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favorite autumn rides?

heike

Cruising
Jan 17, 2020
9
9
Hi,

I hope this is not too general of a question, but what are your favorite autumn/foliage (road) rides that could be done as a daytrip from Tokyo?I Could be starting from Tokyo, but I am rather looking for some more countryside, mountain area I can travel to from Tokyo by car or train.

Cheers,
heike
 
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This might be too short for your liking, but currently I'm planning to cycle myself or with friends from setagaya to tama lake during autumn and I think the view might look awesome!
 
I just did a ride to Yamanakako. 175 km all in from my place in Koganei. Early start is best to beat the morning rush hour traffic (anytime before 6 am). Quiet mountain roads after about an hour and half of riding. Beautiful view of Fuji, leaves changing and peaceful.
 
I just did a ride to Yamanakako. 175 km all in from my place in Koganei. Early start is best to beat the morning rush hour traffic (anytime before 6 am). Quiet mountain roads after about an hour and half of riding. Beautiful view of Fuji, leaves changing and peaceful.

Thanks! This sounds like a very nice one! I think I will put this one on my list! Might shorten it down a bit by taking the train out to Hashimoto. My personal next challenge would be something around 100-120km...
 
Every year in November I do a ride in Chichibu starting Seibu-Chichibu station. This is where we rode yesterday. Nice views, a spectacular 2000 year old Shinto shrine on a mountain top but the climb is on a forest road so it's best to ride with company incase you run into any problems.
 
Today I took the 08:04 from Toyoda station, westwards, arriving at Saruhashi station at 08:52.

(Actually this was the first time my bike had been in a rinkōbukuro for half a year or so. I could have ridden it to Saruhashi, but I'd have had to wake up that much earlier. And I'm old, feeble and lazy.)

At Saruhashi I met a friend who'd ridden his bike there (of course!), and we went north up RN 139. It's a long but gentle climb. The expectation is that you'll go through Matsuhime tunnel (what any map will show as a long straight section). But just to the left of the mouth of Matsuhime tunnel is the mouth of Narakura tunnel. It's blocked, but half-heartedly. We went in there and rode to the top. This too is a gentle climb. Lots of autumnal scenes up there. From the top, we descended along RN 139 to Kosuge and the western end of Okutama-ko, where we had a decent (and quick and cheap) lunch at Yakyū-tei. Around Okutama-ko and then off to the right along "Okutama Mukashi-michi". (NB go slow along there: the colours are very autumnal, but there are plenty of walkers, many of whom are as ancient as I am and like to wear tasteful, autumnal colours.) And back to Hamura and home.

We encountered nobody above Matsuhime tunnel; maybe this too is better done with a friend. Stretches of it are covered with leaves, under which pointy rocks may lurk.. We did it with 700x28C, with no punctures

The descent goes on and on and on. It's not steep, so even if (like me) you are depending on rim brakes (tsk tsk), your hands won't tire. Very enjoyable.

Carry good lights: You'll have to go through one tunnel that will be dark without them.
 
@microcord and @joewein
Both of your tours look really, really nice!! I'll put them on my list!

Actually I went to Okutama yesterday and took this route. The later part is kind of the same as you went, @microcord.
The entire round is probably one of the standard rides in that area, but it was beautiful! And not many people and traffic on a Monday ;)
 
Hakone was great last week!
From Odawara station, i did a ~80km loop including a HC climb
Nice views from Fuji san, the lake, the sea and the mountains themselvs
 
Actually I went to Okutama yesterday and took this route. The later part is kind of the same as you went, @microcord.
The entire round is probably one of the standard rides in that area, but it was beautiful! And not many people and traffic on a Monday ;)

Good, but next time, at around 91 km on your route consider turning right off the main road and going along Okutama Mukashi-michi. (But slowly and carefully.)

Well actually . . . at the T-junction at around 43 km on your route (at Tachibana-bashi), don't turn left but instead turn right. Yes you can go up to Kazahari that way. (However, there's construction going on these days. I'd guess that it's possible on Sundays and holidays, but I wouldn't try it on any other day because at best you'd inconvenience people rebuilding the road and at worst you'd be politely but firmly turned back.)
 
Haven't ridden it in a long time, but the ride from Miyagase up to Yabitsu toge on route 73 is one of my favorites. It's close to Tokyo, can be done without a train ride, and is really pretty. Plus, there is a nice cafe just before the pass.

