Why this ride
131 km one way from Ichihara - plan on about 2 h 14 of riding.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gunma Three Mountain Day · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 131 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 14
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Tokyo / Kanto rides return.
2. Near Ishige, on the way back
The Kinugawa river looks placid enough as it slides through the rice fields of south-western Ibaraki, but in September 2015, swollen by days of torrential rain, it breached its levee at Jōsō and flooded a vast area of the plain, forcing thousands to flee and leaving towns under water for days. Driving the levee road today, high above the fields, you can see how flat and vulnerable the land is.
Read the complete Near Ishige, 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 return comes up about 94 km into the recorded legs. Next is Photo stop in Kukichūō.
3. Photo stop in Kukichūō
Kuki is the kind of place that rarely appears in travel guides, a pleasant, low-rise city in the flat farmland of north-eastern Saitama, crossed by railways, rivers and expressways. Kukichūō is its central district, with shops, homes and offices, and it makes a practical stop on the long run north from Tokyo towards the mountains of Gunma and Tochigi.
Read the complete Photo stop in Kukichūō 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 131 km.
Leg by leg
High point near Ichihara to Near Ishige, on the way back
High point near Ichihara → Near Ishige, on the way back is 94 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.