Why this ride
176 km one way from Machida - plan on about 3 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: near Ōiso and Kimitsu.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gunma Three Mountain Day · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 176 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 03
- 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. Fuel stop near Machida
The northern part of Machida climbs into the Tama Hills, where the old ridge roads once linked villages scattered through woods and valleys. Today much of the area is covered by Tama New Town, one of the largest housing developments in Japan, built from the 1960s onwards, but the ridges still offer views, and pockets of woodland, temples and farms survive between the estates.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Machida write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gunma Three Mountain Day is where the day begins. Next is Food stop near Ōiso.
2. Food stop near Ōiso
Inland from the coast at Ōiso, the land rises into a line of low, green hills between Hiratsuka and Ninomiya, and from their tops you look out over Sagami Bay, the Shonan coast and, on clear days, Mount Fuji and the Hakone mountains. The Shonan-daira hilltop park, above Hiratsuka, has an observation tower with a panoramic view, and in Ninomiya, Azumayama Park is famous for its early-spring display of rapeseed flowers with Fuji in the background.
Read the complete Food stop near Ōiso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Food stop near Ōiso is where this day stops to eat. Next is Gunma Three Mountain Day scenic road.
3. Kimitsu
Kimitsu runs from the industrial shore of Tokyo Bay deep into the forested hills of the inner Boso peninsula, and the contrast is striking. On the coast, the Nippon Steel works stretches for kilometres, a tangle of furnaces, chimneys and cranes. Inland, within half an hour, you are among steep green hills, narrow valleys and reservoirs, with hardly a building in sight.
Read the complete Kimitsu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 143 km into the recorded legs you reach Gunma Three Mountain Day scenic road. Next is High point near Ichihara.
4. High point near Ichihara
A layer of rock in a riverbank near Ichihara has given its name to a slice of Earth's history. In 2020, the international body that decides such things named a geological age the Chibanian, after a cliff on the Yōrō river where the last reversal of the Earth's magnetic field is recorded with unusual clarity. The site is small and muddy, reached by a short path, but standing in front of it is a strange experience, a few hundred thousand years of time in a single bank of clay.
Read the complete High point near Ichihara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High point near Ichihara closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Machida to Food stop near Ōiso
Fuel stop near Machida → Food stop near Ōiso is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Food stop near Ōiso to Kimitsu
Food stop near Ōiso → Kimitsu is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.