I’m back. I didn’t plan on doing anything during my time off except reading and studying but unfortunately the weather was fantastic and the winding roads of Japan’s countryside were calling. I ended up driving almost 700km the whole trip. Nihon Romantic Kaido 日本ロマンチック街道 spans 230km from Nagano Prefecture to Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. I got onto the road around Lockheart Castle (above right photo) and the twisties were so much fun I ended up in Nikko a few hours later. Nikko is the last place I wanted to go this time of year. There are bzillions of people flocking to see the 紅葉 autumn leaves and the traffic is gridlock going up and down that steep hill いろは坂. And, compared to the thousands of miles of maple trees in southern Ontario where I grew up, the autumn scenery in Nikko seems just average to me. Still, the drive was lots of fun and most of the traffic jams were in the opposite direction so I was lucky.

I left in the middle of the night. The highway was practically empty and I could drive really fast! (1) Kamisato Service Area is one of the largest on Kanetsu expressway. I arrived there at 3am in the morning (2) As you can see there is practically nobody here (3) I ordered a mini katsu-don for 350yen. Sure enough it was mini (4) The dark gray color of my car makes it practically disappear into the darkness at night. It’s a stealth roadster.

This is Lockheart Castle. Actually it’s not really a castle but a 19th century Scottish Mansion that a Japanese actor, Masahiko…something purchased for 800,000 pounds and reassembled in Gunma brick for brick. Around it he built a castle like wall, a wedding chaple, restaurants, souvenir shops etc. You can have your wedding ceremony here or rent the place for a party. The second floor has two huge rooms displaying the actor’s Santa Claus collection (yes, bizarre). Beside the castle there was a bungee jump too. The surroundings were very nice but I found the whole place a bit tacky like most tourist spots anywhere in the world. Why is this? Why do all tourist places have the dumbest and tackiest souvenirs possible?

(1) There was even a brewery in the back where they made Gyoza Beer. No it doesn’t taste like gyoza, this beer gets rid of garlic smell. They serve the beer in the restaurants but none of the food had garlic (2) You could write a love message on these heart things and hang them anywhere around the castle, they were all over the place. Bleh!

Some shots along the road.

(1) A great day for top down motoring (2) That’s me (3) And in case you were wondering what happened to the Rilakkuma I won at the UFO catcher a while back. One of them is now a permanent passenger. He fits in the cup holder. Yes, it’s gay to have a stuffed bear in a sports car, but the girls like it.

Some photos in Nikko (1) The gate to Chuzenji Lake in Nikko (2) This shot reminds me of that ferry scene from “War of the Worlds” (3) Senjogahara 戦場ヶ原 (4) Elementary school kids at Ryuzu Waterfall 龍頭ノ滝

On the way back today, I stopped by Nagatoro in Chichibu. I’ve been here many times cycling but never by car. You can take a ride along the river in a old-fashioned wooden boat. From Chichibu, I took route 299 all the way back to Tokyo. A great downhill winding road!! The traffic got really bad around Tokorozawa and it took me quite a while to get home. It’s good to have a TV in your car navi in traffic jams!

And some photos of my roadster.

All in all, a good trip. I didn’t miss being away from my internet and email, but I did have to spend a bit of time deleting all the comment spam that piled up while I was away. What a drag.

Tomorrow, I’m off to the Tokyo Motor Show!!