On April 24, the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally 2022" was held. Guest participant Casoli ran the rally course in Chiba Prefecture for two days, the day before and the day of the rally.
The day before the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally 2022
At 9:00 a.m. on April 23, I departed from the Tomisato IC of the Higashi-Kanto Expressway. The bike is a V-Strom 250 with a mileage of 169,522 kilometers, 478 kilometers away from 170,000 kilometers.
From Tomisato IC, head south on Route 409 to Yachimachi Shrine (Yachimachi City). This is the first motorcycle shrine. There are four riders' shrines in Chiba Prefecture, and this time we will visit them. At the Yachimachi Shrine, I received a Yachimachi Shrine amulet sticker with a motorcycle design.
Depart from Tomisato IC of Higashi-Kanto Expressway. Go south on Route 409.
Arrive at the first motorcycle shrine, Yachimachi Shrine (Yachimachi City)
Dedication flag of "Riders' Shrine" at Yachimachi Shrine
Visit Yachimachi Shrine
Yachimachi Shrine amulet sticker with a motorcycle design
From Yachimachi, drive further south on Route 409 to Togane. From Togane, take Route 126 to 128 to Mobara.
After stopping the V-Strom 250 in front of Mobara Station on the JR Sotobo Line and taking a breather, we headed south from the station on a wide road. The road becomes the Nanso Regional Agricultural Road, and when you enter Chonan Town from Mobara City, turn right. There you will see a sign for Chokyu-ji Temple. The Nagai Tunnel is located at the top of a gentle slope. It is a surprisingly narrow tunnel. It is a bizarre sight. There are many such tunnels on the Boso Peninsula.
After seeing the "Nagai Tunnel," we headed south on the Nanso Regional Agricultural Road to Oyado on the Pacific coast. Here, we saw a statue of the "Desert of the Moon" on the beach.
Mobara Station on JR Sotobo Line
Nagai Tunnel" is a surprisingly narrow tunnel!
Statue of "Desert of the Moon" in Oyado
From Oyado, take Route 128 on the Pacific coast through Katsuura to Tianjin (Kamogawa City). Visit the second motorcycle shrine in Amatsu, Amatsu Shinmyougu Shrine (Kamogawa City). After turning around here and returning to Oyado, take National Route 128 to Kujukuri Road (toll-free). Arriving at Katakai (Kujukuri Town), the last stop on the Kujukuri Road, we had lunch at Yanagiya, a restaurant. Here, I had the "Iwashi no Sashimi Set Meal," a regular menu item at Kasori. Whenever I come to Katakai, I have an irresistible craving for sardine sashimi.
Visit the second motorcycle shrine, Amatsu Shinmyougu (Kamogawa City)
Iwashi sashimi set meal at Yanagiya, a restaurant in Katagai
From Katakai, take Prefectural Route 30 along Kujukuri Beach. However, the ocean is not in sight. On the way to Hasunuma (Yamatake City), we turned left on Prefectural Road 30 and took Prefectural Road 58 to the roadside station "Orai Hasunuma" to eat Taiyaki. It was filled with red bean paste all the way to the tip of the tail.
Returning to Prefectural Road No. 30, it joins National Road No. 126 at Iioka (Asahi City). Entering Choshi City, we took Prefectural Road No. 286 to No. 254 and entered the Choshi Peninsula. The Choshi Peninsula, which feels like it is tucked away at the easternmost tip of Chiba Prefecture, has a number of touring points. From Togawa Fishing Port, we saw Nagasakihana at the southern tip of the peninsula and reached Togawa Station, the last stop of the Choshi Electric Railway. Here, we drank canned coffee from the vending machine in the waiting room.
Taiyaki" at the roadside station "Orai Hasunuma
Sotokawa Station, the last stop on the Choshi Electric Railway line
At Inubozaki, climb the lighthouse, drive along Koigahama Beach, and see the mouth of the Tone River. Then from Choshi Fishing Port to Choshi Station. We stayed at the "Kamome Hotel" on the street in front of the station. In the evening, we had a pre-event party at an izakaya (Japanese-style bar) with the participants of the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally 2022". This was fun. We drank a lot and talked a lot with everyone.
Inubosaki Lighthouse
Choshi Fishing Port at the mouth of Tone River
The day of the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally 2022
At 6:30 a.m. on April 24, we departed from the Kamome Hotel. We went to the Unakami Hachiman Shrine, located about 5 km from the front of Choshi Station on Route 356. This is the starting point of the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally 2022.
In conjunction with this day, the Umaihachiman Shrine became the fourth motorcycle shrine in Chiba Prefecture. At the shrine, the ritual of raising the motorcycle shrine flag was performed, and the priest gave us a sticker depicting a motorcycle with the name "Umikai Hachiman-gu" on it.
