Hello,

I am looking for recommendations for great motorcycle cafes in Tokyo. I would love to find a place where I can enjoy delicious food and connect with fellow riders while immersing myself in the motorcycle culture. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Hey guys, I’m visiting Japan around October next year. I already have all the plans for my wife to visit.

Apart from all the other places we’re visiting, I would want to visit the famous Daikoku PA. Although I like cars, I also love motorbikes as well. So my plan is to rent a bike (just a Yamaha MT-25) from Rental 819 Odaiba and ride to Daikoku PA, look at the cars there and then go back. However, I’ve already put in the location on Google Maps, there is no option for Motorbikes.

I understand that bikes below 125cc cannot be on the expressway, and some expressway cannot have 2 people on bike.

Hopefully a local can answer me if it is even allowed for me to ride to Daikoku PA with the MT-25 with my wife as the passenger.

Thank you!

I have been looking at this taillight and blinkers system for the xsr900, seen many using it here in Japan, but wondering if it's actually legal? would it pass shaken?

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/XSR-FE-S/dp/B07W8SKTVZ?

https://youtu.be/QWuRXH8hVnU?si=d7wftOc8eGmC8f93&t=188

Hey everyone! I'll be in Tokyo tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday and was hoping to connect with other riders. Are there any motorcycle meets or events happening on these dates?

If not, I'd love recommendations on where to go. Are there any motorcycle-related spots I shouldn't miss, like museums or even cool dealerships where I can just go and look at motorcycles? I ride myself, so anything bike-oriented or just cool places to explore as a rider would be awesome.

Thanks in advance for the tips!

Hi, I am planning a motorcycle trip in Japan with my wife. While I see several options for guided tours and self guided tours, they seem to lack flexibility and possibly shorter riding days. This will be my wife's first trip with me, so I'd like to take it easy this time. Couple of questions: Is beginning of April a good season or would it be cold/icy on the mountains? We do not speak Japanese. Would it be possible to make hotel reservations each day as we understand out progress and pace? Appreciate your insights

Hi all! Im trying to get one of those official kawasaki jackets but it seems imposible to find a physical shop to try the clothes. Do you think it's possible to get them in a store?

Also, what's the highest octane fuel you were able to find here?

Since Japan doesn't share a land border I'm guessing this is a lot more hassle and paper work than other countries.

Like if I wanted to go to China or Thailand, Cambodia, Laos etc. What's the procedure?

I'm considering a visit to Tokyo from March 9-16 and would love to rent a bike and explore areas around Kanto, potentially something like the self-guided tour through Moto Tour Japan. I'm in the region for work, so I can't shift my dates. Question: is it worth scheduling a ride at this time of the year? I'm a bit worried about cold and rain... it's not usually a huge deal when I'm doing short rides, but I'm too old for 200km days at 10C any more. It's also before the tour season really starts, so is everything accessible? Any other things I should be aware of at that point in early Spring?

Most freeways I saw in Japan were 100, and quite a few even 120

In Australia the maximum on freeways is 110, but this is only on the best quality and newest freeways eg the freeway from Melbourne to Sydney

Once you get into the city, the freeway can drop to as low as 60

I can understand the speeding as the roads are nice and wide, but the amount of red light running, texting while driving, etc is just insane

Do the Japanese just not give a fuck?

Hi all , I have a quick question regarding insurance as the title says !

I just got a bike delivered that I got on yahoo auction , I already registered it in my name and got the jibaiseki but I want to add the 3rd party insurance before going on the road !

I was looking at Zurich but there’s this disclaimer but my Japanese is not great but it says if no sales contract I should ring instead.

売買契約書が無い場合、車両保険のお引受けはできません。 ただしその他の購入金額が確認できる書類をお持ちの場合は、お電話にてお引受けできる場合がございますので当社カスタマーケアセンターまでご連絡ください。 ※個人間売買、譲渡などにより取得された二輪自動車はお引き受けできません。 ※事故の際、売買契約書をご提出いただく場合がございますので必ず保管くださいますようお願いします。

A sales contract or receipt different in this situation? I have proof of the amount I paid for the bike , I just want to make sure if I need to ring first as don’t want to end up buying it and something happens and then becomes invalid because I didn’t ring first .

