Mikawa countryside

In the midst of the  Mikawa countryside in Aichi prefecture there is a loads of good quality curvy mountain roads which are a driving paradise but not know so well to the people. Various routes can be build but the one selected here is the best based on personal experience.

It starts at route 301 which is a main road between Toyota city and Shinshiro and also connects to the Mt. Hongu Skyline. Coming from the route 301 from Toyota, enter the route 473 towards Okazaki. The first on the route 473 is on narrow, very curvy ascending road. The speed in this section is very low. A bit later the roads become less curvy and wider, and soon the forest environment changes to countryside urban area.
At the cross section in the town, go onto the route 35.

The first part of the route 35 is along a river, with in the spring a lot of blooming cherryblossom trees. A few kilometer later, after passing through a very small city, there is a very small, difficult to miss exit on the right towards the route route 333. The actual road itself has no name but although the first few meters are narrow, after passing a bridge it becomes a normal width road with nice curves and perfect road quality. Worth driving multiple times.

Once arrived at the route 333, go to the left. The road will now be a wide single lane and although there is not so much traffic on this road, care needs to be taken. The road soon passes through a forest and has a very fun 180 degree corner. After a few kilometer there is an exit to the route 334. Take this.

The route 334 is the last part (or first part, depending which direction you a driving) of this driving route. It will be mainly ascending (going from north to south) and there is a sudden tight hairpin so take care about this. It passes mainly through forest with a good flow of curves and this might be the best section of the complete route. At the end there is a T-split and this is the end of the complete driving route. Going to the left will head you towards the Mt. Hongu Skyline and to the right is towards the city of Okazaki.

In overall, this route can be driven almost year round, has good road quality and is fun to drive both from north to south and south to north. Traffic is usually also scarse.

Maps by openstreetmap.org

Google maps location link:
Mikawa countryside route