Bandai-Azuma Skyline (96 km)
Fukushima to Inawashiro
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Why this ride
96 km one way from Fukushima - plan on about 1 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of Jododaira and Tsuchiyu Pass. The highest point is about 1,250 m. Tsuchiyu Pass is subject to seasonal closure - check it is open before you set off. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Roadbook
- Fukushima
start
Fukushima is a city of fruit. Its basin, ringed by mountains, produces peaches, pears, apples and grapes, and in spring the slopes are pink and white with blossom. It is the start and the end of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline ride, and the first view of the mountains is a promise.
The Bandai-Azuma Skyline is a toll road that climbs from Tsuchiyu hot spring up to a high plateau at around sixteen hundred metres, where the road runs across a volcanic landscape of bare rock, steam vents and alpine plants. The bends are wide and open, the surface is excellent, and the views on a clear day are extensive. The road is closed in winter, usually from late November until April, and fog and wind can be dramatic at the top. Autumn colours, in October, are the best time to ride. Traffic is moderate, though weekends in the leaf season are busy.
Fukushima has a rich culture. The old castle town has a quiet centre with a museum, and Iizaka hot spring, to the north, has public baths where you can bathe in the soft, hot water. The area is also known for its sake and its peaches, which are sold in summer at roadside stalls. The region suffered in 2011 from the earthquake and nuclear accident, and the recovery has been long, but the countryside is open and welcoming. Mount Shinobu, a small hill in the city, has a park and a sweeping view.
Fuel and food are no problem in Fukushima, which has stations, supermarkets and restaurants, and it is wise to fill up before heading into the mountains, where stations are few. Local dishes include ramen, with a simple soy broth, and ika ninjin, a dish of squid and carrot.
Linger at the station if you arrive by train, and look at the Azuma range. The shape of the mountains explains the road ahead.
- Jododaira
scenic
Jododaira, the name means Pure Land plain, and it is easy to see why. At about 1,600 metres on the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, the road crosses a high volcanic moor, a wide open space of grass, low shrubs and bare grey rock, with the steaming cone of Mount Issaikyo rising to one side. The ground smells faintly of sulphur, and wisps of white vapour drift from vents on the slopes. It feels like a different planet from the lowlands around Fukushima, and the name comes from Buddhist ideas of paradise.
The Skyline is a high road that links Fukushima city, via the hot spring village of Tsuchiyu, with the Bandai area to the south, and it crosses the shoulder of the Azuma volcanic range. It is one of the best mountain drives in the Tohoku region, with views over the whole of the Fukushima basin on one side and the wild country of the Azuma range on the other. Opening dates vary, but the road typically opens in late April, when the snow walls beside the road can still be several metres high, and closes in early November.
Behind the visitor centre, a boardwalk leads across the wetland, and a short trail climbs to the rim of Azuma-Kofuji, a small old crater where the ground is bare and cinder-red. The flora is alpine, with dwarf pines, cotton grass and in summer a scattering of wildflowers, and in autumn the slopes turn from green to copper and crimson in a few weeks, usually in early October at this height. Mount Issaikyo itself is active and can be closed to visitors when gas levels rise, so check before you walk.
The road has hairpins and long, smooth bends, with good tarmac and clear sightlines, and it is an easy but memorable ride. Be prepared for fog, wind and cold, since conditions can change in minutes. A small restaurant and shop near the visitor centre offers snacks and hot drinks, but opening hours are limited. Carry warm clothes, even in July, and be careful on the descent, where brakes work hard. Late September and early October bring the best colours and clear air.
- Tsuchiyu Pass
scenic · 1240 m
Tsuchiyu Pass is a mountain crossing at about 1,240 metres in the Azuma range of Fukushima, and it is the doorway to one of the great volcanic roads of northern Japan. Below it, on the Fukushima side, is Tsuchiyu Onsen, a small hot spring village in a steep, wooded gorge, where the water is acid, milky and slightly sulphurous, and the local craft is the making of kokeshi, the slim wooden dolls with round heads that are a symbol of the Tohoku region. Above the pass, the Bandai-Azuma Skyline climbs onto a lava plateau of bare rock, steaming vents and views that stretch across the whole prefecture.
The Skyline is a toll road, about twenty-eight kilometres long, linking Tsuchiyu with the Takayu area, and it is the main reason motorcyclists come. It rises out of cedar and beech forest to the open slopes of the volcanic peaks, with a series of broad, flowing bends and long views across the Inawashiro basin and the lake. The surface is excellent, the gradient is moderate and the traffic is light, especially on weekdays. Near the highest section, the barren slopes of Mount Issaikyo, with their yellow and white sulphur deposits and steaming fumaroles, look more like another planet than northern Japan. Gas from the vents can be strong in places, and visitors with respiratory problems should take care.
The road is closed in winter, usually from late autumn to April or May, when snow and ice make it impassable, and in spring the walls of snow at the roadside can be several metres high. Autumn colour here in October is famous, and the mountain flanks turn red, orange and yellow, drawing crowds on weekends. Fog and sudden rain are common, and the temperature at the top can be much lower than in the valley, so a warm layer and a waterproof are a good idea.
Tsuchiyu Onsen has public baths, small inns and noodle shops, and a hot spring soak after a long ride is one of the real pleasures of Japan. There are rest areas along the Skyline with simple food. For fuel, Inawashiro, about sixteen kilometres away, and Fukushima city, on the other side of the range, have the nearest stations, so fill before climbing, as there is none on the toll road itself.
The mountains here are part of the Bandai-Asahi National Park, and the sulphurous air and the soft light on the grass give the area a peculiarly northern Japanese character, quiet and a little austere.
- Inawashiro
finish
Inawashiro lies at the foot of Mount Bandai, on the northern shore of the lake that shares its name, in Fukushima Prefecture. The lake, the fourth largest in Japan, is a wide sheet of clear water, and it is known for its colour, an unusually deep blue, partly because the water is slightly acidic and low in nutrients. In winter, whooper swans arrive from Siberia and gather near the shore, and with the snow-covered cone of Bandai above them, it is one of the great winter scenes in northern Honshu.
The town has a few notable claims. Hideyo Noguchi, the bacteriologist who became world-famous in the early twentieth century for his research on yellow fever and syphilis, was born in a farmhouse here, and a museum recalls his life. The old farmer's house of the era, with its central hearth, is preserved. Bandai itself erupted catastrophically in 1888, when the north face collapsed and flattened villages, and the debris created the lakes and marshes of the Urabandai plateau, among them the colourful Goshiki-numa ponds. The scars are visible on the mountain's shape.
For motorcyclists, Inawashiro is a gateway. The Bandai-Azuma Skyline, a high mountain road that climbs from Fukushima toward the Azuma range, passes through volcanic landscape with steaming vents and grand views, and it is among the best-known roads in Tohoku. It is closed in winter, usually from November until April, so check dates, and in summer the weather can switch from sun to fog in minutes. The Bandai Gold Line and the roads around Lake Hibara are also very good, with fine bends and scenery.
Inawashiro has stations, shops and cafes, and it is the sensible place to refill before the mountains. Aizu, to the west, is known for its castle, its lacquerware and its cold noodles. Try the local ramen, Kitakata style, a short drive away, or a bowl of soba. Lake views at dusk, with lights on the water, close a long day well.