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers !

Does the Japanese government not trust it's citizens?

Even Australia has more reasonable speed limits lol 😂

Hello all, I am planning to go to Kagoshima in December and I am interested in renting a moped/motorcycle for a day to ride around Sakurajima and some of the surrounding countryside.

I am from the US and have a valid motorcycle license and an International Driving Permit. I have previously driven a car around Japan so I am decently familiar with the road rules and signage, but I have never tried to rent a motorcycle/moped before.

Is there anything else that I will need besides a valid motorcycle license and an IDP in order to rent in Kagoshima? What are my options for choosing a place to rent from there that is reasonably close to the city center?

Looking for a one-piece leather suite in size 46! 🏍️ If you have one you're willing to sell, please DM me! #leatherlove #bikerstyle

Hey all. Not sure if this has been discussed previously. Did a brief search but didn't see anything.

I have a D Tracker 250 and I like to go on nice long rides on my day off however, since there's no storage I'm constantly carrying a backpack with my paperwork/wallet.

I'm curious if anyone has a better method for long rides instead of a backpack for carrying small items. I know there are smaller waist/leg bags on the market but at this time my they're out of my budget.

I've contemplated snapping a picture of the documents and keeping it on my phone but I'm not sure that is sufficient for the police should anything happen.

Any advice/ideas are greatly appreciated.

Hi,
I was looking to move to Japan on the investors visa and had to ideas for a business there to get the visa through

I was wondering if there would be interest in or around Tokyo for a open floor Workshop with the tools for bike owners to come in and service their own bike, would be pay by the hour / Day for use of a bench with tools.
In Dublin where I'm living, some friends rent a garage to use as a workshop and we are there one day a week just chilling and working on Vintage bikes.

The other option is opening a carburettor repair shop, I've serviced quite a few Bing CV carbs for bmw airheads, including one that got gummed up by being vapour blasted and filled with the slurry mix.
Is there a big need for this kind of service in Japan?

Cheers!

I have been making quite a few posts here lately regarding getting the 大型二輪車 license the past couple of months, finally got it in my hands yesterday. Overall I had a very smooth experience passing the practical and theory tests on the first try, so managed to go from never having a license to 大型 in less than a month. Big thanks to everyone that helped out answering questions.

Since I don't own a bike yet, I'm quite eager to go rent something, signed up for Rental819 and looking for the best location, some questions in regards to that.

1. When it says a bike has USB, does that mean there is a USB port I can connect my phone to and charge it while I use it as a gps?

2. Did anyone have any problems with Rental819 in regards to what you were wearing? I have an inner armor, chest, back, elbow elbow protection, then standalone knee protection, so was just planning to put non riders wear on top of that, I have normal riding gloves and a good helmet, but I currently only have normal shoes, no problem using them at the driving school but I wonder if they are okay with that when renting? anyone have any experience?

Anyone doing 日本三霊山ラリー this month? Love to discuss routes from Tokyo / Kanto. https://www.round4poles.com/threesamit

Hello and good day everyone.

I've been seeing some -eyebrow- raising stuff recently on social media platforms from Japan. I think we already know that most western guys on social media are the -Squid- fast boi, cringe copy/paste meme, emo posts and all that, but I noticed Japan is a little -special- to say the least.

From my experience, I ran into an "bike girl" account on instagram who has like 10s of thousands of followers but all of her post just mostly focus on her and you can just barely see the bike in the background. (Hastly generalization but I think 90% of "bike girls" in Japan, instead of actually liking bikes, just like the image of themselves riding a bike.)

I've also seen some drive recorder videos. Whenever its a bike that does lane splitting/ filtering (even safely at slow speeds) you see the comments section condemming the rider like regardless of what the rider is doing. Comments saying stuff like "Dont get anyone else involved when you d〇e", "I like to block riders that lane filter and just to piss them off", "I like to splash water / throw cigarette butts on bikes that lane split/ filter" and sometimes just simply, "just di〇".

