Route 33 · Japan

Mount Haruna

Local name: 榛名山

Mount Haruna is a volcano in Gunma with a crater lake near the top. The road down its east side to the hot-spring town of Ikaho is the touge that Initial D turned into Mount Akina, where Takumi delivers tofu in his Toyota AE86.

11.0 kmLength

71Pace-note calls

18Hairpins

19Tight corners (1–2)

↑100 ↓450Climb and drop, m

≈1,170 mHighest point

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 Mount Haruna?

Mount Haruna is in Japan, on Route 33. Also known as 榛名山, Mount Akina, Haruna-san or Gunma Route 33. The route on this page: Lake Haruna to Ikaho Onsen, down the east side of the mountain, 11.0 km.

Why Mount Haruna is famous

Initial D's Mount Akina is modelled on Mount Haruna, and fans of the manga and anime come from all over the world to drive the downhill and photograph the hairpins. Outside the fiction it is a scenic road between Lake Haruna and Ikaho Onsen, one of the best-known hot-spring towns in Japan.

Mount Haruna hairpins

Over 11.0 km Turini calls 18 hairpins and 48 corners graded 1 to 6, plus 1 crest. That is 71 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 30th of 61.

HP18

212

312

Mount Haruna elevation profile

From 1,100 m at the start to 753 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 1,170 m. Red marks are the hairpins.

1,200 m700 m

0 km5.5 km11.0 km

Mount Haruna pace notes, first few km

The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.

395 mLeft 4

505 mSpeed bump

1.98 kmLeft 6

2.20 kmRight 6

2.38 kmLeft 2 long in dip

2.68 kmRight 3 opens

2.85 kmHairpin right

2.96 kmLeft 3

3.17 kmLeft 5 over crest

3.27 kmRight 1

3.32 kmHairpin left

3.50 kmRight 3

3.67 kmRight 2

3.77 kmLeft 5

3.90 kmHairpin right

4.07 kmHairpin left

4.17 kmRight 3

4.51 kmRight 5

4.70 kmHairpin left

4.84 kmRight 1

4.90 kmLeft 1

5.00 kmRight 3

5.08 kmLeft 2 opens

5.15 kmRight 2 long tightens over crest

5.30 kmLeft 2 long

That takes you to 5.30 km. 46 more calls follow over the remaining 5.7 km.

Before you drive Mount Haruna

Open all year. The lake sits at about 1,100 m, so expect snow and ice in winter.

This is a public road with local traffic, buses and walkers near Ikaho, not a race course: drive it at legal speeds and keep to your side in the hairpins. Lake Haruna has parking and places to eat at the top.

How to drive Mount Haruna 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.

Mount Haruna: questions

Is Mount Haruna open all year?

Open all year. The lake sits at about 1,100 m, so expect snow and ice in winter.

Where is Mount Haruna?

How long is Mount Haruna?

The route on this page, Lake Haruna to Ikaho Onsen, down the east side of the mountain, is 11.0 km (6.8 miles) long, with about 100 m (330 ft) of climbing.

How many hairpins does Mount Haruna have?

On this route Turini calls 18 hairpins and 48 corners graded 1 to 6: 71 pace-note calls in all, about 6 corners a kilometre. Signposted counts can differ, since Turini only calls a hairpin where the road really doubles back.

How high does Mount Haruna go?

The highest point on this route is about 1,170 m (3,840 ft), from terrain data, so it can differ from the signposted height by a few tens of metres. It starts at 1,100 m and finishes at 753 m.

More roads like Mount Haruna

Usui PassJapan15.1 km · 151 calls · 28 hairpins

IrohazakaJapan11.8 km · 76 calls · 23 hairpins

Hakone TurnpikeJapan13.7 km · 48 calls · 1 hairpins

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: Mount Haruna, Wikipedia (ja): 榛名山.

Set Turini up for you

Turini is on Google Play for Android. Five quick questions and you’ll know which mode to start with.

Find your setup →

Get it on Google Play