Kanichi Fujiwara

Kanichi Fujiwara
Native name 藤原かんいち or 藤原 寛一
Born 1961 (age 55–56)
Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Known for Long-distance motorcycle riding
Spouse(s) Hiroko Fujiwara[1]
Website kanichi.com

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

Journeys

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

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] a online publication of large Japanese auction house BDS.[15][16]

Bibliography

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ Rough & Road 2009a.
  2. ↑ Fujiwara 2009.
  3. 1 2 Fujiwara 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Hedge 2004.
  5. ↑ Fujiwara 2003.
  6. 1 2 Tesch 2013.
  7. ↑ Asahi Shinbun 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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