ATV Riding at Mt Fuji in Japan
I spend quite a few months of the year in Japan, and for those who do t know, ATVs (or "buggies" as they are called in Japan) are a hobby which categorically do not exist in Japan. There is almost no public land that is not protected and because there is no culture of it, there is no private parks either. In fact, despite being Japanese if you look at Honda. Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki's Japanese websites, you will not see references to ATVs anywhere. They basically only exist for farmers. That said there are a very, very small handful of places that you can ride them, and the best one is probably "Fujiyama buggy" (literally Mt Fuji buggy). They have imported North American spec ATVs and you can ride for an hour (more if they aren't busy and you can show you're competent). It's not cheap (usual price is 12,000jpy per person for an hour. About $80-90) and it's not free roam- they guide you on the course and for most of those here it would be considered very tame, but it's tailored more for total beginners and tourists. If you can prove you are competent they'll take you on some slightly more difficult trails. It's not very long. But rising in the Japanese countryside with Mt Fuji in the background is incredible. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in Japan and visiting Mt Fuji- it's about an hour drive from Fujikawaguchiko town, and about 2 1/2 hours by expressway from Tokyo. Riding in Japan is incredibly rare so these guys are awesome, and we're a lot of fun. At first they put me on their brand new Brute Force 750 but after 45 I felt bad for the staff who was rising an old Kodiak 400, so I swapped with him andet him ride the new one. It was an excellent experience. No mud, especially right now with it being so dry. Anyway, I highly recommend it if you're ever in Japan.