Irohazaka
いろは坂36°44′ N 139°31′ EMountain road20 min
Irohazaka suits drivers and riders who want the 48 hairpins between Nikko and Lake Chuzenji, and on autumn holidays its traffic jams can turn a 20-minute climb into hours.
Photo Gin The Wanderer · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Two one-way roads link Nikko town with Lake Chuzenji, and between them they turn 48 hairpins, one for each syllable of the old iroha poem. Signs at each bend count you through the kana. The climb gains about 440 m.
The second road carries traffic up and passes the Akechidaira viewpoint, which looks across to the bends of the first road. A ropeway also starts from Akechidaira. Nikko's tourism office says the climb normally takes about 20 minutes and often takes two to three hours in the leaf season, and on long weekends the queue has reached six hours.
Worth knowing
- Go early on a weekday in October, or take the bus and let someone else sit in the queue.
Quick answers about Irohazakaよくある質問
How many bends does Irohazaka have?
The two Irohazaka roads have 48 hairpins between them, one for each kana of the iroha poem.
How long do you need at Irohazaka?
Plan about 20 min at Irohazaka.
When is the best time to visit Irohazaka?
Irohazaka: Weekday mornings in late October for the leaves, before the traffic builds.
Can you get to Irohazaka by bike?
The second Irohazaka carries all uphill traffic and the first carries all downhill traffic, so a rider climbs one road and descends the other.
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