Trip 2 - Day 8 - Hitoyoshi to Oogi Onsen

Wow, what an amazing day - one of the best day's riding I've ever had in Japan. Great weather, amazing roads, beautiful scenery - the whole package. After yesterday's grey haze, today greeted us with clear blue skies and finally a break from the high humidity we've been having all week. The sun rose clear and strong, and the mountain air around Hitoyoshi was crisp and cool. Suffice to say we were psyched to get out on the road!

Our plan for the day was to ride back towards the Aso region from Hitoyoshi, along routes 445 and 25, and then to brave the curves of the famous Kenny Roberts road before circling up out of the Aso caldera and locating our hotel for the night.

The route for today from Hitoyoshi to Kurokawa

Right off the bat route 445 did not disappoint, with some of the best riding and best scenery we've had on this trip to date. The road ran up into the mountains, following wide valleys with streams typically running many metres below. Wide sweeping turns were the norm, and while we were tempted the charge the turns and up the pace, the scenery held us back and we made many stops for photos.

Vistas from the wide valleys of Route 445 

In contrast, route 23 was a much smaller affair, more intimate - running along a rocky stream in a much smaller and tighter valley. Villages were nestled in small hamlets beside the river every few kilometres as we passed, and the road followed the river's twists and turns as it ran along beside it.

Sights and sounds of Route 23

Next we reached the Kenny (Roberts) road with its sweeping turns linked endlessly one after the other. The day had grown bright and clear, and being a Sunday there were bikes and bikers everywhere. This time we did charge the turns, and between stops to take photos of the other bikers and their rides, the adrenalin flowed freely.

Bikers assembled on the Kenny Roberts road

Yeah we've ridden the Kenny

With the Kenny road finally dumping us back down into the Aso crater, we headed to the northern caldera rim that we'd ridden towards Kurosawa a few short days before. That time we were in a hurry to reach day's end, but today we had time to fully explore the route. We rode to the edge and visited many of the best lookout spots to fully appreciate (and photograph!) views of the whole Aso area. The scenery on display was nothing short of spectacular!

Some tool on a bike poses in front of the Aso caldera

View of the Aso caldera from the crater rim

Duly awed by the majesty of Aso's dramatic landscape, it was finally time to head for our digs for the night. Lucas and I are staying in an onsen hotel 'Oogi Onsen' just outside the Kurokawa area. We fought the traffic to wind our way there, and after checking in we immediately rode back out to get some dinner. Just up the road was a quaint little place run by a nice old lady and her husband. We had a very welcome beer and a pleasant meal before returning to the hotel for some relaxing hot water action.

We're now back at Oogi and ready to hit the rotenburo!

Let the relaxing begin!

Oogi Onsen Rotenburo did not disappoint