My Driving-Vacation to Japan Part 4

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Nikko and Iroha Highway

Nikko is about 150 km north of Tokyo. The cultural highlight of this region is the Toshogu, Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine complex and mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Unlike most Japanese temples and shrines, the buildings here are extremely gaudy and ornate, with multicolored carvings and plenty of gold leaf. There is the famous three wise monkey wooden carving. These wise monkeys embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil".

The Nürburgring, known as simply "The Ring" by car enthusiasts, is the famous motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany. All German car makers and international car makers who are continuously attempting to match and outdo the Germans in driving dynamics come to the Ring to prove their prototypes. The Ring has unprecedented level of technicality and challenges that are respected and feared by race car drivers, car designers and engineers. Not only it features hairpins, zigzags, switchbacks, straights, and elevation changes, but also a carousel turn.

Now, imagine the following. Ihora highway is like The Ring slapped on the steep brow of Mt. Natai. Additionally it has a lot more hairpins and several carousel turns! This public highway connects the town Nikko and lake Chuzenji, the highest elevated lake in Japan at 1269 meters above sea level. The highway is two lane one way up, ascending about 400 meter, and two-lane one way down on the another side of the mountain. Slow drivers and riders stay on the left lane and this makes the climb up and down extremely invigorating, especially during the off-peak hours...@driving-vacation

More pictures...

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