I'm back home from Nagano. The weather held up just fine, even though it was supposed to be cloudy with a chance of rain. I racked up 570 km on the odometer over the weekend, without any mishaps — although my left fork tube appears to be leaking oil, and I've dropped off the bike at a repair shop to get it fixed.

I have to admit, the hotel — Shinshuu Health Land — grew on me. Its complete lack of class is refreshing, and even charming: You can relax and be yourself without trying to keep up a refined public image, because the hotel sure isn't.

Example: It's almost Halloween, so the staff at the check-in counter were all in costume:


And they give all the guests hospital-gown-green pajamas to wear while walking around the place. No need to worry about choosing the right outfit!


Since you can't carry your wallet in your pajamas, you get a bar code bracelet that lets you charge stuff to your room. And if you get tired, you can just plop down in one of the free full-body massage chairs right in the middle of the lobby:


In short, if you're tired of hotels where the staff all rush about dressed in immaculate gold-buttoned suits and fuss over every last detail, this is the place for you.

Perfect weather today, and great riding along the Venus Line sightseeing road in Nagano. The leaves had begun to change color, and following the twisty path as it wrapped around mountains and through gorges was awe-inspiring. (I'll get some photos up here later.)

Plus, the day got off to a good start when I bumped into (not literally) Big Ben and the Stinger with their group of Harley riders at the Dangozaka service area. Ben says he's busy at his new job, which is why he hasn't been posting on his blog or commenting here lately. But he's not too busy to go touring on the weekends, which is what counts.

At around 5:00, we arrived at our hotel. It was one of those uniquely Japanese set-ups that tries to create a relaxed, homey atmosphere and then tries to destroy it by any means necessary. Example: The outdoor onsen is a beautiful stone-and-wood enclosure filled with piping hot water that washes away all your stress... and then the announcements blaring over the PA system bring it right back.

They have a sauna, too. And of course, when you're zoning out in a hot sauna, you really need a TV in there. So they have one, stationed behind plexiglass. I didn't stay in long enough to see what show it was tuned to; all I saw were about five commercials in a row. One commercial (I don't know what it was for) showed a busty Japanese starlet bouncing around and leaning toward the camera, giving a bunch of salarymen a good view of her abundant cleavage. This is not a commercial you want to watch in a room full of naked old men.

Of course, if the hotel didn't have all these modern features, it probably wouldn't have the free broadband connection I'm using right now. You have to take the bad with the good, I guess.

FOLLOW-UP:
I'm home now. Here's a photo (click to embiggen):

It looks like the weather is holding up, so I'm heading up to Nagano early tomorrow morning for two days of motorcycle touring with a group of X-4 riders. They're the same guys I rode with back in July, and we're doing the route that got rained out that time. Here it is:


I've never ridden these particular roads before, but that looks like one heck of a twisty red line. Should be great.

This weekend, fellow Japan biker blogger Gen Kanai and I are going to check out the Japan Moto Grand Prix. So I may not be able to post until Sunday night when I get back.

In Kyoto last week, I spotted a place called Club Harley. You can imagine my disappointment when I found out it wasn't a hangout for fellow riders, but rather a Harley-themed "hostess bar" staffed by charming young ladies in spandex dresses:


Oh, well. At least they had a 100th anniversary V-Rod on display.

My friend is on his way back to the States after cramming all that Japan has to offer into a single week. Well, almost all. We soaked at an onsen in Hakone. We saw some of the major temples in Kyoto. We ate plenty of Japanese food, including basashi (raw horse meat) but not shirako (codfish sperm). We sang karaoke, walked through Akihabara, took in a Tokyo Giants baseball game, and consumed a non-trivial amount of Kirin, Sapporo, and Asahi.

It was fun to once again see Japan through the eyes of a first-time tourist, although my blogging suffered as a result: I didn't post anything here on Thursday or Saturday. Now that I'm back on a normal schedule, posting volume should increase.

