Emma and Tim from New Zealand - Honshu

On the spur of the moment, Emma and I rented a Yamaha FJR1300AS from Rental819 in Ikebukuro for several days. The booking process was remarkably easy, and I was really impressed at how we were forwarded plenty of information in advance about the rental process, road rules in Japan, and the bike itself (including a PDF of the FJR1300 user manual!).

Picking up the bike was very straightforward – we chose jackets and helmets, checked over the bike, paid the rental fee, packed the panniers, and got on our way. I had initially been concerned that a Japanese rental company might not have appropriately-sized gear, but the shop had several viable options.

Over the course of seven days we covered about 1500km. To give an idea of how far you can comfortably travel, our route was:

Day 1. Tokyo-Hamamatsu (250km)

Day 2. Hamamatsu-Nagoya (115km)

Day 3. Nagoya-Kyoto (130km)

Day 4. Rest

Day 5. Kyoto-Katsuyama-Kyoto (400km)

Day 6. Kyoto-Nara-Nagoya (200km)

Day 7. Nagoya-Tokyo (350km)

We had initially planned to do the trip by train, but the rental fee, toll fees, and fuel costs added up to be only marginally more than that of two JR rail passes.

When we booked the bike, I hadn’t been aware that June/July is a ‘rainy season’ in Japan. We were lucky enough to have pockets of excellent weather; whenever we got caught in the rain, though, it was relatively safe to soldier on, given that Japanese roads are extremely well-engineered, and drivers seem to be reasonably level-headed.

Other visitors to Japan will be oblivious to the existence of the small towns, farms, and landscapes that we were privileged enough to ride through. The Shinkansen might be convenient for intercity travel, but nowhere near as fun as a bike, and can’t get you in to those out-of-the-way places that can make a vacation unique.

Josep from Spain - Tokyo, Hakone, Izu

Josep from Spain rented a Harley Davidson Street 750 to take weekend trips from Tokyo and he wrote a great article about it! This is an extract:

"It finally happened, after all this years riding my Harley Davidson in Europe, and my trips to Japan, I could combine the two aspects of my trips for a weekend ride on the Central Japan roads. An experience that was for long time in my bucket list, and it’s still at the top of my list. Why? Even before returning the Harley Davidson at the Rental 819 store, I was already planning the next road trip.

On the first day, I took the Hakone mountain roads and enjoyed, almost alone on the road all the way to the lake Ashi. At this point, I started to see more fellow riders around the road. After some sightseeing around the lake and the shrine, I went for lunch to a small local restaurant next to the lake. In front of my table, there was a map of the whole Hakone area and roads, which led me to my improvised afternoon trip to Odawara castle, only half an hour from the lake and the chance to enjoy more mountain road before going home.

Second day, I planned to get even further. The ocean skyline was awaiting on a really bright day. Passed again through Hakone on the Expressway and got on the road to take the Izu skyline parkway. A scenic road that goes all the way North to South of the Izu peninsula. The views were splendid, and even that the whole ride took one hour non-stop, I wasn’t tired at all. I was way too motivated for it to be tired. My last stop was at Mt. Omuro, an old volcano, used as a scenic tourist spot."

Looking forward to use your services again on my next trip.

Greetings,

Josep

You can read the whole article on this blog: Hype in Tokyo

Daniel from Canada - Fuji and Izu Peninsula

Daniel rented his dreambike, a Ducati Streetfighter, and his girlfriend rented a Ducati Scrambler to do a tour around mount Fuji and Izu peninsula:

It was great, we got to experience everything we expected and more! All the staff at Rental819 and the stores were wonderful to work with! Will rent again for sure!!

Aaron from USA - Honshu, Kyushu

One Thousand plus miles of Japan via 125 CC Suzuki Street Axis

...Upon being asked where we were planning on going at the rental shop, we replied casually with "hoping to make it to Kyushuu". "Eeeeeeehhhhhhh" was the response we received...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the full report from his trip in his blog:
http://aliiken.blogspot.jp/2015/05/one-thousand-plus-miles-of-japan-via.html

Evo from Hong Kong - Kyoto

It was a really good experience to rent a bike from Rental 819 to explore Kyoto! When I decided to rent a bike for my Kyoto trip, I searched on internet, I found Rental 819, and started to contact their agent. They replied me extremely fast! And sent me all the information that I needed! Unfortunately the first day I arrived to Kyoto it was raining, I had no choice but to cancel the booking.

Luckily the weather was good on the next day, so I sent an email to reschedule my booking in the morning. They were really helpful and confirmed me very shortly! And I really had a good time with the Kawasaki W800 in Kyoto! I really appreciate about the service they provided! I am sure that I will choose Rental819 in the near future when I visit Japan! Thank you so much :)

PS: I also bought a shoei helmet in the shop! The price was really reasonable!

Evo

 

Michael from USA - Honshu

The bike was in perfect condition (Honda NC750X). I made about 1,600km: from Tokyo to Fuji, few lakes and passes around the mount, then to Kofu, Takayama and Kanazawa through the small winding roads and passes. From there I rode to Kyoto and then back to Tokyo, sidetracking to the Izu peninsula and it's mountain and coastal roads.

It is incredibly easy to ride in Japan, the roads are excellent, the drivers are unbelievably polite and careful and everyone drives responsibly. Did not see any car accident too.

Few advices: My trip happened in November 12 - 22. It is getting a bit cold in the mountains especially after 3 - 4 pm. Need to dress appropriately or ride in the warmer part of the year. The foliage time was mostly over in the mountains too. I have not booked any hotels in advance - just rented it from my phone over the Internet at the end of each day where it happened to be. Had always been able to find something in vicinity of 10 miles for $30 - $80 /night except Tokyo and Kyoto. Well, it is possible that in season the situation with the hotels can be different.

The country is beautiful and the food is great, plus a lot of interesting places everywhere. Between the few English road signs and the google maps on the smart phone (plus Bluetooth head phones) I had no problems finding my ways. I do not speak or read any Japanese at all. 

Joe from USA - Honshu

We had an excellent motorcycle trip in Japan. The BMW R1200RT we rented was like new (2,100 km) and the staff at Rental 819 BMW Yokohama were friendly and helpful.

We rode about 1,700 km making stops in Chichibu, Yuzawa, Kanazawa, Norikura, Kofu, and Shuzenji. The highlight of the trip was riding the area around Mt Fuji as we rode from Kofu to Shuzenji.

We hope to ride in Japan in the future with friends from the USA and will definitely rent from Rental 819 again.

Aloha, Joe