Topic: Japanese "Biker" pub/bar - my kind of place.

[Magpie]

Now this is a nice bar, indoor parking! Go here for more pics http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2005/09/04/matsumoto-camp-2005-grand-slam%e3%83%90%e3%82%b9%e3%82%b1%e5%90%88%e5%ae%bf/

[Leino]

Nice! Wish we had something like that in Finland 

[Objectionableone]

Just add hot and cold running women and you have it all!

[Jonesy]

My only issue is the bikes should be parked out front and belonging to the patrons, rather than just sitting on display...

[Magpie]

It looks the k does get ridden outside too. I'm a problem posting the pictures so have a look here
http://www.gaijinbikers.com/ld/yuka.htm

[Sam Green Racing]

She can come and live with me as long as she can...cook, wash, iron, clean, garden, paint and decorate....OH and must have her own tools.

[Big Ben]

Thanks for the links, Magpie.

Since I captioned the page in Japanese, I should clarify a few things. The bikes pictured inside the pub all belong to the owner, a friend of mine who also rides a HD dresser, a Mach 750, and a W3, which he keeps at home. He makes it a point to ride the Duc 750 and the K0 once a month or so, and all the bikes run. The pub isn't open to the public, just friends, and we park outside. I tell ya, the beer tastes better with that kind of view.

The CB750 that Yuka rides is actually a K1 with a K0 paint job that my buddy Stinger gave her in place of an engagement ring (romantic guy, eh?), whereas the K0 in the pub is the real sandcast deal.

------
Big Ben
Gaijin Bikers in Japan
http://www.gaijinbikers.com

[Magpie]

Big Ben,
Where is that pub? My son is living in Kyoto and I'd love to send him by if possible.
Cliff.

[Big Ben]

Where is that pub? My son is living in Kyoto and I'd love to send him by if possible.

It's in Tateshina Kougen, in the mountains of Nagano.
Unfortunately, like I said, it's not open to the public. While I'm welcome there, I'm just not yet in a position where I can invite anyone else.
I guess it's a little obnoxious to go bragging about a cool place to hang out and then tell people they can't come. Sorry about that.
------
Big Ben
Gaijin Bikers in Japan
http://www.gaijinbikers.com

[cbjunkie]

hey while it's still a free country maybe one of us should rip him off... 

[Magpie]

No problem Big Ben, however my wife and I may be visiting my son in the spring. If we bring offerings of t-shirts or other such gifts from Victoria, B.C. perhaps we may see it - as 1 K1 owner to another? I can send pictures of the bike if needed for proof of ownership.
Cheers,
Cliff.

[Magpie]

Oops, just looked at Nagano with Google Earth, that's along way from Kyoto. MY son did spend several winters at Morioka. Ever go snowboarding at Mount Appi I think it's called?
Cliff.

[Big Ben]

Yeah, it would be a bit of a trip from Kyoto.

Never been snowboarding (one expensive hobby is plenty), but there are some great roads in that area.

[Big Ben]

I should add that if you do make it up to the Tokyo area (also far from Kyoto) drop me a line.
Yuka loves showing off her K1, so much that she and Stinger made it the central decoration at their wedding reception(http://www.gaijinbikers.com/ld/yoparade.htm, scroll down). No bribery, t-shirts or otherwise, is necessary.

[Magpie]

I've already checked that out! Very nice pictures, they must make a great couple. My wedding had about a dozen bikes parked outside and one idiot friend going up the street on the back wheel of his Kawasaki 750 Triple. Your friends' wedding looked much more civilized. I would really like it if my wife liked to ride on the front of a bike. She's a great passenger tho'. I showed Yuka's picture on her bike to a couple of friends who were quite impressed. I'll remember about contacting should we get to Tokyo.
Cliff.

[andy750]

Hey Big Ben great website and an excellent Japanese biker resource. I really admire what you and your friend have done.  I wish I had seen this last year before I went to Japan for 2 months (May - July) as I was working in Nagoya for that time and looking for some biker things to do. I did meet up with a Japanese biker chic (Yuri) from Chiba and she took me round the Tokyo/Enoshima/Mt Fuji area which was really cool and we got our photos in a Japanese biker magazine - Tandem Riders. I got up to Togakushi just north of Nagano and you are right about the roads - I am really jealous of you guys! Ill be back in September hopefully to see Yuri again and hopefully get up to Niigata for the firework fesitval. Have you been to Hokkaido at all? Ive heard its great for riding....any info on travel times from Tokyo? I imagine its a long way.

Cheers
Andy in Boston

[Big Ben]

Have you been to Hokkaido at all? Ive heard its great for riding....any info on travel times from Tokyo? I imagine its a long way.

Hokkaido is amazing. I've taken 7 week-long trips up there and Stinger has been 10 summers in a row. Great scenery, uncrowded roads, lots and lots of other bikers, and what you don't find elsewhere, rider houses. You can usually find a place to stay for anywhere from free to $10 or so. That usually means crashing on the floor in your sleeping bag with a bunch of other bikers and cyclists, but it's nice on a rainy or cold night when you don't feel like pitching a tent, and you can get good info from the other riders about local roads and such. Some people say Hokkaido's roads aren't as interesting because they're less twisty on average than on Honshu, but with scenery like this
and this

and this
I don't mind much.
more on our Hokkaido page: http://www.gaijinbikers.com/bigben/hokkaido.htm
You can either ride up to Aomori by expressway (about 10 hours from Tokyo) and then take the local ferry, or you can ferry from Niigata or Ibaraki, which is less expressway riding but the boat ride will take a whole day.

[andy750]

Thanks Big Ben, now I definitely want to be driving on roads like that! Id heard of the biker houses and it sounds really cool. It also sounds a bit like Scotland (where Im from) to me but it would be a great experience to drive in Hokkaido. Below is the magazine pic I mentioned before.
Cheers
Andy in Boston

[Big Ben]

Sneezy looks badass and sounds like a really cool woman.

Drop us a line next time you make it over to Japan and I'll pass on more info on things not to miss in Hokkaido.

---
Big Ben
Gaijin Bikers in Japan
http://www.gaijinbikers.com

[andy750]

Yeah Sneezy is badass! Shes been driving that V-Max of hers for 15 years and has driven all over Japan. Its a big bike for her but she loves the challenge of it. Unfortunately she recently told me the Vmax is on its last legs and shes looking for something else....shes thinking of a Kawa ZXR1100. This girl loves to ride and I was blown away by here when I first met her. She wants to an Irun Butt rally in the US!

Thanks for the offer and Ill let you know when Im coming over next. Probably Ill be working in Nagoya again for a few weeks and then hopefully see Sneezy and see what happens on the riding front.

Cheers
Andy