Oh... forgot to mention that the road washed out last year and I don't think it has been repaired yet.
 
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Good, but next time, at around 91 km on your route consider turning right off the main road and going along Okutama Mukashi-michi. (But slowly and carefully.)
oh, yes, I wanted to go there, but then missed that turn! And then was a bit too lazy (and tired) to go back.

Well actually . . . at the T-junction at around 43 km on your route (at Tachibana-bashi), don't turn left but instead turn right. Yes you can go up to Kazahari that way. (However, there's construction going on these days. I'd guess that it's possible on Sundays and holidays, but I wouldn't try it on any other day because at best you'd inconvenience people rebuilding the road and at worst you'd be politely but firmly turned back.)

Thanks! Had I known I could go up there! This road looks much nicer. Well, next time then ;) The construction btw is not a big deal. I went there on Monday. It's not a full road closure. They were doing something at the side of the road. Didn't strike me as a big deal.
 
@heike , when I was last up there, in late July, fifty metres or so of what-had-been road not far below Hinohara Kinoko Sentā had fallen down the mountainside. This most definitely was a big deal.

P7293246.JPG

Of course I hope that this has largely been fixed by now -- but could you be thinking of some lesser roadworks lower down?
 
@heike , when I was last up there, in late July, fifty metres or so of what-had-been road not far below Hinohara Kinoko Sentā had fallen down the mountainside. This most definitely was a big deal

Of course I hope that this has largely been fixed by now -- but could you be thinking of some lesser roadworks lower down?

@microcord oh, yes, I was thinking of some roadworks on the 33, the "big" road I took (turning left at the T-junction). I somehow misread your post...I haven't been up the smaller road. When looking at google maps (not closely enough obviously) it looked liked a dead end. Would be interesting to know whether this has been fixed and whether the road is open again, cause it looks like a very nice route.
 
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@heike , at that T-junction, turn right. Then simply follow the road until you get to the switchback to the right shown in the third photo in this web page (the view as you approach it) and the fourth (the view once you've made the turning). Take the switchback (follow the lady in the fourth photo). Then follow the road again. If you can make it to the mushroom centre, then congratulations, you've done the toughest part. Very soon after the mushroom centre, fork right onto the start of the rindō. If you fail to do so you can only advance 20 metres or so before the road stops. Follow the rindō. When you get to the top you can either carry your bike down a very short flight of steps or squeeze it around the side of a gate. You're on a road; it's route 206. Walk a few metres north and you'll see a stick marking Kazahari tōge, the highest point of any Tokyo road. Selfie time: you've earned it! Now you can enjoy any of three descents.

Want more good scenery and more excitement? Here, behind the tōfu shop, fork left. Just follow the road, up to the top of Tossaka, then down, joining the route described above. (NB the descent is steep; check that your brakes are in good nick.)

Either way, you'll need either low gears or strong legs. (For me, it's definitely the former. And when I say low, I mean it.)
 
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@microcord
Thank you again a lot for your super detailed route descriptions! I feel like you have ridden all of these small roads in that area ;)
Makes me want to go right back there again. Wonder whether I would actually make it up to the mushroom center!? I am just getting (back) into road cycling and start to get a liking for climbs, but where I am from in Germany it's all super flat :eek:
... and omg, I didn't take that selfie on Kazahari tōge !
 
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Some great routes there. I am really having trouble with motivation to create a route myself to go see the Autumn colours without using a train to get a bit out of the city. Thinking of maybe heading up to Tokigawa/Ogose via Kawagoe tomorrow to get at least one 100km + ride in for November. I've been commuting 5 days per week since June with pretty full days of work so haven't been as keen to spend the full day on the bike lately.
 
@microcord Thank you again a lot for your super detailed route descriptions!
Indeed. @microcord's directions remind me that I should spend much more time looking at where I am and less time staring at the screen of my Garmin to work out where I'm going next. I'm also reminded of an entertaining photo-blog of a coast-to-coast ride some friends did many years ago... except that none of them carried a camera so the photos were just descriptions. I'll see if I can dig it out.
 
@heike , if it's not long since you restarted, then I do not suggest that you go up to, and beyond, the mushroom centre. But what you might consider instead is: Do what I suggested in the message above, but when you get to the switchback to your right, don't take it but instead continue forwards. You'll go farther uphill (to Fujiwara tōge, which disappointingly lacks any memorial rock or similar), and then you'll descend and join the traffic returning to Itsuka-ichi from Tomin no Mori.
 
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