Forty-eight hairpins, each one marked with a sign bearing a letter of the old Japanese alphabet poem, the Iroha: that is Irohazaka, the road that climbs from the town of Nikkō to Lake Chūzenji. There are two roads, one for going up and one for going down, each a series of tight, steep bends through dense forest, and in autumn, when the maples turn red and gold, the scene is so beautiful that the traffic jams stretch for hours.
Nikkō, at the foot of the climb, is famous for the Tōshōgū, the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the shogunate that ruled Japan for two and a half centuries. Its buildings, covered with gold leaf, lacquer and carvings of dragons, monkeys and cats, are a riot of colour and detail, a World Heritage site that draws visitors from all over the world. The red Shinkyō bridge, over the river at the entrance to the shrine area, is one of the symbols of the town.
At the top of the climb, Lake Chūzenji lies at the foot of Mount Nantai, a sacred volcano, and the Kegon falls drop from the lake into a deep gorge, one of the most famous waterfalls in Japan. The Akechidaira ropeway, near the top of the uphill road, offers a view over the lake, the falls and the hairpins.
The local speciality is yuba, the skin that forms on heated soy milk, served fresh, dried or in soups, and the restaurants of Nikkō serve it in many ways.
The road stays open year-round, but in winter the shaded hairpins can be icy and Lake Chūzenji sits well above the town, so expect real cold. In late October, the peak of the foliage, go at first light or not at all. Fill the tank in Nikkō before climbing; options up at the lake are few.