Friday, August 26, 2011

Magome and Tsumago

Had a meeting in Nagoya so afterwards I went to the Kiso valley for a 8km "hike" that is part of a mail route or path something like that from the Edo era maybe. Some nice views, but it was raining, and rained pretty hard at one point. Luckily there was a tourist information center halfway through the hike so I stopped there and they gave me some tea, pickles, ume, candy and a larger umbrella to borrow. Pretty nice and relaxing. I stayed in Nakatsugawa which was cute little town, and at a business hotel which was affordable. At one restaurant I went to the owner had been to NM, the only time he had been to the US, what are the odds, small world.
Magome and Tsumago


Sunday, August 21, 2011

"Bought" a motorcycle

I went to the bike shop and paid the money for my new motorcycle, but I am not able to get it for another 2 or 3 weeks. I have to send in some form from my city hall saying I am an alien resident first for whatever reason, then the processing starts. So for anyone else looking to buy a bike in Japan make sure you go to the city hall first. Once the bike shop recieves this they will start the processing, registration, insurance etc... that should take about 2 weeks and then I will have my bike. Finally!! I think this is officially step 10 or 15 of getting a motorcycle in Japan.
link to the bike i bought, although it may not work once the posting is removed from the bike shop.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

5th Time's the charm




Here is a picture of my drivers license, with a few things kinda botted out, dont want anyone to steal my identity and the course map. For anyone who is actually going to take the test in Tochigi, or if you are just curious about how ridiculous the test is, check out the video on the course "instructions".



A few things I forgot to mention in the video are: at the wall where you lean over your handlebars to look right and left, you are supposed to be stopped, so you stop 2x at the walls (obstructed view). Also the dismount procedure is almost the reverse of the mounting procedure, but you dont have to touch the mirrors. Make sure the bike is in neutral, turn the key off, get off, then kickstand, then turn the wheel to the side and you are done. Lastly always use both brakes front and back, and pump three times when slowing from high speed. This course is always the same for foreigners in Tochigi but they dont have this course map for sale at the driving center, I bought the Japanese course and then the black line is my own writing. For more general information on the driving center and how to get there see this website.
http://www.mybelovedsushi.com/

Of course now that I have a license, even after I buy a bike it will take 2 weeks for "processing" to get a license plate, ensure that I actually do have a license with the government etc.... sure do love that Japanese bureaucracy. *Sigh*