A hideaway and relaxation spot for riders in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture
As you drive from National Route 16 along Chiba Prefectural Route 8 Funabashi-Abiko Line towards Lake Teganuma, you will soon see a villa-style building that was popular in the Showa era on your left. The wooden structure with a triangular roof would look out of place in the greenery of the plateaus around Karuizawa or Nasu, and the rugged terrace made of lightweight steel and corrugated iron are a mismatch that actually highlights the unique character of this building.
Riders Cafe Racer is located along Chiba Prefectural Route 8 Funabashi-Abiko Line in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture.
The building is located exactly halfway between the Ricoland Kashiwa store and the Shonan Roadside Station, and is one of Chiba’s most popular touring spots, meaning that on holidays hundreds, if not thousands, of motorbikes pass by on the road in front of it every day. However, because there is no conspicuous sign, it seems that many people don’t even notice it, but in fact, this place is Riders Cafe Racer, a hideaway and relaxation spot for riders.
Morning Meeting held on the first Sunday of every month
The shop regularly holds a “Morning Meeting” on the first Sunday of every month. For reasons I’ll explain later, the majority of bikes that come are SR400s, but there are no restrictions on the types of bikes that can participate, including supersports, naked bikes, touring bikes, adventure bikes, and cruisers. Basically, all genres are welcome (although, of course, no zoku bikes or bikes that are unsuitable for public roads are allowed…). There are also regular riders who visit on minibikes and big scooters under 125cc. I attended the meeting held on October 6th, so I’d like to report on what it was like.
The Morning Meeting, hosted by Riders Cafe Racer, is held on the first Sunday of every month. This time, I attended the meeting held on October 6th, bringing my beloved Kawasaki ZX-9R with me.
The Morning Meeting starts at 9am. Participants start to gather around 8:30am, and by 10am the parking lot of the store where the meeting is being held is full. Riders Cafe Racer is selling a special menu for the meeting, including a hearty sandwich, French toast, and coffee set for 1,000 yen. Meeting participants always devour the delicious bread, sip on coffee, and chat about bikes in their own way.
Riders who participated in the “Morning Meeting.” Crouching in the center is everyone’s big brother, Kei.
The first “Morning Meeting” hosted by the store was held three years ago in 2021. I started attending the meetings in the fall of that year at my girlfriend’s invitation. However, recently the first Sunday of each month has often coincided with event coverage, so this year’s meeting was only my second. It was actually my first time attending in six months. The attendees hadn’t changed much, and despite it being my first time attending in a while, the regular attendees warmly welcomed me.
The “Morning Meeting” was held from 9am to 11am, and the riders who gathered enjoyed lively discussions about bikes with their friends.
Unfortunately, the weather on this day was cloudy with occasional light rain, and it seems that in some places it rained early in the morning. This meeting is held outdoors, so it is cancelled if it rains. This is likely why many riders were worried about the event and decided not to participate. Usually, around 30 to 40 bikes gather, but this time it was a little less, with only around 20 participating.
Custom SR and Super Cub models. From large bikes to mopeds, a wide variety of bikes gather at the “Morning Meeting,” regardless of engine displacement or model.
Short tours are also a fun part of the trip.
The Riders Cafe Racer Morning Meeting is held from 9am to 11am, but the real fun begins when the meeting ends. The gathered riders go on a short one-hour ride around a 25km course around Lake Teganuma. Participation is of course voluntary, but it seems that many of the meeting participants come specifically for this purpose, and the majority of the riders who gather end up taking part.
The touring course is on public roads around Lake Teganuma, and is 25km long and takes approximately one hour.
Always riding at the front of the convoy is everyone’s big brother, Kei. He is also the representative of “singlebigk ,” a customization and parts store well-known among SR fans. Kei is a well-liked veteran rider with a deep knowledge of bikes, and adjusts the riding pace based on the participants’ skill level and engine displacement. Of course, he is also considerate to beginners, so there is a sense of security even when going on a mass tour with strangers.
Many of the riders who attend the meetings also take part in the tours.
The purpose of these mini-touring trips is to improve driving skills and touring etiquette, allowing beginners to practice driving, for those unfamiliar with mass touring to get used to riding with bikes of different engine displacements and genres, and for veteran riders to review the basics of operation. So even a novice rider who just got their license yesterday can participate alone without any worries, and apart from tip-overs and the like, there have been no accidents so far during the trips.
The touring pace is determined within a safe range based on the participants and vehicle type on that day. Even if the line of vehicles separates at traffic lights, the group ahead will wait along the way, so even first-time participants who are unfamiliar with the course can feel at ease.
