Ride Report Osaka to Hokkaido

SEPT. 12
Packing up
Fruit stands
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SEPT. 14
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September 11, 2003 - Thursday

From South Osaka I got on the Hanshin loop line ￥700 and extension down to Matsubara to get on the Nishi Meihan 西名阪. This is far and away the fastest way out of the congested center of Osaka. At some point this turns into route 25 which connects up to the meihan highway at Kameyama 亀山. To get from Matsubara to Kameyama will involve about 2 more toll booths totaling less than￥1,000. From Kameyama  you can take the Higashi Meihan Highway 東名阪 up to and around Nagoya. In fact this was a mistake as a much faster and shorter trip through Nagoya can be found by going UNDER the city. (see blue blurb at right)

At the Nagoya Interchange (I.C.) you will head north for about 15 km you will be able to change to the Chuo expressway 中央 which begins at the point where you join it. In the afternoon, when I traveled on it the road was fantastic. Most of the surface is new high composite blacktop. At this time of day the traffic was quite light and I was able to make some serious time and throw the feeling of cramped city life far behind me. This highway also has plenty of rest areas that have food and gasoline so there is no need to exit the toll road. With dark coming on it was along this point that the prospect of not having a schedule and nothing to do but ride my Harley for 18 days really began to sink in. Freedom.

At the Okaya 岡谷 junction you should opt for the Nagano 長野Highway (west of the lake). The markings are not clear and as it was dark I continued on the Chuo line around the south side of lake Suwa 諏訪. As a result I had to exit at Suwa IC and head back through Suwa city to try and find route 142. I chose this winding mountain road as it was the only place in striking distance that seemed to have any campgrounds nearby. Once I got back to Okaya I quickly found NR142 and headed North in the dark damp night. It seems that I had stumbled on to a favorite road of long haul truckers. This road was packed with large colorfully lit trucks. About half way up the mountain NR142 splits. Thinking I was farther along than I was I took the left option which seemed to be the place where the campgrounds were. What I should have done was take the Shin Wada Tunnel
 新和田トンネル. Despite the ￥300 charge it was straight and fast. At 8:30 pm in full dark the other option was not a positive experience. That and the fact that the road was packed with truckers (using this route to escape the massive truck toll) had the acceleration of a snail on the steep mountain road.

While going through Okaya and along 142 I saw these flying objects shooting around the street lamps. At first I though they must be bats feasting on the bugs drawn to the bright and warm lights. These creatures were that big. I later discovered that the flying things were in fact moths. They are just unbelievably large. About 20 cm across. I learned these things on my return trip when I met one up close and personal. More on this later.

After clearing this section I continued on NR142 to Wada village 和田村. Finding the signs for the auto camps nigh shy to impossible in the full on dark. This along with the loud nature of the pipes on my bike and I wanted to get in and settled in as early as possible so as not to disturb the other campers. Had I become too Japanese in my ways?

By 9:30 pm I finally gave up looking for the better campgrounds and settled on the Miyashita Hills Auto camp ミヤシタヒルズオートキャンプ. As I entered there were no signs of life and the front office was covered with cob webs. I went to the first camp site and set up my tent on the wooden freight pallets that they had for the camping sites. The fact that the wood on these was rotted and broke easily gave an indication that possibly this camp had been closed longer than since the end of August. I set up my tent and settled in for my first night of sleeping under the stars, while a light rain began falling.

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(Take the Ring route and head the center of the city. About halfway through you should take teh road towards Higashiyama 東山This will also afford you the option of entering the Toumei 東名expressway at the
Nagoya 名古屋  Junction on the east side of the city. In this case the last 6 km will be under ground. At the Nagoya JCT you can head south towards Hamamatsu and Fuji or North towards the Chuo 中央 expressway.)

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No one is home.
In the lower right hand corner you can see the pallets lined up for safe camping.-

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September 12, 2003 - Friday

The next morning I woke up and slowly began to pack up the bike. I figured that if someone was to want to hit me up for a camping fee, they would have about 30 minutes to come looking for me. Several locals drove by but no one stopped. So by a very late 9:30 I was off and on my way on NR142 again. the road continued to be a two lane blacktop winding through a valley of farming communities. About 15 minutes after starting out I got my first taste of life in the wild with an open face helmet. I was putting along at about 45 miles and hour when something slammed into my face just above and right between my eyes. I quickly swiped it away realizing that it was some kind of bug. But man, did it hurt. I looked down and there on the front of my vest were a pair of mating dragonflies. They were huge! They were also still alive and crawling around on the front of my riding vest. I again quickly swiped them away and returned my attention to the road.

Thirty minutes into the day I came to the junction of NR152 and headed north towards the Joshinetsu
 上信Expressway. On NR 152 I happened upon a Lawson's Convenience store and stopped for breakfast. A quart of milk, some fruit and a sandwich.

I got on the Joshinetsu 上信 at the Ueda??Hira
上田菅平 I.C. Taking this for about 60 km north I decided to exit at Toyota Iiyama 豊田飯山. This decision was aided by the fact that the main fuel tank on the bike had run dry about 5 km before this exit. A quick stop to switch to the reserve tank and I was on my way again. From Toyota Iiyama I used NR 117 to take me up to the Kanetsu 関越 Expressway. NR117 follows several valleys and is a rather scenic route. Along here there were countless roadside stands run by local farmers. I stopped at one near Toukamachi city. At Echigo Kawaguchi 越後川口I.C. I headed north on the Kanetsu Expressway. The