trip to Japan
 

Hello,
I don'y know were to make my introductions so here will have to do.
As you can see I am new here and new to the idea of riding long distances on a bike.
I build bikes mainly bobbers, choppers and the like, so not really the best bike to do long trips on nipping to the pub is often as far as i can manage.
I have riden bike for over 40 years now and have done plenty of miles around Europe, scandinavia and Japan. But never a long road trip in one direction.
Around trip feels safer to me, as soon as you leave you are on your way home type of thing.
So the trip. I am moving to Japan in the new year, the house is ready, the furniture is on its way and life I hope will be good over there.
I don't want to arrive in Tokyo I want to travel there.
So am am at the start of planning the trip.
Does any one have any tips?
Routs, what to see, what to avoid and what to expect.
I want to do it on a cafe racer. I will mod it. bars, wheels and such.
Has anyone done along trip on a "normal bike", not a large trial bike?
I don't get on with them or they don't get on with me I have x rays and scars to show just how much they hate me.
In a nut shell. any info on traveling from Europe to Japan on a conventional bike. would be more than welcome even if it is to say your an idiot lean to ride a big bike.
I will be spending the next few days reading the blogs and threads on here and probably confusing myself even more so any help and words of wisdom.
Thank you.
Steve

Well, welcome!
Great idea to ride there, any bike will do only it will be a decisive factor in what you can and cannot do..
I rode from Belgium to Japan this summer (on a f650gs dakar) but must say that most of the roads i did (except for mongolia where i really went off track and the real desert sand towards the crater in Turkmenistan) i don't see many things you cant do on pretty much any bike. Many countries offer pretty good sealed road as well as off road.
How much time do you have? When do you want to leave?
If you go 'south' do yourself a favor and go through Iran if rules about needing a guide would change (assuming you have a uk passport). It is an amazing country!
Georgia was a highlight, dont rush there! Be careful with temperature, I went through iran, turkmenistan,... with many days +45°C.. Couldn't even be bothered to stop for pictures because of that heat..
But hey, maybe you're more resistant than I am :-)
Keepu s informed and shoot your questions!
Ah, almost forgot: enter Japan from the north: Vanino ferry to Sakhalin and then to Hokkaido... Cheaper but even more important: Sakhalin is amazing!

Since the trans-siberian highway route is now paved, you should have no problem (unless you plan to go right after the new year, in which case you will encounter the famous Russian Winter).
You could even take a dip into Mongolia if you only go to UB and back.
I think your biggest challenge will be what do with your bike after you arrive in Japan. If you plan to ride it in Japan, you will need to do a temporary import. This will mean you have to re-export it within 6 months. If you do a permanent import, it will need to be inspected and registered before you can ride it (this is VERY expensive). I don't think there is a way to switch from temporary to permanent import, but I guess you can always try. Probably won't be cheap though.

Thanks for the feed back.
I am from Yorkshire so 45 F is as much as I can stand the colder the better,
I do not function well when it is hot.
I want to leave around March, April time.
I have reed that Iran is a fantastic place to ride through with good people
Not at all what you read in the press.So I think that will be one place to go.
I have imported a couple of bike for the Mooneyes show last year which were registered by a friend in Yokohama. Not cheap as you say but as I don't speak enough Japanese to do the paper work and my wife knows nothing about bikes.
In Tokyo I need a parking space to register them so they will stay in Yokohama.
I have never ridden off the main Island of Japan but Hokkaido looks good.
I will try to keep you up dated the best I can and will annoy you both with
stupid questions when they arise.
Thanks once again.
Steve

Unless they have changed the rules in Tokyo in the last year or so, you don't need parking space to to register a motorcycle (you do for cars). As long as you have an registered address, it is OK. In some places, though, you can get a ticket for parking a motorcycle on the street. So, having a space off the street is recommended.

if may could be helpful:
i did that route counterway, from Japan to Italy, on 2011 riding an Harley.
i absolutely suggest to go via Hokkaido and Sakhalin, for the sceneries and for the ferry too, cheaper and quick as for custom clearances.
Route: from khabarovsk to Vanino you have 2 route options: the main, and longest, it pass through Khomsomolsk na Amur then divert south to Vanino. the second one starts from the Lidoga junction, some 100 kms north of khabarovsk, and turn right straight to Vanino. it's a 340km stint into the real wild. no villages, few roadworks barracks and a cafè some on midway. fuel it could be an issue on this route. you must fill up at the lidoga junctions, 200 mts ahead on the left, then you'll meet the next gas station 40 kms before Vanino, fuel availability not sure. this road is halfway unpaved (2011) from Vanino's outskirts onward, and anyway doable on a "normal" bike, if it's not rain hard...
the transiberian highway it's almost totally paved, except for some sections, sometimes 10 kms long, between Irtkusk and Krasnoyarsk. it was raining when i was there, and i had to face not so much mud, at least if you compare it to the Rothang La ascension in India.
Time: i rode the whole route from Vanino to Riga, over 11.000 kms, in 28 days, august 2011, including a 5 days diversion in Mongolia and a 5 days stay in Moscow.
Time window: if you intend to leave on late march/april and go via stans before get into russia it could works, but if may you decide to draw a straight line to Japan it could be "a little bit" cold on the transiberian highway.