Biker captures beautiful and varied scenery of Japan, friendliness of fellow travellers, edited down into two short montage pieces.

With so many amazing places to see in Japan, and breath-taking nature, it’s well worth going further than just Tokyo and Kyoto and getting off the beaten track a little. While the Shinkansen bullet train can whisk you around the country incredibly quickly, going by road will let you see more of the country.

If you need even more inspiration, Japanese Twitter user @aokioori123 has compiled two short videos from his motorbike trip on (and off) the roads of Japan, showing a helmet-eye view of some truly gorgeous landscapes as he whizzed about on his Yamaha XSR900.

@aokioori123’s videos show the range of climates even just within the four main islands of Japan, and that there’s much more to Japan than just the built-up conurbations most tourists or ex-pats will see. Packing light, @aokioori123, managed to travel around on his bike, spending around 2,000 yen (US$17.87) a day on fuel, far cheaper than the train and yet seeing so much more.

Other Japanese Twitter users wanted to know more, including some of the places he’d seen. Most were jealous that he’d been on a trip that many might consider, but few would ever actually get around to doing, ticking off all 47 prefectures of Japan except Okinawa.

▼ Yamaguchi Prefecture’s Akiyoshidai cave in the Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park

▼ Oita Prefecture’s Mount Yufu

▼ Mie Prefecture’s Yokkaichi City

▼ By the seaside, in Kagoshima Prefecture, at the very bottom of Kyushu

Despite the lack of luggage space (not such a problem if you know a few tricks), and being exposed to the elements, watching @akioori123’s video is enough to have anyone longing for the open road, even non-motorbike riders like myself. Unfortunately, while the scenery might be equally spectacular, you probably don’t get quite the same experience doing a round Japan trip on a single-gear mamachari bicycle.

Source, featured image: Twitter/aokioori123