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Bandai-Azuma Skyline

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
55 km
Riding-time estimate
57 min
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

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Why this ride

A volcanic mountain road from Fukushima, Japan to Takayu Onsen, Japan, via Jododaira. Key character: volcanic landscape; high plateau; autumn color. Surface: paved.

Scenic road chapters

Bandai-Azuma Skyline

Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 6 km this is Bandai-Azuma Skyline, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.

Rider note

Check the pass is open before you commit to it.

Chapter facts
Length
6 km
Named road
Bandai-Azuma Skyline
Pass
Tsuchiyu Pass

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Fukushima

    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.

    Read the complete Fukushima write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 2.

  2. 2. Near Fukushima

    Planning note

    Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 2 comes up 10 km in. Next is Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 3.

  3. 3. Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 3

    The high ground of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline is a lunar landscape, and you reach it after the forest drops away and the road emerges onto bare, gravelly slopes of volcanic rock. Here, at around 1,600 metres, the Azuma volcanic group stands around you, with craters, steaming vents and scoured ridges, and the famous Mount Issaikyo, which still releases gas from its crater. On a clear day, the views stretch across the whole range and down to the plains. This is the highest and most exposed part of the road, with wind that can be fierce.

    Read the complete Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 3 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    21 km in you reach Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 3. Next is Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 4.

  4. 4. Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 4

    At the southern end of the Skyline, the road leaves the barren high ground and comes down into a gentler landscape of forest, lakes and wide views toward Mount Bandai. This is the part of Fukushima prefecture that surrounds Lake Inawashiro, the fourth-largest lake in Japan, and the land is dotted with hot springs, ski resorts and small farms. Mount Bandai itself is a famous volcano, and its great collapse in 1888 buried villages and dammed rivers, forming the lakes and ponds of the Urabandai area, which now look like a scatter of coloured jewels in the forest.

    Read the complete Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 4 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Bandai-Azuma Skyline point 4, late in the day.

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