Early morning departure from Choshi
The Tone River seen from Choshi riverside park. Kamisu City in Ibaraki Prefecture is on the opposite bank.
The third motorcycle shrine, Kaijai Hachimangu (Choshi City), is the starting point of the rally.
Amulet sticker of Kaijo-Hachimangu Shrine
Departure from Kaijo-Hachimangu Shrine with a grand send-off from the local people
The rally started at 9:00 a.m., with the mayor of Choshi City and the president of Choshi Dentetsu coming to the ceremony and the local people seeing them off in grand style. The tour will visit the "Choshi Port Tower," "Inubo Station" of Choshi Electric Railway, and "Nure-sembei Station" of Choshi Electric Railway. Choshi Dentetsu Nure-sembei Eki is not a railroad station, but a direct sales place of Nure-sembei rice crackers along National Route 126. Here, visitors can try their hand at baking Nure-sembei by hand.
After visiting three checkpoints in Choshi City, each participant took his or her own route to the goal, Iikaoka Hachimangu Shrine (Ichihara City).
The first checkpoint in Choshi is Choshi Port Tower at Choshi Port.
The next checkpoint in Choshi is Choshi Electric Railway's Inubou Station.
A train bound for Choshi arrived at Choshi Dentetsu's Inubo Station.
The last checkpoint in Choshi is "Choshi Dentetsu Nure-Senmochi Station" (Choshi Electric Railway Nure-Senmochi Station)
When the Kasori departs from "Choshi Dentetsu Nure-Senmochi Station," take National Route 126 to Yokaichiba (Sosa City). From Yokaichiba, head north on Route 296. At Roadside Station "Tago" (Tago Town), I ate "Keema naan curry. Eating naan reminded me of the "Silk Road Crossing. Taking Route 296, we passed south of Narita Airport and returned to the Tomisato IC of the Higashi-Kanto Expressway. From here on, we will ride around on the highways to make up the distance and complete the 170,000 km mark on the V-Strom 250.
First, we will visit the "Three Shrines of the East". We got off the Higashi-Kanto Expressway at the Sawara-Katori IC and visited Katori Jingu Shrine. I went to the Ushioi IC, the last stop on the Higashi-Kanto Expressway, and visited Kashima Jingu Shrine and Motosu Shrine. Kashima Jingu Shrine and Ikisu Shrine are in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Stop by Roadside Station "Tago" (Tago Town) on Route 296
Keema Nan Curry" eaten at "Tago" Roadside Station
Back at Tomisato IC of Higashi-Kanto Expressway
Visit to the "Three Shrines of the East
From the breath shrine, we crossed the Tone River on Prefectural Route 44 and returned to Chiba Prefecture, where the rain began to fall. It soon began to rain heavily, and we rode the V-Strom 250 through the pouring rain. At the Kurimoto Roadside Station, we ate dumplings filled with sweet bean paste, and then headed for Narita. After passing through the tunnel under the runway of Narita Airport, we now entered the Higashi-Kanto Expressway from the Narita Interchange. We then took the Keiyo Expressway, Tateyama Expressway, and Ken-O Expressway, and exited the expressway at the Ichihara-Tsurumai Interchange.
Going on Prefectural Road 41 in the rain
Dumplings filled with red bean paste eaten at Kurimoto, a roadside station on Prefectural Road 41.
From the Ichihara Tsurumai IC, the V-Strom 250 headed north on Route 297, reaching 170,000 km in Ushiku (Ichihara City), four years and seven months after starting the "Around Japan in the 70s" on September 1, 2017. Entering the central city of Ichihara, the goal was reached at 16:00 at Iikaoka Hachiman Shrine near Hachimanjuku Station on the JR Uchibo Line. This is the fourth motorcycle shrine, and after two days of riding around Chiba Prefecture, "Chiba" is full of sights to see. I had a feeling that the "tour of four motorcycle shrines" in Chiba Prefecture, which we visited in the order of Yachimachi Shrine, Amatsu Shinmyougu Shrine, Kaijo Hachimangu Shrine, and Iikaoka Hachimangu Shrine, would become a popular touring course in the near future.
Drive on the Higashi-Kanto Expressway → Keiyo Road → Tateyama Road → Ken-O Expressway and exit the expressway at the Ichihara-Tsurumai IC.
V-Strom 250 reaches 17,000 km in Ushiku (Ichihara City)!
We arrived at the fourth motorcycle shrine, Iikaoka Shrine (Ichihara City). This is the goal of the rally.
What is the "Chibike Solo Touring Rally" from the editorial team?
The "Chibike Solo Touring Rally," organized by Chibike, a group of riders in Chiba Prefecture, is an event held since 2018 to rediscover the charms of Chiba Prefecture through bike touring. In addition to visiting designated stops in Chiba Prefecture, participants can take any route they wish to reach their destinations. The 2022 event was held on Sunday, April 24.
