Honda's Nicky Hayden tested last week at Suzuka.It was Hayden's first visit to Japan. What did Nicky think of his trip?

"I really liked it a lot. More than I expected," said the middle Hayden brother. "I was only there a couple of days but I enjoyed it. The country itself was neat. Everything was really nice. All the people were nice, it was clean, no crime, no gangsters. The girls were hot. I really enjoyed it. A lot more than I thought I would."

While he enjoyed the experience of Japan, the unique culinary treats of the Orient were something Hayden didn't want to try. "I wasn't down with eating any of the raw fish," he said. "One meal, I didn't eat anything. But once we went to a real steak house where we sat on the ground and took our shoes off. They came and cooked in front of us. That was pretty fun."

Nicky and Kurtis Roberts rode the Honda Superbike at an open test at Suzuka. "Actually Kurtis and I shared a bike. We didn't get to ride a whole lot," Hayden said. "The track was tough, and hard to get used to. Once I got comfortable, it was really fun and fast. We rode two days. The first day rode in the afternoon for a two hour session, the next day I rode in the morning."

Hayden turned impressive lap times as he learned the circuit. "I did a 2:10.1. The first day I did a high 2:13, then I did a 2:10.1. They seemed to think it was pretty good. I think If I could have stayed again, I could have done even better. I felt more comfortable each session. For me, the chicane was the toughest part."

Hayden got the opportunity to mix it up with some 500 riders as they were testing for Yamaha. "Haga was there, Abe, Jacque, Nakano. It was cool. Haga passed me coming out of Spoon Curve. I followed him for a few turns and then he was gone."