Hyde from Singapore - Kanagawa

SHOUNAN SUMMER RIDE

Went back to Kanto for summer vacation where I was staying in Yuigahama, in Kamakura, for 3 days. Decided to rent a bike from Rental819’s Fujisawa Outlet for 2 days in the Shounan area. It was my first time riding in Japan and was very nervous about it, since I had not rode a bike for ages. Takamatsu-san of Fujisawa Outlet was very helpful and detailed in briefing me about riding in Japan, and in order to regain my riding confidence, he advised me to test ride/ familiarize with the bike just outside the alley of the driving school for 3 rounds and without knowing, I just took it off to the main roads from there.

I have chosen Honda VTR250 for the start since I wasn’t that ready to take control of a 400CC bike. If you are a fan of V-Twin engines or “Mini Ducati”, this bike is one of the considerations. 

After catching a movie and dinner at Tsujido’s Terrace Mall Shounan, it was already dark. I decided to take a relaxing night ride along the Shounan’s coast to Enoshima to chill-out, before ending the day back at my hostel.

Day 2 was a day trip to Miura Peninsula. Had simple breakfast outside a 7-11 convenient store after setting off from my hostel.

 

First stop was visiting the late X-Japan’s guitarist, hide. Wasn’t much of a trouble getting there as I have been in the Shounan area couple of times.

After paying respect to hide, headed further south to Jougashima, the most southern end of Miura Peninsula. This is actually one of the reasons a bike is needed, because there is limited public transport getting here from Misakiguchi/ Miura Kaigan stations. Brought my Pikachu along as my traveling partner. For nature lover, you wouldn’t regret coming to this isolated corner of the peninsula.

It’s all about fresh seafood at Misaki Port. Had lunch at one of the Shokudou around the fishing port area in Jougashima

Had a short exploration around the fishing port area in Jougashima after lunch.

While on the way back to Kamakura from Jougashima, stopped by several places which are worth visiting for. The first, being Arasaki Park. Which is well known for one of Kanagawa Prefecture’s scenic spot. 

From Arasaki Park, decided to take a photoshoot for the bike at this special spot. This particular alley which was facing the sea, was being used by renowned singer-song writer YUI in her music video, “I Remember You”. 

Setting off from Hayama town, I stopped by Shichirigama Beach for a rest, before the last run of the day. It is one of my favorite spot in Shounan and I had always come here in the past by Enoden. It is also a stage for the famous Japanese movie “Taiyou no Uta” starring YUI and Tsukamoto Takeshi

Shounan is also well known for its beaches. The Southern C at Chigasaki is a landmark for it. Not the first time here, but the first time with a bike in front of the C. With the kinen shashin at Chigasaki, I returned the white stallion back to Fujisawa Outlet with a fulfilling Shounan Summer Ride. I told myself:　今度、ここに帰ってくる時、「県を越える旅」をしようぜ。

HYDE

FROM SINGAPORE

RENTAL PERIOD: 2017-08-09 TO 2017-08-10 @ FUJISAWA OUTLET

Vanessa and Camillo from Italy - All Japan

Dear Rental819,

I write to thank you. My husband and I had a very good experience in Japan. Our trip was wonderful without problems. We want to thank  the guys of Rental819 shop in Narita Airport, they were very kind and professional with us.

We hope to come back in Japan next year for visit the north of the country...by motorcycle..of course!

hope to write you again next year.

Kind regards,

Vanessa and Camillo

Withidchai and Boom from Thailand - Mount Fuji & Hakone

Dear Rental819

Thank you very much all for the kind service and arrangements.

From the moment we sent an inquiry until we returned the motorcycle it couldn't have been better.

The staff is so friendly and has a great service attitude in mind. And the motorcycle was in perfect condition. I was very impressed. If I have another chance to visit Japan I will definitely contact Rental 819 again.

Please pass my GRATEFUL REGARDS AND BIG THANK YOU to the staff at the shop too.

Yours sincerely,


Boom and Withidchai

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

Kaifa from Singapore - Kansai

Kaifa rented a MT09 Tracer from Osaka and went to visit one of the three most famous views of Japan: Amanohashidate, north of Kyoto prefecture. When he came back he sent us this nice e-mail and pictures:

Thank you for making things so easy! I had a great time with the bike. I also want to thank the staff at the shop in Osaka for their help! 

