Brock folk on the road

brockfolk@yahoo.com http://www.brockfolk.com/

They are on the 1-year bicycle tour of Asia and we can enjoy Japan tour article in their site.

Japan Cycling Navigator asked 3question to them!

1. Can you tell us a simple profile about you?
2. Can you tell us the period and the route in Japan?
3. Do you have any advises or messages to foreign bikers?

1:Can you tell us a simple profile about you?

• Clark & Kacia Brockman from Portland, Oregon, USA.
• We have been married for 10 years and have no children yet.
• Clark is 39 years old and is an Architect. Most of the buildings he has worked on are large commercial and public buildings like office buildings, schools and churches. He wants to be more involved with "green" (sustainable) architecture when he gets back to America.
• Kacia was a network engineer for a wireless telephone company. She expects to change her career when we get back to America, becoming more involved with socially and/or environmentally concerned issues.
• We both have quit our jobs in order to take this 1-year bicycle tour of Asia, which we are currently in the middle of. We spent the last 5 years planning and saving money for this trip. We both feel that work was too high a priority in our lives, and look forward to returning to America with a more balanced approach to our lives together.
• Our trip itinerary has been:
• USA west coast from Portland to San Francisco
• Fly to Hong Kong for 5 days (no cycling)
• Fly to New Delhi, India, then to Ladakh, India.
• Spent summer in Ladakh working on a farm.
• Rode bicycles out of Himalayas back to Delhi.
• Fly to Japan, ride for 6 weeks
• Ferry to Taiwan, ride for 4 weeks
• Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam, ride for 6 weeks
• continue through Southeast Asia to China *******

2:Can you tell us the period and the route in Japan?

WE CYCLED IN JAPAN FROM 28 SEPTEMBER TO 2 NOVEMBER 2001. HERE ARE ALL THE PLACES WE STOPPED FOR THE NIGHT.

"YH" = YOUTH HOSTEL.
"RH" = RIDER HOUSE.
"FC"= FREE CAMP.
"CG" = CAMPGROUND (MANY CAMPGROUNDS WERE ALREADY CLOSED FOR THE SEASON AND WE CAMPED ANYWAY FOR FREE.)

KANSAI/OSAKA - HOTEL BUS FROM AIRPORT. ASSEMBLED BIKES AND STARTED RIDE FROM THIS HOTEL.
NARA - FC
IIMORIZUKA - HOMESTAY
NARA - YH
KYOTO - YH, AND HOMESTAY WITH FRIENDS
MAKINO - CG
TSURUGA PORT - FERRY TO OTARU, HOKKAIDO
OTARU - YH
SAPPORO - YH
HIDAKA - CG
FURANO - FC
NAKAFURANO - CG
TOMA - CG
SOUNKYO - YH
LAKE NUBIRAKO - FC
IKEDA - RH
ERIMO MISAKI - YH
SAMANI - CG
TOMIKAWA - RH
NIBUTANI - CG
TOMAKOMAI - FERRY TO AKITA, TOHOKU KYOWA - CG
KAKUNODATE - CG
KITAKAME - CG
HIRAIZUMI - YH
HINAIZUMI - CG
SENDAI - CG
SENDAI - YH
FERRY TO NAGOYA
FERRY TO NAHA, OKINAWA
FERRY TO KEELUNG, TAIWAN

3:Do you have any advises or messages to foreign bikers?

WE REALLY ENJOYED OUR BIKE TOUR OF NORTHERN JAPAN.
WE WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE. THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IS, OF COURSE, THE COST. AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, JAPAN IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRY TO TRAVEL IN IN THE WORLD. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR BICYCLE TOURISTS IS BE PREPARED TO CAMP. CAMPING IS A GREAT WAY TO MAKE THE TRIP AFFORDABLE.
WE ALSO WOULD TELL THEM THAT THEY SHOULD GET A COPY OF THE APPROPRIATE CAMP-JO GUIDE AND TOURING MAPPLE FOR WHEREVER THEY RIDE. WE HAD BOTH FOR OUR RIDE IN TOHOKU AND FOUND THE COMBINATION INVALUABLE.

Email to Clark and Kacia brockfolk@yahoo.com

Thank you very much Kacia and Clark Brockman san!!