Andy,
Were you on vacation here or do you have business in Japan. I work for a Japanese company, but they never send me over to Japan. Some of the managers get to go, but since I'm at the bottom of the food chain, I only get to traverse North America....in an aeroplane..
... in economy class
.. but next time they send me to California and I get a little free time, I'm renting a F650 GS and heading up Angles Crest highway and into the desert! I'm getting excited already!
Either way, it looks lovely over there and I always find it fascinating.