Diamond Route

OK, time to get going. The ride begins on a Japanese expressway. There are no traffic lights, which makes for a pleasant ride.
While on the expressway, you will be able to see sights such as Mt. Tsukuba, and the 120 meter-tall Ushiku Daibutsu.

There are number of service areas located along the expressway. These tend to sell a selection of local products, as well as having on-site cafés and restaurants.
It’s fun to stop at each service area and sample local food and drink.

As you near Nikko Toshogu Shrine, you will be greeted by Nikko’s mountain scenery.

Ride through the streets of Nikko and enjoy touring along the winding mountain roads nearby.

The road up leading up to Kurokami-daira Viewpoint is called ‘No. 2 Iroha-zaka Slope’, while the road that descends from Kegon Falls is called the ‘No. 1 Iroha-zaka Slope’.

"Kirifuri" translates as "falling fog", meaning that the name of this area translates as "Falling Fog Highlands". As the name implies, it is often foggy here.
While roads on the highlands offer a succession of enjoyable curves, in foggy conditions it becomes extremely important to be aware of oncoming vehicles and other hazards.

Ozasa Ranch is situated in a particularly foggy area, which led to the Kirifuri Highlands being called "Falling Fog Highlands". You'll pass two lakes as you proceed along a pleasant winding road, through areas rich with natural scenery. There will be a number of tunnels on the mountains roads too. The next thing you know, you'll be entering Fukushima Prefecture!

A pleasantly winding road will take you from To-no-hetsuri Crags to Ouchi-juku. After passing through a number rural towns, you'll be able to enjoy views of the mountains and deep ravines, as you wind along the riverbank along Prefectural Route 329. Once you leave the mountains, you'll be greeted with the scenic Japanese countryside, and will start to feel like you have travelled back in time to an old, more rural Japan. This change in scenery marks your increasing proximity to Ouchi-juku, which is a popular sightseeing spot.

Riders are sure to find the road connecting Ouchi-juku to Tsurugajo Castle to be really interesting.
After passing along a dam, you'll take twisting and turning roads through the mountains. Once you emerge from the mountains, you'll be treated to broad rural vistas on both sides of the road. You will continue directly through this rural scenery and eventually enter Aizu-Wakamatsu City, which is home to your next stop: Tsurugajo Castle.

After leaving Tsurugajo Castle and riding out of the city, you'll be treated to more splendid rural vistas with beautiful, quintessentially Japanese scenery. Whether green in summer, or golden in fall, the rice paddies you can see from this road make for fantastic views.

The road from Kitakata City to the Goshiki-numa Ponds, which are well-known for their five-colored lakes, is full of twists and turns - making it very popular with riders.

The renowned sightseeing road Mt. Bandai Gold Line stands out even among the many great touring roads that Fukushima Prefecture has to offer. This road connects Bannai Shokudo with Tenkyokaku (your next destination), and provides crystal-clear view of Lake Inawashiro, one of Japan's biggest lakes. There are many other mountains and lakes to discover along the way.

The first part of the route from Goshiki-numa Ponds to Marusei Orchard involves touring along the Bandai Azuma Lake Line, which is famous among Japanese motorcyclists.
As the name implies, this road is surrounded by mountains and passes by lakes.

This road joins onto yet another favorite among motorcylists: Bandai Azuma Skyline. As you emerge from the mountains, you are greeted with a rugged, rocky landscape rare throughout the whole of Japan.

You take both expressways and normal roads to travel between Marusei Orchard and Natsui Station. This route is relatively quiet. This combined with the width of the roads makes for relaxing riding.

The route from Natsui Station to Yunodake Viewpoint takes you out of the mountains, and through a mix of rural landscapes and more urban areas. Because you're touring in Fukushima, there will also be a number of winding roads to enjoy, including the hairpin turns of the road leading directly to Yunodake Viewpoint. Once you've navigated the twists and turns of this road, you can look forward to views of the towns spread out along the Pacific coastline. This is a different panorama from other viewpoints in this itinerary. This change is scenery is something special that you can experience if you tour in Fukushima.

Time flies when you're having fun! Soon it's time to return to Narita. You'll take the same expressway as you did on the way out to Fukushima.
Even though the service areas on the way back have the same names, the facilities themselves are different. It's a good idea to sample some famous local products at these ones as well.

Along the way, you can exit the expressway for your final sightseeing excursion at Hitachi Seaside Park, before continuing on for around 100 km to Narita.