A store in a Kyoto shopping arcade:


I'm not sure if the name is supposed to be a pun on "Bruce Lee", but if so, it hardly seems a respectful tribute.

We arrived in Kyoto today and took a quick trip to the outskirts of the city to see Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a Shinto shrine complex with an unusually long, hilly trail completely covered by thousands of orange torii arches. When the sunlight shines through them, you can see some truly beautiful effects:


I think it says something about Western art critics' lack of exposure to other cultures that not a single one of them, to my knowledge, ever mentioned this place (or other similar Shinto shrines) in discussing Christo's very similar "The Gates" installation in Central Park last year.

I just got back from Yamatoya Hotel, which is a lovely onsen nestled in the mountains of Hakone. You ride down into the valley on a tiny gondola, seen here:


Apparently, Stevie Wonder stayed there in the early 80's; his picture is hanging on the wall near the front desk. Which makes this the coolest onsen in Japan.

Tomorrow, on to Kyoto!

I'm back in Japan and my old buddy from high school is here visiting me; it's his first time anywhere in Asia. We'll be bouncing around the country for the next couple of days, so blogging may be light. I'll try to keep posting at least once a day, but no guarantees.

Notes on returning to Tokyo:

1. No problem going through the airport. I arrived three hours before my departure, and there were no lines at all. Security screening was no more annoying than usual, either. For example, I did not have my face searched (via kottke.org).

2. Our flight continued on to Seoul after Tokyo, so there were plenty of Koreans on board. One attractive young Korean woman rushed urgently to the bathroom during the flight, but it was occupied. As I was seated in the exit row, which was right next to the bathroom, I got a great view of her vomiting on the floor of the cabin directly in front of me. I have no idea why she didn't use a barf bag.

3. We swung by Azabu-juban, where a street festival was winding down, and made our way up to Roppongi Hills, where an Africa-themed "beer garden" and food truck had been set up on the outdoor plaza to coincide with the African art exhibit I blogged about here. So my high school buddy's first meal in Japan was ostrich steak washed down with Kenyan beer.

I'm leaving early in the morning to catch my flight back to Tokyo, and won't be posting until I get home. I'm rather upset that I will be missing the Friday premiere of Snakes on a Plane, and will have to wait until it comes out in Japan to see it. (Nobody spoil the plot for me, okay? I want to see it not knowing what it's all about.)

Tuesday's caption contest results will be posted on Friday evening, Japan time.

When traveling by plane, it's never a good sign when there are television news crews filming inside both your departure airport and your arrival airport. I guess they were just there to do stories on how passengers are coping with the foiled terror plot and the new travel restrictions. Actually, I didn't notice much of a change. We were told no containers of liquid could be brought on the plane, but after I went through security, I bought a bottle of Diet Coke inside the terminal and visibly carried it on board.

I wasn't trying to prove a point; I was just thirsty and I forgot about the new rule. Still, it suggests that the crackdown on liquids is either mostly for show, ineffective, or both. It's worth noting that the would-be terrorists behind the recently-foiled plot were caught well before they actually got to an airport, and that's as it should be. If we're only uncovering terrorists when they get to the check-in line, somebody's not doing his job.

FOLLOW-UP:
I swear I wrote the above post before reading this WSJ article, via Instapundit:

Much of the work to stop potential terrorists must occur before they ever walk into an airport, aviation experts say. "By the time you get to the security checkpoint, chances are you've lost the battle," said Douglas Laird, an aviation consultant who once headed security for Northwest Airlines.

I would like to point out to any airline executives reading this that Mr. Laird no doubt charges a high fee for his security consulting services, while I am willing to work cheap.

As I prepare to head to the airport for a trip to New York, this happens:

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - British police foiled a plot by would-be suicide bombers to simultaneously blow up several planes flying to the United States, arresting 24 people days before they could attack, officials said on Thursday.

