I got to go back to Irohazaka once again. The last time I'd been there was in April of 2005, so It's been awhile since my previous visit. Also it snowed on that last trip & I didn't get too much of a chance to venture around, so this time I was really looking forward to this outting.
Generally Irohazaka is the name of the road that connects the Nikko City region with the mountain resort area of Chuzenjiko. As seen in 3rd Stage, one road goes up, and the other goes downhill.
If you want to go there and are in Tokyo, here's the simplest way:
1. From Ueno station in Tokyo get a shinkansen ticket to Utsunomiya. There's one stop (Omiya) in between, and it's about a 50 minute ride.
2. From Utsunomiya, transfer from the shinkansen lines to the local JR line. There's a train that heads directly yo Nikko which is the last stop on this line. It's about another 50 minute ride.
3. From Nikko Station I guess the easiest way to get there would be to walk up the block to the Nikko Tobu bus terminal. There you can purchase a ticket for a roundtrip ride up to Chuzenjiko and back to Nikko. There's one transfer on the way, but the bus schedules aren't too hard to figure out as the names of the locations are written in English.
Going uphill towards Chuzenjiko. The dangerous nature of the road is soon realized LOL!
This is Akechidaira. In real life there's a ropeway (gondola) ride that tourists take to the top of a local peak. There's also a couple small souvenier shops, food places, etc. In 3rd Stage it's the place Takumi finds Kyouichi Sudo to challenge the leader of the Lan Evo team. Also in another scene Kai Kobashigawa goes there to inform them that he's racing Takumi. Later the Takahashi bros show up to hang out in the parking lot while the race goes on.
It's still a good couple KM's below the actual crest of the uphill side of Irohazaka.
Drift friendly reflectors on the exit of the corner at Akechidaira.
Here's Chuzenjiko. In 3rd Stage it's the lake in the background when Kai's father is washing their MR2, etc. So basically they're country bumpkins living out in the sticks LOL! (J/K!!!)
Random downhill pictures. One of the early street signs listed the grade at 12 degrees.
The green sign on the railing is a warning not to feed the local monkeys!
The location of where Takumi & Kai get airborne together during the last stages of their battle.
The last bridge where Sudo tries to get takumi to back down, but Takumi keeps himself in front of the Lan Evo for the victory!
The beginning/end of the one way section of roads. Takumi and Kai chat here after their battle. Also the guys who originally call up to Sudo's minions to warn him of Takumi coming up Irohazaka, also were hanging out in this area.
Yeah, even if Irohazaka wasn't there I'd still go to visit the region. The natural beauty of the Nikko City and Chuzejiko is pretty stellar. There's so many historical locations and also other chances for outdoor activities in the area that it's a natural tourism magnet.
One thing that the movie and pictures can't portray is how close the outside guradrail is to the edge of the cliff! It appears that there's only a foot or two beyond the rail to a pretty vertical drop off.
I'd highly recommend an overnight visit for those travelling to/around Japan. For those planning any trips to Nikko let me know and I'll try to give you any tips/aide that I can.
those pictures and roads are awesome. what kind of car where you driving when on those roads and was it scary?
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