Project 47 Ep 4: Riding Mt. Kuju to Oita’s Coastal Gems – Day 1/3 🏍️🇯🇵🌅

Project 47 Ep 4: Riding Mt. Kuju to Oita’s Coastal Gems – Day 1/3 🏍️🇯🇵🌅

[Music] Japan is a unique country made up of 47 prefectures. My goal is to ride them all. This is project 47. This bike is new to me. It feels different, but it feels good, too. Japan isn’t really considered an adventure destination. Much of its wilderness is tamed, paved, signed, but not all of it. I always wanted to get a little into the wild of Japan on these trips. With the GV, I I felt held back for fear of dropping it. But now on the Scrambler 400X, those roads are wide open to explore. I’ll be the first to tell you that going off-road isn’t my forte. I haven’t done much dirt riding since I was a teenager, but it always held an interest for me. But now you can expect to see a whole lot more of that. Well, maybe just a little at first. Put my tent right there next to where the bike is. Looking out that way. Should be sweet. [Music] [Music] Hey, good morning guys. Here we are in Oita Prefecture. Day one. Yeah, baby. All right, so I rode up here last night. Um, decided to come up and try to find somewhere to camp out in the wild a bit more. I found this cool little campsite up here in the mountains. We got Mount Atso up in the off in the distance out there, which is the volcano from Kumamoto Prefecture. Um, and we got Mount Ku just behind me up here. This whole area is like volcanic, like crazy volcanic stuff. But yeah, we’re going to pack all this up and hit the road and go see what we can find. Waiter, day one. Let’s go. Yoohoo. The plan for day one was pretty simple. Leave camp here at Mount Ku and start heading north towards the sea. Along the way, stop at a few places that look pretty cool. Day one looked like I’d be covering around 150 to 160 km and probably around 4 hours in the saddle. Yoooo on the road. Here we go. There you go. As you can see, this is not the kind of road you want to take the GB up while it’ll do it. It’s just not the optimum road for it. You really want that little extra suspension travel. Yep. This is the way After navigating my way down off the mountain, I found a nice open road with blue skies overhead. Was feeling like a great day already. My first destination was O Pond or O Spring. I was looking forward to checking it out. I heard it was a good place to get some fresh drinking water, too. Heat. Heat. [Music] I was just Oh, you got [Music] Oik Springs is located on the north side of Mount Kuro and it’s an area of abundant nature covered entirely with native [Music] forest. Woo! How nice is this? Even without climbing the mountain, just a short walk along the walking path to the springs is enough to make you feel at one with nature. The water gushing up from the spring stays at a cool 12° C all year round, and the spring flows 14 tons of water a minute, or 20,000 tons a day. It really is a beautiful place to visit. [Music] The area is filled with gorgeous trees. There are roots climbing over mossy rocks like hands gripping nature. [Music] to the same. All right, looks like we’re on a straight into another awesome road. [Music] travel. I long for this place. Long for this place. Now I lay you down. I lay you down. Let me flow. Brea in the air. Fresh blessing. West are you held by the forest where I go for rest and washed by the waters of lake shing. Wherever I go, I will return again. Too many [Music] souls remember their faces. Remember their faces. Oh, to be wonder. Yeah, look at that. 10. All right, I’m going to do lunch before I do the bridge. Okay, so the restaurant’s just opened up. Going to go get the local delicacy if they’ve got it, which is to 10. fil. Hi coins. So if you haven’t spent much time on road trips, one thing you should uh always keep in mind is keep hydrating. So once we eat the 310, then we’re going to shoot off and go walk the bridge. I think it’s the largest walkable suspension bridge in Japan. But man, it’s glorious day. I’ve been riding all morning just coming out of my ears, man. So much fun. There’s a part of me that wants to go and see stuff and there’s another part of me that just wants to ride. And uh I don’t know which one’s going to win. Wouldn’t be much fun if it was just a 20-minute video of me just riding along, laughing and giggling to myself. So, we’ll go check out some stuff. I’m pretty hungry, though. So, I want this thing to beep. Come on. Beep beep beep. Yeah, baby. Let’s go get the food. So, we got the food. So, basically, I just take this, dip it in that. There’s a bit of mustard there if I want it. And munch away. So, first real meal in like 20 hours. It’s fried chicken. Well, it’s tempura fried chicken, so it’s slight. It’s going to be different. Let’s try this out. We go without mustard first. Oh man, so good. That’s so good. You get like that tempura kind of crunch and feel, but then it’s chicken. They’re kind of like a breasted chicken, not like oily chicken. It’s like really good. See that? Wow. I’m digging that. All right. I’m not going to make you watch me eat the whole thing. So, catch you on the road. Well, on the bridge. Okay, this looks like a perfect spot to go bungee jumping. Oh, hang on. Check out the waterfall. A look at that waterfall. That’s cool. It’s kind of cool. I don’t know if I think it’s worth 500 yen though, just to walk across a bridge and back. But something to try. Now, I know this isn’t a POV video, but there’s some sections of road that it would be a crime to put a cut in the middle of. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Man, this road was so epic. But if I showed you the whole thing, this video would be like 3 hours long. I was having so much fun, I almost ran out of fuel. Luckily in Japan, uh guest stand’s never that far away. [Music] Okay. Hey, [Music] regular need. [Laughter] I Oh, happy wife. [Laughter] [Music] What an awesome dude. Yeah, I’ll do that when I get [Music] going. I rode on for another 30 or 40 minutes before the inevitable need to take a piss hit me like a freight train. I was also still kind of hungry. Lunch was small and I needed something else. I needed a coffee, too. It had to be a convenience store. Okay, so I’ve got a coffee, sandwich, bottle of water. Let’s go see what the next road looks like. Heat up here. What a road. I was having so much fun right then. Yeah, this is it here. Okay. Rummon Falls, a beautiful two tiered waterfall with drops of around 26 m. Nestled deep within the forest in a valley, was the perfect place to stop and take a rest. There was also a shrine here, but it seemed to be on a construction or renewal and an old abandoned campground. I had read online that you could slide down the lower half of the waterfall, but there were signs up warning against that. I guess somebody must have gotten hurt. Still, what a place. [Music] Oh man, that was epic. What a beautiful waterfall. And back on an epic road. Straight out of a waterfall and back into an epic road. Does it get much better than this? My next destination was Ura Yabaki, a collection of stone pillar-l like mountains nestled within a valley. There were actually four of these locations around the area, but this one in particular caught my interest on the maps. The road wound through mountain passes and small villages and farmlands. It was truly beautiful. So relaxing at the same time. And this is just amazing. Wow. Look at that view. Look at the road. Okay. So, apparently we’re we’re here. I get Okay, there’s the mountains. Okay. Cool little town, man. Look at this place. So, I got to just find somewhere to park. All right. Straight in front of me. Got to love that. Small village offers a plethora of places to eat. Mainly sober, but a few other options. From there you cross a small bridge and start your walk up the mountain where you can see some spectacular [Music] views. It’s not the easiest of climbs, but it’s well worth it. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh man, that was so epic. It was so beautiful. What a gorgeous little town. Wish I could camp here, but it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to camp. So, we’re going to go head up to my little beach spot. I’ll stop somewhere along the way and try to get a uh a few supplies for the barbecue tonight. Couple of beers, etc. All the good stuff. Oh, man. There’s more of these mountains. What an epic place. That’s just beautiful. Heat. Heat. All right, guys. So, we stopped here at this supertore called Trial. I think it’s just a little bit cheaper. A little bit of everything. Got some supplies for the barbecue tonight. Now, the final quest. Can I camp at the spot that I seen on Google Maps? Will be a test. Let’s do it. Shouldn’t be too far away. This is about 15 20 minutes away. Fly, fly away. My dreams fly away. I could be a butterfly. Oh, this is so beautiful. Fly, fly away. Oh, I think I spotted it. Yeah, that’s it. Okay. I always fall before. I always fall around. All [Music] right, see if we can make this work. Yeah, I think I see a spot. Look at that. [Music] [Music] All right, guys. That was an epic first day. Just got myself some food cooking on the barbecue. Sun’s set. Camp is set. Going to dig in. Crack a beer. Yeah. Day one done, baby. Time to eat. Yeah. [Music] Thank you for watching. Be sure to check out day two and the rest of the series. Making Project 47 is absolutely epic, but gas and campsites, etc. add up fast. If you’re living the journey, why not join as a team rider for just 140 or a buck a month. You’ll help keep me on the road and get some exclusive behindthe-scenes clips, plus a sweet badge. Hit that membership link below and uh let’s keep rolling together.

