Thank goodness Barry was able to get the bike motor going again! I guess that's one problem in having an e-bike...but I'm sure the pros outweigh the cons...

Looks like the cow has a tether that goes through its nose?

I guess the Japanese like to always be clean and have clean clothes!

Funny - a Spam sandwich?!

Reminds me of the very small folding bike shops in NYC.

Wow, only 2 people can eat in there at a time?!

Lots of wires overhead on the streets, huh?

Those Sena helmets are GREAT! A friend and I have them and they are SO handy to be able to easily talk to one another in a city with traffic!

Interesting about the Vasco translator device. I can see how handy that would be! I'm thinking I should get one for future trips. :)

Thanks for your nice comments. We are leaving October 20 for another two or three months of cycling in Japan.

I"ve come to your journal late. Thank you for including all of the details that newbies need to know - like registering your prescriptions and showing your passport to not pay sales tax.

I was especially interested in how you fared with trikes, as a LWB Stratus rider. I have a friend who gave up this year on plastic wrapping her diamond frame bike for travel to/from Europe. Even though she carried the airline's written policy on plastic wrapped bikes, the hassle finally became too much. She is in Germany as we speak, flew United (didn't have to pay their new $200. bike fee), but also had her bike in a box. She prefers the plastic wrap, and thinks the airlines always handle her bike carefully because they can see what it is. But . . . .

Thank you for the excellent journal, with all of the details and the photos!

We are happy that you enjoyed our journal. Japan is an amazing country for cycle touring. We just booked another trip to Japan. This time we are going for two months, from late October to late December. Our focus this trip will be Shikoku and Kyushu.
We love our Azub Ti-Fly 2o's. The smaller wheels means a smaller fold-great for flying, etc. We have a Shimano Steps 6100 motor with the largest battery that Shimano makes...excellent range. We have always ridden with Arkel panniers. They are made in Canada. Unfortunately, my panniers (RT-60) that are designed for recumbents are no longer made by Arkel. Mary Ellen has Arkel GT-42. She loves them. You do need rain covers for these panniers.
If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Have a great trip!!!

Thanks for the detailed log entries. I have enjoyed reading them. I hope to do the Shikoku Henro (Pilgrimage) by trike next spring. It looks like you were riding TriFly 20 bikes. I have been looking at them as well. How were they set up? What motor / gear set-up did you use? How about the panniers? Thanks again.

Well, we're back from our Hokkaido trip. We were surprised at how hot it was (80s and humid) but we were blessed with no rain the whole time we were riding. We had soft serve everyday; it was incredible. I would not recommend riding the coastal roads up to Wakkanai as it was really crowded with cars and as courteous as the drivers were, we still had some close calls. We took relief by going inland one time and it was devoid of cars and beautiful but there was a lot of climbing. So hills with no cars or flats with cars were our options. Thanks again for your great tips!

I hope you have a wonderful time. I envy you the ease of travel with Bike Fridays. We love our trikes but they have a bigger footprint. Will you be writing a journal? If not, I’d love to hear how it goes. Take care, enjoy and do try the ice cream!