Gaijin Bikers: The Adventure Begins
Bikers talk a lot about why we love to ride, but the many different reasons we started riding in the first place can be fun to talk about as well. Bikers, like superheroes, all have their own origin stories, so here is the story of how a couple of mild-mannered Japan Studies geeks became the world famous (allowing for a wide interpretation of the words “world” and “famous”) Gaijin Bikers in Japan.
The Stinger and I had both felt drawn to Exotic JapanTM from a young age. We majored in the ever lucrative field of Japan Studies in college, and then came here to seek our fortunes shortly after graduation. But, as happens with many who travel to distant lands in search of adventure, excitement, and really wild things, eventually the daily grind of work, familiarity, and the stress of high-paced Tokyo life took quite a bit of the adventure out of the experience.
A few years later we took the shinkansen down to the Kansai region for a week of sightseeing and partying, hanging out with people speaking a very different dialect in the distinctive cultures of Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Kobe. That was when the epiphany came.
We didn’t come to Japan to become experts on Tokyo; We came to Japan because we wanted to know Japan, and this wasn’t going to happen by taking train trips every once in a while. The only affordable solution was motorcycles. (Let’s ignore for the moment that we eventually ended up buying more expensive bikes than we could reasonably afford.)
We got our licenses and bought our bikes not knowing what was in store for us. But as Stinger said about the moment he first sat on his bike, the feeling of liberation was overwhelming. Suddenly we had the freedom to go anywhere, anytime. We could go places most foreigners never go, and see Japan and its people in ways that were never available to us before.
We took every three-day weekend and extended vacation we could get and crisscrossed this country, getting to know Japan more deeply and fully than before, and we became addicted to the romance of the road and the thrill of the wind in our faces. And it is there, out on the road, that we discovered the Japanese biker culture that keeps us (relatively) sane. The bikers we’ve met in our travels are the best friends anyone could hope to have, and life is never dull.
To any foreigners out there feeling burnt-out with your Japan experience: Get a bike now and learn what it means to be truly alive. There is a deeper and more beautiful Japan out there than you know.
More than a decade has passed since that fateful day when we started our engines for the first time. Our lives have changed forever, and the adventure is far from over.
The Gaijin Bikers ride on…
I was in Fukushima for the best part of 2001, but wasn’t there long enough to think about getting a bike. The factory provided a car and criver for my use.
A couple of the guys from the factory floor were kind enough to lend me their scooters for a couple of weekend rides though. I still remember the looks of shock I would get from the people in various roadside shops and cafes when I pulled my helmet off wanting to get some coffee.
Comment by The Snark — February 20, 2006 @ 11:47 am
Great post.
Comment by Gaijin Biker — February 21, 2006 @ 1:00 am
Snark,
There are some great roads in Fukushima. If you ever make it back over here, drop us a line.
I’ve been enjoying reading your blog, and I’m blogrolling you so that my massive readership (both of them) can go check you out.
GB,
Thanks.
If there’s anything to tell, I’d love to see a post on your origin story too.
Comment by Big Ben — February 21, 2006 @ 9:04 am
Ah, I just noticed that you blogrolled me, too. Thanks!
Comment by Big Ben — February 21, 2006 @ 9:09 am
[...] As a followup to the last post, here’s the story of my first ever long touring trip, which turned out to be both more of an adventure and more of an ordeal than I had bargained for. I bought my first bike, a 400cc Honda TransAlp, on the advice of a Makoto, tall Japanese guy on my basketball team. Makoto also offered to take me along on a trip to his hometown in Kagoshima, Kyūshū, and show me the ropes of the whole touring thing. So a week after getting my license, with no riding experience whatsoever, I hopped on the ferry to Miyazaki. [...]
Pingback by Gaijin Bikers in Japan » Hell and Back — February 25, 2006 @ 12:42 am
Ben, I feel the same as you and the Stinger. Nothing compares to hitting the road for the unknown in a strange land. We truly are blessed to be able to share our experiences. The only problem is that over here isn’t as big as over there next door in Japan, though there is a LOT of Korea I haven’t seen.
Comment by Rich — February 27, 2006 @ 3:04 am
Rich,
It really is a more direct experience of a country than just jumping form place to place in most other modes of transportation, isn’t it? And it’s nice to know there’s always more to see.
Comment by Big Ben — February 27, 2006 @ 8:17 am
Love all the updates to the site…keep it up!
Comment by Mike from Misawa — March 2, 2006 @ 8:34 pm
Thanks, Mike!
Comment by Big Ben — March 2, 2006 @ 9:19 pm
Sigh, biking in Japan…I’d love to do it. One day I might, just not now
….
Comment by Christine — March 31, 2006 @ 11:14 am
Christine,
There’s something to be said for easy access to the Rockies and garage space for two cruisers, but yeah, life is good here.
If you ever do make it over here, drop us a line and we’ll show you the good roads.
Comment by Big Ben — March 31, 2006 @ 11:37 am
Don’t get me wrong, I love the roads up in the Rockies and have had the pleasure of riding the Million Dollar Highway as well as having space for the rides…
I haven’t been back to Japan since 1997…and before that the only other time I’d spent any amount of time was being ‘birthed’ there…
Comment by Christine — March 31, 2006 @ 1:07 pm