#MotorcycleAdventure #JapanMotorcycleTour #SoloMotorcycleTrip

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Hey Team Riders, this Oita leg of Project 47 is epic, but gas and campsites add up fast! Join as a member for just 140 yen/$1 a month to keep me rolling through Japan’s 47 prefectures and get exclusive behind-the-scenes clips:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7QUavyzNZwmN69oLfZxsUQ/join

Day 1 in Oita starts with a spectacular morning at my Mt. Kuju campsite, packed up from my LoneRider MotoTent, and a ride on my Triumph 400X Scrambler chasing Oita’s unreal roads. I hit Oike Pond’s glowing waters, the jaw-dropping Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi bridge, the misty Ryumon Falls, and the tucked-away Ura-Yabakei valley. As the sun dips, I set up camp by the sea, grilling a BBQ under the stars and digging into Oita’s crispy Tori-ten. This is raw, real Japan—two wheels, open roads, and unexpected moments.
Here’s what’s packed into today’s episode:
Sunrise ride from Mt. Kuju on the Triumph 400X Scrambler
Stunning stops at Oike Pond and Ryumon Falls
Crossing the iconic Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi bridge
Exploring the quiet beauty of Ura-Yabakei
Seaside camping with a BBQ and local Tori-ten

➤ What is Project 47?

I’m riding solo through all 47 prefectures of Japan, camping under the stars, and chasing backroads, hidden gems, and local flavors. From shrines to waterfalls, this is Japan unfiltered, seen from two wheels.

➤ If you love:

Cinematic solo motorcycle adventures
Raw, off-grid travel in Japan
Hidden nature, local food, and cultural detours
This series is for you!

LIKE | COMMENT | SUBSCRIBE — Thanks for riding along in Oita! Up next: Days 2 and 3, with more roads, camps, and surprises.

#OitaAdventure #Project47 #MotoCamping #Triumph400X #LoneRiderMotoTent #JapanTravel #OitaJapan #KokonoeYumeOtsuribashi #RyumonFalls #ToriTen #JapanOnTwoWheels #RealJapan #SoloRider #OffGridTravel