A taste of Japan along the Thai/Myanmar border.
A melting pot of cultures in one day!
This ride takes you through some of the most incredible roads the North has to offer.
𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:
Paved and mostly smooth, but some broken-up / pothole sections
The Ride: GOOGLE MAP ROUTE
Table of Contents
A Jam-Packed One-Day Ride
This ride can be extended by staying overnight in one of the many beautiful places I visited.
The R107
The ride out. I set off north on the R107 in the misty early morning. It was a little on the chilly side (thankfully I had layered up, which included a windbreaker jacket over my motorcycle jacket) and the road was initially fairly clear, so I covered ground quickly. In Inthakhin (a sub-district of Mae Taeng) I noticed some beautiful low lying mist in a woodland park area, so crossed over and entered into the park.
It was so much prettier than my photos show and set a nice mood for the start of my ride.
After leaving the park the route became mistier and mistier until there was a wall of fog, which caused me to slow my speed down a fair bit. Traffic emerged out of the fog only at the last minute, and on a few occasions there were vehicles with zero working lights. These things certainly keep you on your toes!
In fact, the fog was so dense that it completely hid Chiang Dao Mountain!
I continued along the R107 until I reached my first destination. The entranceway for this Japan-inspired park was easily recognisable, despite the thick fog. Welcome to Japan in Thailand!
I parked up and entered the Japan-themed village, paying just 80 baht at the entrance. Once inside, I realised I would need to wait a little while for the morning sun to break through (for the best photos), so on a whim, I rented a Yukata Kimono. The entire experience of walking into the rental shop, picking out which Yukata to wear, and being led to the dressing and locker room area, was all rather brusk and hurried. I was helped into the Yukata and was given a pair of Geta traditional Japanese shoes, that were rather odd to walk in at first, but I got the hang of them. Hard to believe these were once regular attire in Japan!
Hinoki Land
𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔: 8𝒂𝒎 – 5𝒑𝒎
𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆: 𝟖𝟎 𝐛𝐚𝐡𝐭
𝒀𝒖𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝑲𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒓𝒆: 250 𝑩𝒂𝒉𝒕
(𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑠 – 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑠)
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Google Maps.
Hinoki Land is a Japanese-inspired privately-owned park with striking architecture and stunning views, creating a mini Japan landscape.
At the entrance, you are greeted by a replica of the Kaminarimon arch and once inside the compound, there are 88 pairs of Torii Gates which lead you to the majestic 4-story building, made from Hinoki Pine. A small taste of Japan in the northern hills.
Much attention and detail has gone into the compound, such as the clear reflective lake (filled with brightly coloured Koi fish), the beautiful plants, flowers and trees, and the giant Maneki Neko lucky cat statue. There is also a restaurant and gift shop, where food, drinks and Japan-inspired gifts can be bought at a reasonable price. I bought a drink set which included an iced coffee and two Japanese cheesecakes for 130 baht. Both Thai and Japanese dishes were available, and service was fast.
Once the sun emerged I had a fun time strolling around with my camera tripod, taking multiple photos and enjoying the quiet before more visitors arrived. I like to try to get to these places during unconventional hours because there is more chance of beating the crowds. Later on before leaving I also met a lovely group of Kimono-wearing Thai ladies who were visiting from Bangkok. I took the opportunity to get a photo with them.
*𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞* 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑌𝑢𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝐾𝑖𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑠. 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 #CulturalAppropriation versus #CulturalAppreciation 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠. 𝐻𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚.
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡, 𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜. 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦, ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑌𝑢𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑.
One negative point: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝐼 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡. 𝐼𝑓 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑑/𝑓𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑.
(For an ethical elephant experience, consider visiting Chai Lai Orchid)
After spending several hours messing about and enjoying a little Japan flavour in Hinoki Land I got changed back into my motorcycle gear and headed for Doi Ang Khang, Thailand’s 15th highest mountain peak at around 1928 meters high. This means riding the fantastic R1249!
The R1249
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The R1249s, with its notoriously dangerous steep sharp bends, has seen a fair few incidents. The route has undergone multiple repairs on regular occasions, with the longest recent repair taking 9 months. At this current time the road condition is great, but you certainly will want to have good working brakes!
I continued up this fantastic road to the Royal Agricultural Station and Gardens and then later to the Thai/Myanmar border checkpoint at Ban Nor-Lae. I knew (like on the previous times I have tried) I would not be permitted to cross at this border point, but as it’s an interesting ride to the checkpoint I always check intermittently. Many years ago the checkpoint was open and you could ride the route, but some years back there were reports of bandits, insurgents and issues along the route, so it was shut down for the general public.
At the Royal Agricultural Station I had brain fog and for some reason entered into the Royal Project Gardens via the exit sign. I was riding along for a little while before it dawned on me that I was riding down the wrong direction in the gardens and that I was supposed to pay an entry fee. Haha. Oops! I might sort that video footage out and add it later.
After coming back out of the Royal Project Gardens I headed back on myself and up to the Doi Ang Khang viewpoint camping area.
Doi Ang Khang
This viewpoint was once just a little wooden platform on stilts sitting on Army land. I have a photo from back in 2010 standing on the deck area. At that time my mode of transport/touring was my Yamaha automatic Fino scooter 115cc, which I remember really struggled to get up the route to the viewpoint.
R1340
After relaxing at the camping area for a while I took a long way back by heading south on the R1340 border route, which would take me through many interesting rural villages. Aside from the occasional farming vehicles (piled up high with goods, almost in a cartoon comical kind of way), there was pretty much no one else on the route, and the roads were in surprisingly great conditions.
I pulled over at one point to check out some interesting rocks (yes, for some reason I do find rocks interesting). This whole area was recently burned, revealing the oddly shaped rocks, resulting in an eerie barren landscape. At first, I thought there might be a Hot Spring close by, but I couldn’t see (or smell) one.
The road was very peaceful and scenic for most of the ride and I passed through many interesting villages adorned with Chinese motifs and signage. It didn’t feel like I was riding in Thailand at all.
At the Wiang Haeng turn-off, the road took on an interesting perspective.
By this time (around 5 pm) the sun was beginning to set, which is actually when I really love the view of Chiang Dao Mountain. This soft golden light makes the mountain and nature around it a visual delight.
Chiang Dao
Once I was back in the town of Chiang Dao I decided to stop for dinner at เสน่ห์ดอยหลวง, which is also the same location that I had taken photos from of the morning fog. It was interesting to think that I was there approximately 7 hours ago and now I am right back at the same location, looking at a sunny view. I enjoyed a nice meal before layering up my clothes once again in preparation for a chilly ride home.
After filling my belly I rode the last 70 km back to Chiang Mai. The light faded fast, so most of the ride home was in the dark, but it was nice to ride as the sun was setting, creating shadows and casting sunbeams over the road.
I hope you enjoyed this trip report of mini Japan and border routes.
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