Izu-Skyline on Nanikore

The Izu Skyline

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:32:52 +0000

Japan’s main island of Honshu is home to several stunning mountain ranges. They’ve not only made for (literally) Olympic level snow sports, but also for an embarrassing amount of absolutely fantastic, twisty, motorcycle-friendly roads. One such route is the Izu Skyline, a stretch of 40.6Km (25.2 miles) of road which winds through the mountains of the Izu peninsula.

To give you an idea of where this is, at the north end of the route is the town of Hakone, just over an hour’s train ride west from Tokyo. If you’re already on your bike, it’s about the same duration easy riding on the expressways from the capital, or if you have a time, you can take the beautiful coastal route along the Sagami Bay for a few hours alongside the Pacific Ocean.

Hakone itself is an ancient mountain town and tourist draw originating as a way-station on the old Tokaido trade-route which ran along the east coast from Tokyo in the East, to Kobe and Kyoto in the West. With its fair share of volcanic hotsprings, lakes, museums and hotels, Hakone continues to attract quite a few tourists to this day.

At the southern tip of the peninsula is Shimoda, a town made famous as being where American Commodore Perry arrived in his ‘black ships’ and requested Japan’s ( almost) closed doors be re-opened in 1853, ushering in Japan’s modern era following centuries of relative isolation.

In the middle of all this is the Izu Skyline. It’s a toll road, and this being Japan, there is an accepted start and end point. The start is at the northern end, called the Atami Touge Toll Booth, where there is a small car park and rest area for those who want to take stock before getting on the road. ‘ Touge’ (峠) is a word you’ll come to love in Japan as it means a ‘mountain pass’ and usually signifies good twisties.

You go under the broad brushed metal archway, pay your fee and you are away to ride the Skyline. The payment system works like this - you pay cash at the arch kiosk, and tell the staff which exit / interchange you’ll get off at. They then give you a ticket with that exit name, and you’ll then hand the ticket in when you exit – so it’s important to not lose that ticket!

This is something of an honour system because there are plenty of ways off the road all the way along, including near the end, but we want to be good riders, so be sure to choose the right exit or the nearest one to where you will get off.

A few of the signs and instructions are in English if that’s a concern though I’ve always found the staff to be friendly and helpful even if not much English is spoken - they’re used to dealing with foreign bikers, so know most of the key phrases.

Through the arch then and we’re away, over a small bridge and through a right hander to accelerate uphill to a left hander which makes you feel like you’re ramping into the sky. It’s a great and appropriate introduction to the Skyline.

Road wise, it’s a decent quality single lane asphalt carriageway for most of its length with a few slow vehicle passing points. As a slower rider, I keep an eye and ear open for riders and cars coming up behind me to wave them past, but if you’re behind a slow car, there’s a good chance they’ll also ease to the side to let you pass – just remember to wave your appreciation.

As you sweep along, you see why it’s called a Skyline, carving along ridgelines, with winding corners, the mountain on one side and an ocean view on the other. It’s punctuated with great views of Mt. Fuji, deep valleys and lofty views of the urban sprawl along the coast.

Perhaps ironically, there are plenty of places to stop to take photos, in fact a good one is just a mile or two in, the Takichiyamaenchi parking area on the right hand side if you’re going the ‘right’ way. It offers a great view to whet the appetite. In fact, many of the stopping points en route intentionally double as excellent photo opportunities.

However, this isn’t a time for carparks, this is a time for riding.

Soon we get to sample a remnant of Japan’s 1980s economic bubble, and its inevitable burst - the Kurodake Drive-in. This is an example of what the Japanese call ‘haikyo’ or long abandoned building. It was once the top station of the Atami ropeway, then a museum before finally closing in 2008. Now, it is an abandoned and rather forlorn place, open to the elements, with an intriguing entrance ramp walkway and a sign claiming to be an environmental centre from its museum days.

Further on, about halfway down the Skyline we get to Sky Port Kameishi. This is the main rest area on the route and whilst there’s no petrol, there is a great selection of local food and souvenir gifts. This is also a biker meet-up and regrouping spot, so there’s a good chance to meet new riding partners.

As we get further south, there’s signs of real life - small farm roads criss-cross the Skyline and you can get off and explore if you like. However, be aware that these can turn from asphalt to a gravel track to dirt quite quickly, and you may end up in one of many dead ends. As you can imagine then, there’s fun to be had. There are also some small local cafes and shops if you can catch them during opening times, which change throughout the year.

On the Izu Skyline proper there’s still miles of sweeping corners – and the odd straight – to go at before we come to a small technical park seemingly in the middle of nowhere. However, there are two things worth noting here. Firstly, there’s a small side road under the main road which leads off to Route 59 through a narrow forest road, which will take you into wasabi growing country. It’s a twisty little road, and if you haven’t seen a wasabi farm, it’s a quick and accessible way to do it. Wasabi must be grown in fresh flowing water, so throughout Izu there are plenty of terraced rivers growing the spice.

The other point of interest here is completely different. Through the business park entrance, there’s a road up to the ‘World Mahikari Civilization Centre’. It’s the main temple and centre of a religious community. The building is a terraced roof structure which hugs the side of the hill, and whose carefully manicured lawns open up to a stunning view of Mt. Fuji. You can see it from the main Izu Skyline road, but if there isn’t an event on you can ride up to it and get a closer look. It’s an out of place structure, but impressive to see.

