Motorcycles and Mountains

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Mark asks Eric about motorcycling in Japan.

Mark: Hey, Eric! You’ve got a motorcycle, haven’t you?
Eric: Ahh, yes, I have two.
Mark: What kind?
Eric: I have a BMW big touring bike and I have a Suzuki off-road type.
Mark: A BMW is a German bike, isn’t it?
Eric: Aah, that’s right, yes. Made in Germany. Even though I live in Japan, I have a German-made motorcycle.
Mark: Why did you get a German motorcycle?
Eric: Well, I have been doing a lot of camping and touring on my motorcycle so this big motorcycle is able to carry a lot of weight comfortably and safely and also this motorcycle is wind-tunnel tested so it does really really nicely on the expressway. I commute to work on the expressway four days a week so it is really good for that.
Mark: Right, and when you go touring, you go camping, is that right?
Eric: Yeah we often like to camp. Once in while we’ll stay in a cabin but yeah often we take the camping gear and stay in tents.
Mark: So you ride on winding mountain roads up through the Japanese mountains until you find a beautiful place and then you just pitch your tent and light a fire?
Eric: Well, usually we have a plan as to where to go but yes we like…we prefer nice windy twisty mountain roads.
Mark: A lot of people only know the part of Japan from Tokyo down to Hiroshima; this kind of built-up urban coastal area, but they don’t realize that a huge area of this country is mountains and narrow winding roads and deserted villages. I just love the Japanese mountains.