Mikuni Pass | My Website

（click on map to enlarge）

Mikuni Pass

Mikuni Pass sits above the east end of Lake Yamanaka near where the borders of Shizuoka, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi Prefectures intersect. It was recently made famous as being a part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Road Race course.

The pass is steep when climbed from the south. Several times I heard Olympic commentators refer to it as “the wall”. One of the signs along the road puts the grade at 18%.

I like to ride from Suruga-Oyama Station on the JR Gotemba Line, riding up Hwy 147. This road has very little car traffic. It’s nice and quiet with the sometimes exception of sounds from Fuji International Speedway down below to the west. After passing Fuji Health and Country Club the road turns right and soon brings you into some serious climbing, gaining 650 meters in about 5 km with double digit grades. The top of the pass lies at 1165 meters.

There is kind of flat area near the top which leads you to believe that you have come over the pass when you actually have some more climbing to do along the ridgeline.

After reaching the top you are rewarded with one of the most beautiful descents there is. You come down through the grasslands of pampas grass that open up a wide picture-perfect panorama of Mt. Fuji with Lake Yamanaka in the foreground. This is especially nice in the autumn when the grass turns light yellow, almost white. Since Lake Yamanaka lies at a higher elevation the descent is much shorter.

I recommend pulling over and soaking in the view. There are several fantastic viewpoints. I’ll put a link to a video I took coming down this portion of the road. Below this.

On the ride featured in the map above I turned onto Doshi Michi (Hwy 413). After a short climb over Yamabushi Pass it’s a long smooth glide down through the Doshi Valley. It’s a nice reward for enduring the hardship of climbing Mikuni.

Of course, you have the option of approaching the pass from the Yamanaka Lake side which is much easier. However, it’s probably good for everyone to experience the climb from the south at least once in their lives. It provides a sense of accomplishment and the view after the pass instantly erases the pain of the climb.