Detour #61: Hakone Turnpike, Japan
No trip to Japan is complete without a detour to the Hakone Turnpike. Even if you have no interest in driving or Japanese car culture then it’s worth the visit just for the amazing views of Mount Fuji and Sagami Bay.
But if you do have even just an ounce of petrol running through your veins then this road will definitely get your heart pumping.
That's because Hakone was home to Japan's illegal drift racers and it's been immortalised in manga and anime– most notably Initial D – where numerous battles between powersliding cars took place on its tight turns.
A little over an hour from central Tokyo you’ll find the tollbooth that marks the start of what’s become known as the Japanese Nürburgring. For a few years there was a Mazda logo on the booth as the Zoom-Zoom car company bought the naming rights to the Hakone from 2014 to 2017.
Pay the toll charge and you can enter this hallowed touge run which ascends over 1,000m through dense forest, over bridges and through tunnels and a riot of corners. Go during spring’s cherry blossom season and you’ll also find a riot of colours to enjoy.
It’s not a race track like the ’Ring, but the bends are marked to show drivers the best line to take. There is a rather low 50 km/h speed limit, but no speed cameras and the road is very lightly policed.
You’ll be certain to encounter modified Skylines and supercars scorching up and down – and more than a few Mazdas of course.
The Hakone Turnpike was built to provide commercial traffic access to the local towns and villages but the arrival of a more efficient highway system left it with no other purpose than to take in its views and its driving challenge. That’ll do for us.
Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Hua Thun Ho / Unsplash / Shutterstock