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Kanichi Fujiwara

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Kanichi Fujiwara
藤原かんいち or 藤原 寛一
Born1961 (age 62–63)
Iwate Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Known forLong-distance motorcycle riding
SpouseHiroko Fujiwara[1]
Websitekanichi.com

Kanichi Fujiwara is a Japanese long-distance motorcycle rider and writer.

Journeys

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Yamaha Passol model used in 2004–2008 circumnavigation

Between May 1987 and August 1999 he journeyed several continents with a number of small motorcycles including a Honda Super Cub, 50 cc Honda Motra and Honda Gorilla utility minibikes, and a Honda Dio scooter.[2] His 1995 trip around Japan was documented in his 1997 book The Original Bike Bastard Starving Around Japan.

Between March 2004 and May 2008 he made a 50,552-kilometre (31,412 mi) journey circumnavigating the world on a Yamaha Passol electric scooter,[3][4] on a route including Australia from Sydney to Perth, Thailand, India to Lisbon, South Africa to Kenya, and America from New York to San Francisco (44 countries).[3][5] It may have been the first global circumnavigation by electric two-wheeler.[6][7] Fujiwara visited and documented the sites of sacred trees in various countries to spread awareness of green transportation.[8][9]

The scooter he used in the 2004–2008 circumnavigation, sponsored by Yamaha,[10] weighed 45 kilograms (99 lb), had a 30 km/h top speed, and an endurance of 20 km on a battery charge.[4] Even with six batteries giving a 100 km range,[4] his partner had to shuttle charged batteries to him in order to cross Australia's Nullarbor Plain.[6]

Between April 2009 and November 2013, he rode 100,000 kilometers across Japan's major highways on a 50 cc Honda Cub, sponsored by motorcycle apparel supplier Rough & Road, and supported by serializing his journeys in the Japanese magazine Tandem Style and on his own blog.[11][12][13]

Online journalism

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In addition to various blogs covering his motorcycle travels, Fujiwara is also a food critic. His "Tabigohan" column covers road food at roadside stations and other Japanese venues for BBB-Bike,[14] an online publication of large Japanese auction house BDS.[15][16]

Bibliography

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  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (1997), 原チャリ野郎のハラペコ日本一周―74日間1万3390km8万5909円の旅 [The original bike bastard starving around Japan: 74 day, 13,390 km journey on 85,909 Yen], Japan Travel Bureau Publishing, ISBN 978-4533028144

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Rough & Road 2009a.
  2. ^ Fujiwara 2009.
  3. ^ a b Fujiwara 2008.
  4. ^ a b c Hedge 2004.
  5. ^ Fujiwara 2003.
  6. ^ a b Tesch 2013.
  7. ^ Asahi Shimbun 2004.
  8. ^ Fujiwara 2004.
  9. ^ Channel News Asia 2004.
  10. ^ AFP 2004.
  11. ^ Tandem Style 2009.
  12. ^ Rough & Road 2009b.
  13. ^ Fujiwara 2013.
  14. ^ Fujiwara 2012.
  15. ^ BDS 2011a; BDS auctions approximately 4,500 motorcycles a week.
  16. ^ BDS 2011b; BDS claims 50% share of Japan's motorcycle auction market.

References

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