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Arima Pass & Nagatoro
I started my ride from Ome Station, one of my favorite launching places when heading towards Chichibu. I began by riding Hwy 53 down up to Naguri. After going up and over a little pass called Ozawa Pass you descend down into a valley and begin to ride along the Iruma River. These are the headwaters of the Iruma and here it’s still just a small stream. It’s a very pleasant ride as you come up to the little town of Naguri with the large Kanon Statue perched on the mountain above it.
Turning west just past Naguri Post office you come up to Arima Dam, which forms Lake Naguri. At the back part of the lake, I discovered a delightful canoe factory that specializes in handmade wooden canoes. My father and I made a couple of canvas canoes when I was a boy and this place brought back pleasant memories.
At the back part of the lake, you enter the service road that climbs up to Arima Pass. It was a nice paved road which reminds me a bit of the Yabitsu road but much quieter. I met only a handful of cyclists coming down and a rare car every 20 minutes or so. The road climbs up and up. The grade is strenuous but not overwhelming. The road really snakes around and when it reaches higher elevations it runs along the ridge giving a nice view back all the way to the city.
Arima Pass sits at 1131 meters and looks over Naguri Lake and points beyond. The mountains on the other side of the pass look pretty steep and wild. It is a nice descent down into the valley where you begin to follow the Urayama River all the way to the lake and dam also bearing that name. Urayama Lake looks to be about 1 or 2 times the size of Naguri Lake but not quite as big as Lake Okutama. It is pretty remote all the way from Naguri Lake to Lake Urayama with only a couple of fishing and camping places along the way. I saw some wild monkeys and a large badger running across the road.
Shortly after Urayama Dam I turned right on Hwy 140 and followed it along the Arakawa River into Chichibu City. I continued following the river for the 15 km to Nagatoro, the scenic gorge on the Arakawa River. It is a popular place offering rides on old fashioned narrow wooden boats that are piloted through the gorge by a man with a pole. There are also several raft companies offering rides through the gorge.
There is a train station near the gorge and a long alley of restaurants leading from the station down to the bank of the river. At the river you can walk out onto the rock cliffs above the river. There are usually a lot of tourists coming there to enjoy the view. They have an old-fashioned steam locomotive that also runs along the river as well. Autumn is an especially good time to visit the river as the foliage covering the walls of the gorge can be quite pretty.
I have ridden here a handful of times. On the ride featured in the map I finished my ride just up the road at Yorii Station which offers access to the JR and Tobu lines. I liked this ride because it provided the wild remote atmosphere of Arima along with the more populated Nagatoro, both offering wonderful scenery. Chichibu is a special place for riding and not too far from Tokyo.
Arima Pass & Nagatoro Gallery
