Jayves Rando Blog: Aizu 2012

I cannot resist the call of Aizu autumn.

Aizu is a beautiful place located at the western part of Fukushima prefecture. It is surrounded by mountains ranges. To the east is Oou (奥羽山地), to the north is Iide (飯豊山地), to the west is Etsugo (越後山地) and to the south is Shimono (下野山地) mountain ranges. The center is Aizu-Wakamatsu, rich in history and located in a small basin and crisscrossed by 5 old historical roads. To go to Aizu especially by bicycle, there is no choice but to go over these mountain passes. Best time to visit Aizu is spring and autumn. (Note: There are lots and lots of snow in Aizu during winter and most mountain roads are not cleared of snow. Similar to Kofu in Yamanashi, summer season in a basin is well hot but more favourable compared to Tokyo.)

Day 1:
It was raining Thursday night but the weather forecast Friday and Saturday was fair weather. The rain was a blessing as the temperature didn't dropped as much. Started the ride a little bit after 6:00 with temperature around 7℃. The plan is to do a clock wise loop from Aizu-Tajima to Aizu-Wakamatsu taking small backroads as much as possible. From Aizu-Tajima, I fork off R400 into a small mountain pass Akatochi-toge (赤土峠), merged into K346 and then climb another mountain pass Nakayama-toge (中山峠) where I found an old huge majestic tree. A quick descent brings me to a very nice hamlet or Oouchi-juku (大内宿) for a little sight-seeing. I arrive quite early and the villagers are just starting their commercial day and there is still no tourist. This place was very nice and I'm very interested to see what it looks like during the winter. Next mountain pass was Ichino-toge (市野峠), short but very steep narrow mountain road and then followed by a long descent to the Tsurugu Castle in Aizu-Wakamatsu.

From the castle to where I started is a long gentle climb on a very nice valley. Took the roads parallel to the national road R121 as much as possible as was rewarded with the road almost to myself. Stopped by an old-farm-house-turned-restaurant for a nice lunch and slowly rode back to 'base'.

Day 2:
With nice weather yesterday and no clouds, I expected a chilly morning. Actually, it wasn't chilly but very cold. Around 6:00 at elevation 560m, it was 1℃. As I haven't acclimated to winter temperatures yet, my eyeballs where freezing on the slow gentle climbs! Wind factor wasn't in consideration yet!. The plan today is to climb (沼山峠) at around 1700m and enjoy the kaleidoscope colors of autumn. I wasn't disappointed at all! It was the perfect weather, perfect location and perfect timing. If I can stop time, this could be it! I just let the pictures do all the taking.