Here's some pictures I took!

Looking forward to my next ride!

Anthony from Lebanon - Kansai

I had a great ride and easy rent. Roads are in great condition, lots of nice off the beaten path roads! 

I started in Osaka > Kobe > Awaji > Naoshima > Okayama> Himeji > Osaka

I have a couple of friends coming in September we will probably rent a couple of bikes. 

Best,

Anthony 

Mr. and Mrs. B.David from U.K. - Hokkaido

Mr and Mrs. B.David rented a Yamaha FJR1300AS with side panniers, top case and GPS from Rental819 Shin Chitose Airport in Hokkaido and toured the northern Island for one week. Upon their return they sent us the below e-mail with some beautiful pictures. Thank you!! :)

Our trip in Hokkaido was absolutely beautiful. Great location, views, people, food and biking roads! Really loved it. Rental819, provided us with excellent service and very friendly support. Thanks for all the help in planning. I attach a few pictures.

Thanks again and looking forward to our next trip in Japan!

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!!

Conor from USA - Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi

Conor from the US rented a MT07 from our shop in Ikebukuro to go to visit Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. December and January is cold, but it is when the sky is more clear and Mount Fuji can be viewed better ;)
He sent us this nice comment and video:

The MT07 was such a great bike, and I was lucky enough to catch the mountain unobscured from lake Kawaguchiko.

Thanks to Rental819 for being a great bunch of guys. I'll definitely be back with some friends in a few months!

Here's a small clip of the trip:

I'll miss u, Fuji-San. 😢🗻 #yamaha makes a killer bike. #nsx #mtfuji #travel #fujisan #ridemotorcycleshavefun #japan #beautiful #washedout Thanks to #rental819 for being a great bunch of guys.

コナー マクイヌさん(@_cmcqueen)が投稿した動画 - 2016 1月 13 6:19午前 PST

Sami from Finland - All Japan

I just want to thank Rental819 for helping us to arrange our trip in Japan. 

Everything went well and we are very happy with the roads, scenery, people and basically everything in Japan.

We managed to visit all the places we intended to, so from that point of view the trip was also a success. Our total traveled distance was around 7500kms in 18 days as we spent one full day of our 19 days  in Fuji-Q :)

The bikes were working perfectly and it was really a good fun.

So thanks again for your help, I will definitely recommend your company to anyone traveling to Japan!

With kind regards,

Sami

PS: Find attached photos from the top of Fuji ountain and Matsumoto Castle 

Matthew from Canada - Motegi Moto GP

I am back home after an excellent weekend. I still can't get over the noise of the Moto GP bikes... 

I wanted to thank Rental819 again for all their help and advice with choosing a shop and a bike.  The Ducati Hyperstrada was really nice and comfortable on the highway.  Everyone at the shop was pleasant, and we managed to get back roughly in time.

Next year we will definitely use Rental819 again if we are going back to Motegi Moto GP.

Sincerely,

Matthew 

Masaru and Cary from USA - Honshu

Somewhere in the hills around Sera, Japan

Greetings!

We had a great ride into the hills surrounding the farming communities around Sera, located between Hiroshima and Okayama.  On the way back we headed south to Onomichi and took the coastal route, arriving at Rental819 just in time to return the bikes.  My friend Cary and I were able to visit his ancestral homeland and we even went to “ohaka maeri” and to visit a nearby local shrine.  So peaceful and pleasant.

I would like to especially recognize the staff person at Rental819 who helped us rent the bikes. While we were getting ready to ride out, he gave us some great tips on the local okonomiyaki scene and it was great to see how concerned he was about our plans the next day.  I regret that I did not get his name, but please give him our best regards and thanks.  I travel often and it’s the people who you meet on your journeys that make the trip!

I hope that we can ride again with Rental819 bikes in the future and of course, I will recommend Rental819 to my other friends and mention how easy the rental process was for us.  The bikes were brand new, too!

Sincerely,

Masaru

Cary

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