Disclosure of the alleged plan to smuggle bombs on aircraft disguised as drinks immediately brought drastic new security measures and chaos at airports on both sides of the Atlantic.

British security sources said they had been watching the suspects for eight months, and London police's Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson described their goal as "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

"The plan was to have multiple suicide bombings on aircraft, essentially at the same time," said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

A U.S. intelligence official said the planned bombings were just days away, with a dry run planned first: "They were a couple of days from a test, and a few days from doing it."

Almost five years after 9-11, it's good to see that major terror plots are being found and stopped before they can be carried out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a plane to catch.

FOLLOW-UP:
I was going to write something like, "How long will it be before some lefty blogger claims it was all just a government ruse designed to keep us afraid?" But I was too slow. It's already happening at DailyKos (via LGF), where the results of a reader poll asking whether the terror plot was "legit" or "more drama from BushCo to keep us all afraid" have split pretty much 50-50.

Rode to the beach again today — but instead of Shimoda, we headed in the opposite direction, to Choshi in Chiba prefecture:


Apparently, they run wild dolphin tours there, where you go out to sea in a boat and dolphins swarm around. However, dolphin season doesn't start until October, so we were out of luck on that score. Still a beautiful day at the beach, though, and great riding weather too.

I'm back home now, and aside from the crash I blogged about here, nothing else bad happened to anyone in our group. It didn't even rain while we were riding; it only rained after we went to sleep, and it stopped before we woke up in the morning.

Of course, the clouds that blanketed our part of Japan for the past week were still in full effect. But that wasn't such a bad thing, because the Ashinoko Skyline, a twisting mountain pass, was shrouded in a beautiful grey fog. It's hard to photograph fog, but this picture may give you an idea of the eerie, mists-of-time feeling it gave the whole experience:


After a day of riding, it was time for an onsen and a nomihodai dinner at the local Korean barbecue joint. Not even our hotel's typical Japanese-style pillows, filled with what feels like a mixture of ball bearings and gravel, could keep me from a good night's sleep. I can't wait to go again. I wouldn't even mind a little sunshine next time.

I'm going touring with a group of X-4 riders over the weekend. We were headed to Nagano until it got hit by massive floods this weekend; now we're headed to Hakone instead. I may not be able to post until I get back Sunday.

I'm heading down to Shimoda for the weekend, so blogging will be light until I get back Sunday evening. Since my X-4 is in the shop getting its front suspension replaced, I'll be doing the trip on my 250cc scooter. Should be fun.

FOLLOW-UP:
I'm back. The scooter was a blast, and I think 250cc's is the perfect combination of power and maneuverability for the trip. Sure, you can blast along the Tomei expressway at higher speeds on a real bike, but my trusty Aprilia Leonardo got up to 130km/h, with a passenger. That's faster than all but the type-A yuppies in their Beemers who commandeer the passing lane all the way down. And when you get onto Route 135 to Shimoda, and the road narrows to a twisty one-laner, the scooter slips around traffic like the proverbial knife through butter. It's a great feeling riding unimpeded past a solid kilometer of backed-up cars — kind of like Ray Liotta skipping the line outside the nightclub in Goodfellas. I'd estimate the scooter shaved at least a full hour off our one-way travel time.

A friend of mine from back home in New York is planning his first trip to Japan, and asked me whether flying economy class is "nuts". My answer quickly grew into a list of long-flight tips:

1. I've flown business class when my company was paying, and first class when I was using frequent flyer miles to upgrade. But when I'm paying my own way, I fly coach. It's not luxurious, but it's not "nuts", and it's thousands of dollars cheaper.

2. Bring a portable DVD player, an extra fully-charged battery or two, Bose noise-cancelling headphones, and a complete season of your favorite TV show, and you'll be there before you know it. Movies, magazines, books, and videogames are all good, but in my experience, nothing makes time fly like a whole season of a TV show.

