Why this ride
A 304 km one-way ride from near Kurihashi, about 5 h 59 of riding. It goes by way of near Shiraoka, Scenic stretch near Hachiōji, Uenohara and in Zushi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Shosenkyo Gorge and Lake Kawaguchi · short arc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 304 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 59
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Shosenkyo Gorge and Lake Kawaguchi food stop → Shosenkyo Gorge and Lak
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 18 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Food stop near Kurihashi
Planning note
Food stop near Kurihashi is where the day begins. Next is High point near Shiraoka.
2. High point near Shiraoka
Planning note
High point near Shiraoka comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Scenic stretch near Hachiōji.
3. Scenic stretch near Hachiōji
Mount Takao stands at the edge of Hachiōji like a patient dog, a green hill of about six hundred metres that Tokyoites climb in their hundreds of thousands. For a rider, it is a start and finish point, a convenient place for fuel, parking and a good bowl of ramen before the mountains begin. The city sits at the foot of the Tama hills, and the climate here is a few degrees cooler than central Tokyo.
Read the complete Hachioji fuel gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 95 km into the recorded legs you reach Scenic stretch near Hachiōji. Next is Tokyo / Kanto rides return.
4. Near Uenohara, on the way back
Route 413, the Dōshi road, is the motorcycle road of western Kanagawa. It runs from Sagamihara up the long, narrow valley of the Dōshi river to Lake Yamanaka at the foot of Fuji, and on a weekend morning the parade of bikes heading west is almost continuous. This stop lies in that valley, south of Uenohara, where the river runs clear and green between forested slopes and the villages are strung out along the road.
Read the complete Near Uenohara, 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, about halfway. Next is Photo stop in Zushi.
5. Photo stop in Zushi
Zushi is a small, relaxed seaside town on the western side of the Miura Peninsula, tucked between Kamakura and Hayama, with a crescent of sandy beach facing Sagami Bay. It has long been a retreat for Tokyo families, and in summer the beach fills with swimmers, windsurfers and stand-up paddlers. Out of season, it is quiet, with dog walkers and joggers on the sand and fishing boats pulled up at the end of the bay.
Read the complete Photo stop in Zushi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop in Zushi sits at 214 km, about halfway. Next is Shosenkyo Gorge and Lake Kawaguchi checkpoint 8.
6. Wako
Honda's engineers have tested ideas in Wako for decades; the company's research and development arm grew up here, and the name still turns up on buildings around town. So does RIKEN, Japan's largest research institute, whose headquarters and laboratories occupy a large campus in the city. For a rider ending a long weekend, there is a pleasing symmetry in finishing a ride where so many motorcycles were born on drawing boards.
Read the complete 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 304 km. Next is Back to Shosenkyo Gorge.
7. Back to Shosenkyo Gorge
Matsudo is a city of nearly half a million people on the Chiba side of the Edo River, the border with Tokyo, and nothing about it says Shosenkyo or mountains. It is a commuter place, an hour or so from the gorge's Yamanashi valleys, and so a natural endpoint when the day's riding has taken you back through the whole sprawl of the Kanto plain. Think of it as the dock where the ship comes in.
Read the complete Shosenkyo Gorge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Shosenkyo Gorge closes the day.
Leg by leg
Food stop near Kurihashi to High point near Shiraoka
Food stop near Kurihashi → High point near Shiraoka is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Shiraoka to Scenic stretch near Hachiōji
High point near Shiraoka → Scenic stretch near Hachiōji is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch near Hachiōji to Near Uenohara, on the way back
Scenic stretch near Hachiōji → Near Uenohara, on the way back is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop in Zushi to Wako
Photo stop in Zushi → Wako is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.