From there it’s sadly a short run to the final toll gate, where you need to hand in that paper ticket that you got at the entrance. This final toll gate is much smaller, has a tiny parking area, the ubiquitous vending machine and a tiny Japanese toilet. This reinforces the idea that this is the ‘end’, though of course you can start here if you want to see the Skyline from a different angle.

Nearby is another abandoned building (the only other building) which I think was once a restaurant. After doing the Izu Skyline I often stop here for a cup of tea, sat on the kerb or on my bike, and watch vehicles coming and going and wishing that restaurant was open on the wetter days. Otherwise it’s a very quiet place with a view (of course) of Mt. Fuji.

From this southern tip of the Izu Skyline, there’s a lot more to explore – to the East there’s Mt. Omuro, the tip of a volcano caldera you can walk around, and the coastal town of Ito. Heading west through the hills and forest roads is the town of Izu itself, and other roads north-south. One of these is the 414, home to several waterfalls, and on the man made side, the bizarre Kawazu Nanataki Spiral Bridge on the way South.

You can ride the Skyline almost year round. There can be snow in January and February so be aware. In March you can often ride in spring weather as the plum and cherry blossoms fall from the trees – it’s a beautiful ride as these trees line several sections of the route. For the same reasons it great to run in Autumn also as the leaves blow around and you can see the famous variety of leaf colours from the many shades of browns to vivid reds across the mountains – a heady blend of relaxing nature and a road that loves motorbikes.

A Quick Run on the Skyline

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:39:11 +0000

It’s been a few months since I’ve been out on my bike for more than running errands and such, so when I was able to negotiate a whole morning to get out on the road, I had to decide how best to use the opportunity. I was tempted to just do a few hours of ’take random turns’ up in the mountains, which is what I like doing, but it’s unpredictable time wise, especially on the return leg. Instead, I decided to go for a tried and tested - but fun - route.

Getting on the bike at 7am on Sunday morning means less, but not zero traffic, as I went down the 134 coast road, and that Shonan is a surfer place is very apparent, especially at this time of year - lots of people in wetsuits on bicycles, surf-boards strapped in U shaped holders on sides of the bicycles and people in cars just lazily drifting along, checking out the beach.

It was basically a nice, sunny morning, fairly warm, but not too hot, riding in my mesh jacket and Draggin jeans, in good sunshine, a nice clear view. It’s a good road to go down, you have Fuji ahead of you and the beach on the left, and year round there are a smattering of surfers in the water, fishermen (and fisherwomen?) on the beach, and the universal collection of people walking their dogs on the sand.

Some of the faster roads are toll based, but usually only a couple of hundred yen, and I have ETC on my bike, so I just slow down and go through, rather than in the old days when I’d have to stop and fumble for change in my tank bag with my gloves on. That’s always frustrating, and in the winter and in the rain, it’s a real hassle. On the Seisho Bypass there’s a small service station where a lot of bikers stop to meet up, and sometimes I stop off for the cinnamon coffee, made by an energetic vending machine which plays you upbeat, potentially Colombian music whilst you wait for the drink to be reconstituted. Today though I was against the clock a little, so I skipped the coffee and decided to head straight to my first real stop, turning off at Hayakawa, and heading up the Toyo Tyres turnpike (toll again) to the rest stop at the top which houses the Dammtrax Cafe.

As I got closer to the turnpike the road was getting damp and then wet, and at the top of the ‘mountain’ near the Cafe it was even raining a little and once more I was glad I keep my rain gear under the seat, just in case things got worse, but in the event the rain stayed off. The Dammtrax Cafe is in the corner of a food court in the main building, and is a homage to the Ace Cafe near London (where I really would like to go). They do a decent drink and a hot dog too, and the whole place has some great views. Whilst it’s a tourist spot in general, like most of the Hakone area, there’s always bikers and car enthusiasts there - the day I went there was a large BMW meet-up with some of the BMW reps there for what looked like an organized ride. It’s always a place to get into general conversation about bikes, custom work, and pick up some good routes and tips.

When I came back to my bike, I noticed the one next to mine was a Triumph Street Triple, with a great tank decal.

The weather was still wet, but most of the road was OK - no real surface water, but for someone of my skill level, definitely reason to be careful on the corners. Off I went then to the Izu Skyline, another toll road which runs a little over 40Km north to south down the spine of Izu - it’s all hills and twisties, and thus tremendous fun on a bike. For me, on a non sports bike though, I keep an eye out for people coming up fast behind me, and keep an and let them run past - we’re all just out for a good ride. Yes, it’s a fast road.

The route does give great views, and there’s a good selection of roadside stopping points for photographers. There’s also a selection of service stations, including this somewhat derelict one; it always reminds me of some neo-Communist building for some reason, grey concrete surrounded by grass broken car parks, a monument perhaps to Bubble times.

More than anything, it’s a fun route to ride down, slow or fast, beautiful tree lined stretches, which open onto the sides of mountains, with great curves and vistas which make you want to stop and take a photo.

Get to the bottom and there’s really not much there, beyond a sort of derelict cafe which may or may not be open at certain times of year - at least it’s never had any sign of life inside it when I’ve been there, despite the constant white van parked outside.

After reaching the bottom and having a nice cup of tea from my flask, I turned right around and worked north again, retracing my exact route back past the Dammtrax, back down the turnpike, and back down normal straight roads and traffic, back to Shonan having thoroughly enjoyed it.

I usually say that having a motorbike is very liberating in Japan, just taking the next turns at random, but even so, there are good mornings to be had just taking a route you’ve done plenty of time and just enjoying the bike and the road.

Tea is also good.