I've been to Japan eight times. The first few trips stuck to the bullet trains and the cities. Then I started renting motorcycles. Years later, I somehow found myself on an experimental motorcycle tour in Japan, all expenses paid. All the photos in this edition of the newsletter are from that trip.

This story starts with a unique problem Japan faces: overtourism. Kyoto abolished the tourist day bus pass in 2023 because peak-season crowds made it impossible for residents to board their own transit. The city now runs tourist-only bus routes and charges differential fares: lower for locals, higher for visitors.

But it's not the amount of tourists that's the problem, its their distribution.

At the same time as Kyoto overflows, 750 rural villages face extinction by mid-century. Nine million homes sit empty across the Japanese countryside.

The tourists are in the wrong places.

Moto Tours Japan is the guided tour arm of the Kizuki Group, a motorcycle company that has been operating in Japan since 1985. They run Rental819 - 130+ rental shops and a fleet of 3,600 bikes spread across the country.

Last year, JTB, Japan's largest travel agency, signed a formal partnership with them to build motorcycle routes that pull international travelers out of congested cities and into rural communities that need the economic activity to survive.

That's how I ended up riding through mountain villages with MTJ, reviewing the fruit of this new partnership.

Japan is a staggering place to ride. 73% percent mountains means twisties that my midwestern mind couldn't fathom at first. Rural roads are maintained to a standard that would embarrass most developed countries. Drivers are patient and genuinely respectful of motorcyclists, making for a relaxing ride.

Most importantly: Hot springs appear at regular intervals across the countryside. After a long day in the saddle, this matters more than any hotel amenity.

The routes MTJ takes you on, and the guides they send you with, cover ground and stories you won't reach any other way: Shirakawa-go's UNESCO mountain villages, the floating torii gate at Miyajima, the caldera rim of Mount Aso, Kyoto temple districts, a sword-smithing workshop, and a ninja castle in Iga-Ueno.

Demand is so high for their tours they can't find enough guides to lead them all. Worth knowing if you're interested in riding Japan; start to plan early.

If you've been to Japan and made it outside the cities, I want to know what you found. Hit reply.