While I like to look into social media for nice motorcycle related content, seeing some stuff like this kinda bothers me and gets under my skin,

I dunno, maybe I'm just starting to become an "Ojii-san". What do you guys think?

I know this largely varies by person and head shape but just curious what most brand people have had the most success buying in Japan? I picked up a Kabuto I fell in love with a few weeks back and have had to go back in to NAPS twice so far to get it readjusted—my forehead is getting hammered by the wind because my head is so slim (size is right everywhere else but too much wiggle room at the temples allowing the wind to push it against my forehead).

First visit they put a couple pads near each temple and one in the forehead area—felt a little better but still got marks.

Yesterday they changed the shell to a thinner one to accommodate my longer face and then added three pads on each side at my temple, it feels a lot better but only time will tell tell as it doesn’t kick in until I’ve ridden for about 30 minutes or so.

I’m just getting back after a hiatus and can’t remember for the life of me what I was wearing 10 years ago, pretty sure it was an Arai but whatever it was I never had this problem the first go.

So TLDR I’m wondering what full face helmets everyone else has had success with! (And also super impressed with NAPS and their custom fit services even if they got it wrong the first two times).

I’ll be going to Tokyo in about a month. Im looking around and have sent my information to some shops to get a quote.

Recommendations on foreigner friendly motorcycle rental shops?

In Japan the speed limit on the freeway is 120km and everyone goes like 150-160km

In Australia the speed limit on the freeway is 60km and everyone follows it

Similarly main roads in Japan have a speed limit of 80km and everyone goes 100-120km

In Australia main roads have a speed limit of 40km and everyone follows it

Why are Japanese people in such a hurry?

Total Motorcycle Newbie and Japan resident with a light vehicle license from a foreign country (not directly convertible).

I was about to signup for the MT 400cc course in Chiba but then I thought it might be faster to get my Vehicle license converted first so that I can skip the theory part of the Motorcylce test.

I want to confirm if my understanding is correct? To convert my foreign vehicle license I just need to take the theory and road test, then I ought to be able to get into the stage 2 (skills training) of the driving school’s MT 400cc motorcycle course, right?

I just want to reduce the amount of time it will take for the motorcycle course because I am already limited to doing classes only on weekends.

I’m 18 years old and living in Japan, and I’m planning to get my first bike soon. Right now, I don’t have a motorcycle or a driving license, but I plan on getting both. Should I prioritize getting one over the other first, or does it not really matter?

Someone recently told me I should get my motorcycle license first, but I’m not sure why or if they really knew what they were talking about. Any advice on whether it makes a difference?

I'm taking the moped test tomorrow in English, and I wanted to know if the questions will be written in Japanese and English or only English ?

Getting to the end of my Ogata license training at the driving school, practical test should probably be fine, more worried about the written one. Was planning on taking the Japanese version, but all the online training and pre tests I have done at the school has had furigana for the Kanji, and I notice I rely too heavily on it, so probably won't go well once it's not there on the real one. So leaning towards going for the English one instead, but all the English resources online seems to be very different and inconsistent to the Japanese material. For example all test questions seems to have been simplified and don't have the usual trick questions like the Japanese version.

For example

A motorized two wheeled vehicle can not drive in the dedicated bus lane, true or false.

Coming from the Japanese questions I had no doubt about it being false, since mopeds would be a motorized two wheeled vehicle, but it insisted on it being true.

Another example.

A picture of the no overtaking sign without the white 追い越し禁止 sign below it. Can you overtake another vehicle on this road when you see this sign - true or false.

Same thing here, no doubt about being true, since without the white 追い越し禁止 sign underneath it you can overtake as long as you don't enter the opposite lane, but again it was supposed to be false.

So are all these example tests just wrong or have weird English or is the actual test like this as well?

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for some recommendations for second-hand or used stores that sell motorcycle helmets and riding gear in Tokyo. I’ve already checked out Up Garage and found some decent stuff there, but I’m hoping to explore more options and maybe find some unique pieces.

If you know of any other stores or hidden gems that offer good quality used gear, I’d love to hear about them! Thanks in advance for any suggestions! 🙏

PS. Can be outside of tokyo as i am also going to Osaka and Kyoto area

Cheers!