Okutama area between road 205 and 206

[Wolfman]

bought a copy of the magazine funride which has a course which entails the following:

haijima start following routes 7, 33 then 205. At the end of 205 it says that there's a gate which connects to 206 - along this section from the gate apparently there are no cars allowed. unfortunately this is blank on google maps so it's a bit worrying...

The route they follow then goes down 206, 33, 522, 61 before heading back to 7.

I think alternatively that I would head up to 206 towards lake okutama then follow 411 back to tokyo.

my major concern is this gated section. Does anyone have any experience of this?

I've mapped this as follows assuming that the gate section is in place.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/japan/tokyo/727291170

thinking of doing it tomorrow morning so this is a bit last minute planning.....

 

[dgl2]

North Akigawa

... the same route UP the North Akigawa and over the top at Kazahari touge, down to Okutama-ko is described by Konishi-san of the Tachikawa Nalshima shop in "Jitensha-jin" 008 - Summer 2007, P. 61. There are photos -- and a warning that there is an 18% grade at the steepest part, but looks passable. ... he suggests coming back over Nokogiri-san, which is another nasty hill and a poor road surface, if you want to get another 600-700 meters of climbing!

Good luck!

 

[Wolfman]

Well, maybe I was being a bit ambitious in trying to get to Okutama.

More than an hour climbing up 205 was enough so after udon at the 都民の森 I did what everyone else seemed to be doing which was the descent back. That in itself was worth every penny and lasted about 40 mins-ish. A cracking descent on a good road surface and nice scenery.

 

[yamaguy01]

Newbie here... & a little late I think on this post for you..

The area between 205 and 206 has a gate that closes to vehicle traffic after 1900 during the warm months and I think it is closed all winter however you can get around the gate with a bicycle or a motorcycle. I am not sure if you would get into much trouble with a bicycle though. I think this is mostly to keep the drifters and motorcyclist out of there at night. Also in the winter this area is prone to small land slides and lots of ice on the roads. I hope this helped you out, I know it's a little late for this post but I just found this site today!


Dave

 

[Wolfman]

thanks for both the posts.

I was always wondering where to enjoy cycling on relatively unbusy roads and I got the impression from the number of cyclists I saw (which was a first) that this area is quite popular. I hope to continue exploring this area over the next few months - especially in terms of building up some climbing strength...

This gated area will be kept firmly in mind.