Getting around Japan

Japan is a fairly easy place to get around in except for major cities and some of the highways between them (especially on holidays). Expressways are horribly expensive and only worth taking to get in or out of a major city like Tokyo. And you cannot ride two-up on expressways. National highways are usually well marked and often have city names marked out in English as well as Japanese characters. Avoid riding in to or towards large cities on Sunday afternoons or the last day of a long vacation (especially the May Golden Week holidays). And get a very early start in leaving from a large city. The area along the Pacific Ocean between Tokyo and Osaka is also a place where you will find bad all traffic year round.

Money may be your biggest hassle. ATMs at Japanese banks usually don't accept foreign bank cards. The good news is that the Post Office ATMs do accept foreign bank cards (Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Eurocard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, Diners ). They are all over the country. Just look for the post office mark (red "T" with a line on top). Many in the countryside are closed on weekends, so be sure get cash early.

As with many other things here, accommodation is expensive. On the other hand, you can camp just about anywhere without getting hassled by the law. Even in large cities, a park or beside a river can be a good place to spend the night. And the homeless will probably come to welcome you as new neighbors. One place I can recommend is J-Hoppers in Kyoto. It is owned by a overland motorcycle traveler. There are a few guest houses in Tokyo such as New Koyo and Taito Ryokan for about 3,000 yen a night.

While most riders never have a scrape with the law, be sure not to loose your documents. A Dutch couple was stopped stopped twice and the papers they got from JAF eventually got them free. Police in Japan don't know what to do in situations where they don't have a previous experience to draw on or a specific set of instructions. So they take a long time to figure out what to do with a foreigner on a motorcycle without Japanese plates. One thing they do know what to do with is a foreigner found carrying drugs: give you a heavy prison sentence just for possession. And you will make life miserable for any local friend you are with at the time you are caught.

Maps in English are available at major book stores in Tokyo or other large cities. The Japan Tourist Organization has some free maps, but they are no good for navigating. I may be able to loan maps depending on how many people are in country at the time.
Motorcycle Vagabonding in Japan may be a helpful book for you too.

The best riding season is between April and November, although you can ride much of the southern half of the country year round. Tokyo gets snow two or three days a year. If you can take the cold, riding is no problem. The north half and the mountains will see snow in the winter, making riding... difficult. Some higher mountain passes may be closed from November to as late as June.

Average Temperature & Precipitation in Major Cities