Iwate Prefecture Japan

[B06Tang]

Took a pretty nice ride today. Headed south from Aomori prefecture and pushed down to Miyako, Japan in Iwate. Rode the 45 and had some fantastic ocean riding and then took a detour at an awesome cliff set. After that I pushed west on the 106 to head to Morioka and rode into the mountain ranges and the tunnels in the country side. Some really beautiful countryside over here. Miyako is about 165 miles north of Sendai and there is still pretty extensive road construction going on from the 3/11 tsunami. A lot of route getting towards Miyako was actually under the ocean when that earthquake hit. Anways...come along for the ride if you care to see...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKlDk0Lg0A8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3VSaofyer8


Unosu Cliff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLf2WfuIL1s

 

[B06Tang]

Once I got to Miyako, Japan it was time to get on the 106 and head inland and boogie to Morioka. The scenery quickly changed to plush green mountains with a series of tunnel runs that were wickedly cool!

And people wonder why I have spent so much time in Japan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTK4hwCDmkc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjrPCv19bU4

 

[Kirkus51]

Those roads seem to be in very good shape. Is that just me or is it true?

 

[B06Tang]

Those roads seem to be in very good shape. Is that just me or is it true?

That is especially true for Iwate prefecture where the tsunami damage was signifcant after the 3/11 quake. A lot of the road construction you see in the videos is still from road repair from that quake because it damn near eliminated the roads from beneath and up instead of the normal wear from top to bottom. The roads in Aomori prefecture where I am can be a different story though....

 

[Motley]

Looks like lovely riding country. Thanks for bringing us along.

 

[britman]

Thanks for posting....

Great vid's and beautiful country. Enjoyed them very much and I was truly impressed with the amount of open land.

 

[B06Tang]

Great vid's and beautiful country. Enjoyed them very much and I was truly impressed with the amount of open land.

The region I ride in 99% of the time is called Tohoku. In that region are the following prefectures:

Aomori
Iwate
Akita
Yamagata
Miyagi
Fukushima


For a reference, here is a map of the Tohoku region:



I basically followed route 45 on the eastern coast and went down into Iwate prefecture to Miyago. From there I went onto the 106 and went west into Akita prefecture. I was only about 100 miles north of Sendai when I changed route and headed west. Most people know of Sendai now because of the 3/11 quake but the eastern coast of Iwated got railed with the tsunami that followed the quake. That is why there is still so much road construction in a lot of the videos I took. They have these tsunami markers on route 45 that basically show the start and stop points of where the tsunami came in. There was one set of markers that were about 1/4 mile apart from each other and there was a shit ton of these markers lacing route 45. As always, the news coverage cannot full show just the level of devastation and impact that quake had.

This weekend I am looking to finish off Tohoku and rolling into western Fukushima. I want to head west out my front door until I get to the Sea of Japan and then run that coast all the way down until I get into Fukushima. It will most likely be a road side camping trip but the GoPro and camera will be with me. I will report back in with full descriptions once mission is accomplished. As of right now the tower (wife) has given me a green light for go!!!!!!!!

 

[Dupre97]

Thanks for the great information and awesome footage! I arrived to Japan in late February and have been needed to get off my rump to get my license so I can start riding my America again. I am stationed at Yokosuka which is just south of Yokohama. All I have seen are buildings and railways, but I am all kinds of excited to get out into the countryside for some healthy long rides.
CHEERS!

 

[B06Tang]

I was stationed down at Yokota for eleven years which is in your neck of the woods. There is some awesome riding down where you are at and you need to get to the Okutama mountain ranges if you get the chance. I'm not sure what the requirements are for riding a bike in the navy but it gets pretty fucking gay in the Air Force. We just had the season get shut down on us yesterday until further notice because of a fatality. Welcome to the Nanny Force...great way to celebrate freedom and independence on the fourth.

Anyways...Fuji and Nagano are also areas that will blow your mind. Get your license...get off your ass and get to some riding that you will remember the rest of your life!