Why this ride
233 km one way from Ōtsuki - plan on about 4 h 09 of riding. near Ōiso is the high point. It tops out at about 1,150 m.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bandai Azuma Skyline Weekend · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 233 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 09
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tokyo / Kanto rides
The Katsura river runs below, cutting a gorge near Ōtsuki that is crossed by Saruhashi, the Monkey Bridge, one of Japan's three great strange bridges, a wooden cantilever construction that has been rebuilt many times since the Middle Ages. Enzan, to the north-west, is the gateway to the Daibosatsu mountains and the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.
Read the complete Near Ōtsuki, on the way back write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tokyo / Kanto rides is where the day begins. Next is Photo stop near Ōiso.
2. Photo stop near Ōiso
Ōiso is a quiet seaside town on Sagami Bay, west of Hiratsuka, and it has an important place in Japanese social history: in 1885 it became the site of Japan's first public sea bathing beach, promoted by an army surgeon who believed that sea bathing was good for health. Wealthy families from Tokyo built villas here, and the town became a fashionable resort for politicians and aristocrats.
Read the complete Photo stop near Ōiso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Bandai Azuma Skyline Weekend checkpoint 8.
3. Near Wako
In 1964 the world's best oarsmen raced on a straight, two-kilometre channel dug beside the Arakawa at Toda, a few minutes from this finish. The Toda rowing course was built for the Tokyo Olympics and is still busy with university crews, whose coaches cycle along the bank shouting through megaphones at dawn. Next door, crowds gather to bet on the motorboat races at the Toda kyōtei stadium, one of the few forms of legal gambling in Japan.
Read the complete Near Wako write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 233 km. Next is Back to Bandai.
4. Back to Bandai
The city has more than half a million people, and the district here is a mix of apartment blocks, shops and small parks, with the bay a few kilometres to the south. Nakayama racecourse, home of the Arima Kinen, one of Japan's biggest horse races, lies a short way to the north-west.
Read the complete Bandai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Bandai closes the day.
Leg by leg
Photo stop near Ōiso to Near Wako
Photo stop near Ōiso → Near Wako is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.