The course we all ride is mainly farm roads with little traffic, but also incorporates prefectural roads and short gravel roads. I almost always ride my Kawasaki ZX-9R, and to be honest, I’m not very good at riding a sports bike on rough terrain, but Kei says that he deliberately includes unpaved roads so that “if we suddenly come across a gravel road while touring, we can get out safely.” My own fear of roads seems to have faded a little, and I enjoy participating in touring as a way to practice.
Touring involves roads with little traffic and regular roads, as well as rough roads and short gravel tracks.
On this occasion, Kei had to stay behind at the shop for maintenance on his SR400, but a regular rider who knew the course well volunteered to act as pacemaker, so we were able to complete the tour safely and enjoyably as usual. To be honest, I’m such a bad rider that people wonder, “Why are you writing an article for Motor-Fan BIKES?”, but riding with riders who are good at riding is a great learning experience, and after attending many meetings I’ve become familiar with the faces, so much so that I can’t wait for the event to begin.
Kei, who usually acts as our pacemaker, will be taking a break from this tour as he will be staying at the shop to perform maintenance on the SR.
The shop is a relaxing space with the attentiveness of a female owner.
The venue for the meeting, Riders Cafe Racer, is a very cozy and homey establishment, with a relaxed atmosphere that evokes an exotic feel. At first glance, it looks like a stylish coffee shop, but the 40th anniversary model of the SR400 is prominently displayed, and the rows of helmets and tools make it clear that it is a riders’ cafe. The seating is small, with seating for around 10 people, centered around large wooden tables, but the cozy atmosphere makes you want to stay for a while.
Inside Riders Cafe Racer. The interior has a relaxed atmosphere with an Asian feel, and the 40th anniversary model of the SR400 is on display prominently.
When you think of a rider’s cafe, the owner is usually an older man who loves motorcycles, but what’s unusual about this one is that it’s a woman. Yuko, who runs the cafe, is a former chef at an Italian restaurant. Her life changed completely when she got her motorcycle license, and riding became a part of her life. This inspired her to “open a cafe that combines her job as a chef with motorcycles,” and she opened this cafe in 2019.
Yuko, owner of “Riders Cafe Racer”.
Riders of all ages and genders, who ride a variety of bikes, are drawn to Yuko’s personality and visit the shop. Yuko’s favorite bike is the SR400. SR Meister Kei also frequently visits the shop, so naturally, the number of SRs lined up in the parking lot has increased.
All of the dishes, proudly prepared by a former Italian chef, are delicious!
With Yuko as the owner and chef, you can’t go wrong with any menu item. The most popular dish here is the “Peperonimo with the Fragrance of White Truffles,” followed by the “Rich Carbonara Made with Two Eggs” and the “Pescatore with Shrimp, Squid, and Clams.” As you’d expect from Yuko, who used to be a chef at an Italian restaurant, the pasta dishes are excellent. For young riders who are always hungry, we also recommend the “Original Macaroni Stew and Garlic Toast,” which is not only delicious but also very filling.
One of the popular dishes is the “Pescatore with Shrimp, Squid, and Clams.” Yuko, who specializes in Italian cuisine, makes all of the pasta dishes delicious.
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Of course, as the name suggests, it’s a cafe, so you can enjoy just tea. Their specialty coffees include classic blended coffees and espresso, as well as delicious coffee made using a rare Belgian horizontal siphon. For those who don’t like tea, they also have a wide selection of black teas, and we recommend their homemade honey orange tea, fruit tea with three kinds of fruit, and cinnamon tea, which is said to be good for dieting. They also have event-only menus, so every time you visit, it’s hard to decide what to order.
In addition to the Morning Meeting, Riders Cafe Racer also hosts a variety of other meetings and events. They sometimes offer special menus, such as the large burger exclusive to the Hamburger Meeting shown in the photo.
In addition to the Morning Meeting, Riders Cafe Racer also holds other events several times a month, such as the Honda Meeting and Kawasaki Meeting, which are exclusive to manufacturers, the SR Meeting, which is exclusive to motorcycle models, and the Women’s Touring, which is off-limits to men. The latest information is constantly updated on the official website, so if you’re interested after reading this article, be sure to check it out. The next Morning Meeting is scheduled for November 3rd.
Riders Cafe Racer
Address: 49-10 Gojodani, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture
Opening hours: 11:00-18:30
Closed: Irregularly
https://riderscafe-racer.com
A look at the Riders Cafe Racer “Morning Meeting” meeting and touring.
