Route 120 · Japan
Irohazaka
Local name: いろは坂
Two one-way mountain roads above Nikko, one up and one down, linking the town with Lake Chūzenji. Between them they have 48 numbered bends, one for each character of the old Japanese iroha alphabet. This page follows the uphill road, the Second Irohazaka.
Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on this route. Heights come from terrain data and can differ from signposted figures by a few tens of metres.
Where is Irohazaka?
Irohazaka is in Japan, on Route 120. Also known as いろは坂, Second Irohazaka or Nikko Irohazaka. The route on this page: Umagaeshi to Lake Chūzenji, up the one-way Second Irohazaka, 11.8 km.
Why Irohazaka is famous
Each bend carries a sign with its iroha character, so drivers count them off on the way up: 20 on the Second Irohazaka going up, 28 on the First coming down. The road is one of the best-known in Japan, with views of Kegon Falls and the Akechidaira ropeway on the way, and it is one of the passes in the Initial D manga.
Irohazaka hairpins
Over 11.8 km Turini calls 23 hairpins and 45 corners graded 1 to 6, plus 1 crest and 1 dip. That is 76 calls in all, one every 155 metres on average. Grade 1 is the tightest, 6 is nearly straight (how to read pace notes). On Turini’s ranking of the twistiest famous roads it comes 31st of 61.
Irohazaka elevation profile
From 744 m at the start to 1,277 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 1,420 m. Red marks are the hairpins.
Irohazaka pace notes, first few km
The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.
Right 6Left 5Left 4Left 3Right 3 opensRight 4Left 3 very long opensBridgeLeft 6DipBridgeLeft 3Hairpin rightHairpin leftRight 4Hairpin rightLeft 3 longRight 5Left 3Right 3Left 6Right 5Hairpin leftRight 4Hairpin rightThat takes you to 4.50 km. 51 more calls follow over the remaining 7.3 km.
Before you drive Irohazaka
Open all year, but snow and ice are common in winter, and in the autumn-leaf season (usually October) the queues to Lake Chūzenji can take hours.
Both roads are one-way, so you drive up on the Second Irohazaka and come down on the First. They are busy main roads to a big tourist area, with buses and coaches, and the autumn traffic jams are famous: go early in the day.
How to drive Irohazaka with Turini
Set the route before you leave and Turini saves its notes on the phone, so it works with the screen off and no signal. On the road it reads each call about 4.5 seconds before the corner, timed to your speed, and you never touch the phone. It plays through the phone or the car speakers. If pace notes are new to you, start in Simple mode (Easy, Medium, Hard) and switch to the 1–6 scale once it feels natural.
Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.
Irohazaka: questions
Is Irohazaka open all year?
Open all year, but snow and ice are common in winter, and in the autumn-leaf season (usually October) the queues to Lake Chūzenji can take hours.
Where is Irohazaka?
Irohazaka is in Japan, on Route 120. Also known as いろは坂, Second Irohazaka or Nikko Irohazaka. The route on this page: Umagaeshi to Lake Chūzenji, up the one-way Second Irohazaka, 11.8 km.
How long is Irohazaka?
The route on this page, Umagaeshi to Lake Chūzenji, up the one-way Second Irohazaka, is 11.8 km (7.3 miles) long, with about 720 m (2,360 ft) of climbing.
How many hairpins does Irohazaka have?
On this route Turini calls 23 hairpins and 45 corners graded 1 to 6: 76 pace-note calls in all, about 5.8 corners a kilometre. Signposted counts can differ, since Turini only calls a hairpin where the road really doubles back.
How high does Irohazaka go?
The highest point on this route is about 1,420 m (4,660 ft), from terrain data, so it can differ from the signposted height by a few tens of metres. It starts at 744 m and finishes at 1,277 m.
More roads like Irohazaka
Touge roads in Japan · The twistiest famous roads, ranked · All famous roads · How to read pace notes · How to find twisty roads near you
Sources: Wikipedia: Irohazaka, Wikipedia (ja): いろは坂.
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