Bandai Triple Skyline Loop

Three complementary volcanic roads around Bandai with high alpine scenery and crater lakes.

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Why this ride

Three complementary volcanic roads around Bandai with high alpine scenery and crater lakes. The road: Bandai-Azuma Skyline, Lake Line and Gold Line. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. 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.

2. Jododaira stop · 1600 m

   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.

3. Goshikinuma stop

   Goshikinuma, the Five-Colour Ponds, are a cluster of small lakes in the Urabandai highlands of Fukushima Prefecture, and their story begins with a violent morning. In 1888 Mount Bandai erupted and its northern flank collapsed in a huge landslide, burying villages and damming rivers. The water that backed up behind the debris formed hundreds of lakes and ponds, among them the large lakes of Hibara, Onogawa and Akimoto. Goshikinuma is one of the smaller results of that disaster, and today the place is peaceful beyond belief.

   The ponds are known for their colours, which range from emerald to cobalt to a milky turquoise, depending on minerals, depth, light and the season. A nature trail of a few kilometres winds around them through beech and larch forest, boardwalks crossing wetland, and it is a gentle walk even in riding boots, though a lighter shoe makes it more pleasant. Autumn is the standout, when the foliage reflects in the water; in early summer fresh green dominates, and in winter the area is deep in snow.

   The riding around here is part of the Bandai highland roads, with moderate climbs, smooth bends and forest on both sides. The surface is usually good, and traffic is light except in peak colour season, when cars queue at the viewpoints. Weather moves quickly in these hills: mist can drift off the lakes, and a bright morning can turn cold by afternoon. Take care in autumn when wet leaves can make corners slick, and be alert for wildlife, as Japanese black bears live in the region, though they generally avoid people.

   For supplies, Inawashiro, around ten kilometres away, is the most convenient bigger town, with fuel stations and food, and Kitakata, known for its ramen, is a little farther. In the highlands, cafes and souvenir shops near the trailhead sell hot drinks and local snacks, and the area is known for buckwheat noodles. Go early, before the tour groups arrive, and the ponds are so still that the reflection looks more real than the trees.

4. Lake Hibara stop

   Lake Hibara is the largest of the lakes in the Urabandai area, and like its neighbours it is a child of 1888. That year Mount Bandai blew out its north face, sending a mass of rock and mud down the valley and blocking the Nagase river, which flooded the land behind the dam. The result is a long, irregular lake with many arms and inlets, drowned valleys that give it a ragged, complex shoreline. The volcano itself still looms above, with its broken crater wall plainly visible from the right angle.

   For a rider, the lake is the centrepiece of a very enjoyable region. Roads run along its shores and over the surrounding ridges, with views opening between trees, and some are part of toll routes that link the Bandai highlands. The curves are easy and flowing rather than technical, and the surface is generally smooth, which makes this a good place for a relaxed day. Take care in autumn, when damp leaves collect in the bends, and on cool mornings when mist rises from the water and reduces visibility.

   The lake is also a working landscape. Anglers fish for smelt, called wakasagi, through the ice in winter, and pleasure boats and kayaks appear in summer. The surrounding hills are forested with beech and conifers, and in October the colours are famous, drawing crowds to the viewpoints and slowing traffic. Early mornings give calmer water and fewer people, and the light on the far shore can be extraordinarily clear. Spring brings pale green and the last snow on the high slopes.

   Inawashiro, with around seventeen thousand people, is the nearest large town, about fourteen kilometres away, with fuel and plenty of food, and Kitakata to the west is a similar distance. Around the lake, small shops and lodges sell refreshments, and hot-spring inns offer a bath and a meal for a night. The area is bear country, so keep noise and sensible habits when walking, and treat the quiet shores with the respect that a place with such a violent past deserves.

5. Inawashiro stop

   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.

6. Back to Fukushima finish

Where this sits

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