Kanichi Fujiwara

Kanichi Fujiwara
Native name 藤原かんいち or 藤原 寛一
Born 1961 (age 56–57)
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

  • 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

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

  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (2003), Route map and mileage, retrieved 2013-11-14
  • Japanese Man to Travel 'Around-the-Globe' on Electric Scooter, Agence France-Presse, March 9, 2004, retrieved 2014-11-14
  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (2004), Big trees (published 2004–2008), retrieved 2013-11-30
  • "World trip on no-emission electric scooter", Channel News Asia, March 2, 2004, retrieved 2013-11-30 – via Reed Business Information
  • "環境に配慮、電動バイクで世界一周へ　藤原夫妻" [Environmentally friendly: Fujiwara and his wife to travel around the world on electric bike], Asahi Shinbun (in Japanese), March 23, 2004 – via China People's Daily
  • Hedge, Trevor (November 29, 2004), Battery powered world adventurers visit Perth, mcnews.com.au, retrieved 2013-11-14
  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (June 17, 2008), 素晴らしい旅をありがとう [Thank you for a wonderful journey] (in Japanese), BBB-Bike.com, retrieved 2013-11-04
  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (May 2009), 僕のワールドツーリングを支えてくれた原チャリ列伝 ／ 藤原かんいち [Original bikes that have supported my world touring]
  • "ラフ&ロードな人々 — フリーライター　藤原かんいち＆ヒロコ　夫婦" [People — Couple: freelance writer Kanichi & Hiroko Fujiwara], Rough & Road official blog (in Japanese), Rough & Road, March 30, 2009, retrieved 2013-11-16
  • "100,000 キロの旅ストーリー!" [The story of a journey of 100,000 kilometers], Tandem Style (in Japanese): 66–67, May 2009, retrieved 2013-11-16 – via Rough & Road official blog
  • "タンデムスタイル５月号（3/24発売）掲載記事" [An article in the May issue of Tandem Style], Rough & Road official blog (in Japanese), Rough & Road, April 13, 2009
  • Two-wheel related auctions (in Japanese), BDS, 2011, retrieved 2013-11-30
  • Services (in Japanese), BDS, 2011, retrieved 2013-11-30
  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (2012), 藤原かんいち 全国旅ごはん！バイク紀行 [Kanichi Fujiwara's cross-country road food! Bike journey], BBB-Bike (in Japanese), BDS Company Inc. (published 2012–2013), retrieved 2013-11-30
  • "100,000 km on the road", Tandem Style (in Japanese) (122): 90–95, July 2012, retrieved 2013-11-16 – via Rough & Road official blog
  • Tesch, Bernd (September 11, 2013), Around-The-World by motorcycle, 2001–2004, retrieved 2013-11-14
  • Fujiwara, Kanichi (November 7, 2013), "本日100000キロ達成しました!!" [Achieved 100,000 km today!!], On the Road 100000km blog
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