3. Of the above items, the most important is the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. They are useful even if you are not listening to DVD's or music, since they block out ambient cabin noise and screaming babies. Buy a pair and thank me later.

4. Turn down the brightness of your DVD player screen so the batteries last longer. (That's also why you should bring a portable DVD player, not your laptop computer with a DVD drive. With no hard drive, a smaller screen, and cheap extra batteries, a dedicated DVD player is more likely to last the whole flight.)

5. Get an aisle seat so you can get up and walk around from time to time to stretch your legs without asking the person next to you to move.

6. Weekday flights are likely to be less crowded, and you may find the seat next to you empty.

7. Some people like the exit row seats because they have extra legroom, but I don't think this is a big deal unless you're really tall. And be sure to avoid the window seat in an exit row. Airplane doors have a big lump that juts into the cabin and actually gives this seat less legroom than the seats in a normal row!

8. The closer to the front of the plane you sit, the less time you will have to spend waiting to get off at the end.

9. If you do end up in business or first class, you will probably have an outlet at your seat to plug in a laptop computer or other device. However, some of these outlets require special adapters. If you plan on plugging something in, check with the airline ahead of time, and go buy the right adapter if necessary. And Japan Air Lines (JAL) apparently has wireless Internet on Tokyo-NY flights.

10. Because you're travelling a great distance, you may be tempted to bring a big suitcase with you. Don't. Big suitcases are a hassle to lug around (even with wheels) and a hassle to wait for at the luggage carousel. And there's always the risk that the airline will lose your bag. A carry-on should be plenty unless you are packing tons of formal wear and business wear for meetings and receptions.

Well, ten seems like a good stopping point. Anyone else have any suggestions?

ESWN translates an article from China's Southern Metropolis Daily that looks at a book written by one Wu Jingmin, a former tourist guide in Shenzhen.

Wu's book is an expose of China's tour agencies titled, "How Can I Not Slaughter You?" It sheds some light on how and why these agencies herd groups of unsuspecting tourists into tacky jade and silk souvenir shops, as I described here — instead of letting them spend more time at the places they've actually travelled so far to see, like the Great Wall:

Why do so many tourist shops sell jade? Why won't they [sell] television sets? Because everybody knows the actual price of television sets, but they don't know about jade. Therefore, nowadays, the shops sell pearls, jewelry, medicine and tea leaves because it is easy to fool people. "I once took a group from Taiwan. The shop salesperson took the client into the VIP room, opened up the safe and took out a jade bracelet. What was the asking price? HK$ 100,000. This person was not interested and made a counter-offer as a joke: How can it be so expensive? How about $1,000. So the group manager, the division manager, the company manager and the general manager of the shop all came one after another to negotiate. Finally, the transaction was completed for $1,000."

What is even more shocking is that the shopping at designated locations is where the clients get "slaughtered" the most. According to Wu Jingmin, the shop must offer a higher commission in order to attract the tourist group to bring people there. "Ordinarily, the tourist guides gets only 10%. But the shops offer 40% to 50% and the tourist agencies get the rest of the money. Apart from the commission, the shop also has to pay me a headcount fee and a parking fee. When I bring someone into the shop, they will have to pay me whether the person buys something or not. That is a headcount fee. If I drive the car over to your place, you must pay a parking fee."

I had a great time in China, but confronting the unmitigated gall of these tour agencies was the worst part of my trip. As I wrote earlier, if you're in China, avoid guided tours at all costs.

(Interestingly, according to ESWN, Wu published his book on his blog first, to drum up interest. Only after it became a hot topic in the Chinese blogosphere did a publisher offer to print it.)

Since I wasn't able to upload photos in China, I'll be posting some pictures from my recent trip there now that I'm back at home.

For starters, here's a bit of trompe l'oiel action in Tiananmen Square, as I prepare to crush the head of Chairman Mao:


My action was of course purely symbolic, and at any rate came about half a century too late for the millions of victims of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. But hey, it's the thought that counts.