email: fkk-airser@p2332.nsk.ne.jp
The reservation manager is Shiotani.
Website: www.bisintour.com

It has cost us 44,000 yen each for a 4 person shared cabin (2 bunk beds) and 17,000 yen per bike. A total of 122,000 yen – which is around $1300. ‘Gulp’. We were then told that the ferry company would only accept money from a Japanese bank account….luckily Jim did us the favors here and we handed him our precious yen whilst he arranged to transfer payment on our behalf! Then we were told that the ferry wasn’t running on July 24th (usually this is stated on the website but no mention of this date!) and so the earliest date we could leave would be Friday 31st. Ah – oh dear – we had estimated that we would be in Mongolia by then…..our Mongolian visa starts July 27th.
After the FAX request was sent to the FKK offices and confirmation was received we left a little shell-shocked at the cost – although we did know before it’s still a lot of money to hand over in one go!
We will provide GPS refs in later diary when we actually arrive at the port and also in our downloadable GPS file which is one the front of our website.

So we’re now going to be in Japan a little longer than we’d first thought that said we’ve have some unbelievable luck. Good friends of Jim and Trisha’s are overseas and were keen to have a couple look after their home and walk the dog. With the help of Jim, we’ve packed up our bags and are now settled for the next week on the other side of Anjisuka on the Miura Peninsula. From here we can set out to visit the giant Budha shrine at… and pay a vist to Mount Fuji.

It’s hard not too fall in love with Japan.

If you're interested in getting a copy of the booking form with an English and Japaense translation then here it is. It's an Excel file and you can use to book your crossing. Just click the link for the file.

In desperation we pulled into Kraft BMW, one of the very few BMW bike dealers we’ve seen here in Japan and with our phrase book in hand did our best to get directions. By the time we’d left ‘Kraft’ we had a hand drawn map, two meters of 12 amp electrical wire, so I can fix Lisa’s new horn and even managed to pick up an orange indicator lens. My right rear had simply fallen off a week ago. I’d asked how much was the bill and been told (with the shake of a head) that there was no bill. Now that was a surprise. Everything else in Japan cost a small fortune. With our thanks expressed we hit the road and 5 minutes later had found the illusive highway.

We were heading out to see if we could see Mount Fuji. We had been checking on the local webcams in that area to see if Mount Fuji could be seen at all…but no – for the last week and a half it had been covered with cloud. Well – today was our last chance as we were then going to be heading on up to Matsumoto before going onto the ferry town.

By early afternoon we’d made good progress and had parked up on the edge of one of the 5 lakes around the ice capped volcano. We then waited and waited and…waited. We were convinced it was going to ‘come out and play’…..it did partially! Well, better than it had done for over a week! However, we will have to come back to see it in its full glory, someday.

It was now 4 pm and we needed to reach Matsumoto by nightfall. Now, Matsumoto wasn’t far, but in Japanese terms it could take us another 6 hours! That was too depressing to contemplate. It’s not the Japan isn’t stunning but sitting astride a stinking hot engine, stuck in traffic sweating our asses off into a codura bike suit, whilst sitting at a million traffic lights. YUK!!!

We said to hell with the expense and hopped on the expressway, it was dark b the time we reached Matsumoto – we had made good time but it had cost us just over $23 each.

Off the highway we needed to find route 158, the large blue sign marked “158” was a bit of a clue. There’s meant to be a ton of camping but without reading Kanji we are basically illiterate. Not What were the signs for ‘campsite’ – we couldn’t remember – and it was dark! Shit!
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So we’re now half way up a mountain, we’ve headed down an unmarked lane and found a small grassy area that’s looks horribly like a memorial site. In the pitch black we’re kept our fingers crossed it isn’t and pitched the tent. We find out tomorrow.