Day 0

Iain Tullie was the designated recce driver for our run through the route of 2025’s Islands of Japan Marathon. He picked up our Hilux, very kindly leant to us by our friends at Toyota, from the company’s base in Nagoya and drove north to Sapporo, albeit without his luggage (the joys of air travel!). Naomi Minamoto from our agents, Into Japan, was already at the hotel when I arrived on Sunday having flown via Helsinki and Tokyo. Monday was spent looking at the start venue, stocking the truck and discovering the wonderful capital city of Hokkaido.

Day 1

Fully loaded by 08:00 we set out into the unknown, to us, interior of Hokkaido. We were pleasantly surprised by the absence of heavy traffic and the subsequent ease of leaving Sapporo. Soon out, in open flat countryside, we were warmly welcomed at the splendid Nanporo Riverside Park Kart Circuit. The track has all we need, and the owner’s enthusiasm bodes well for next September. Soon after, out of the blue, Iain noticed a driving school at the side of the road. Naomi soon arranged an interview with the director of the establishment. He was happy to let us use his facility on the condition that we treat the tracks with respect and there is no speeding. To that end we have devised a plan that will see the navigators tested on the short 500 metre test…..

We were defeated on our first attempt to find a regularity by seriously washed away tracks. However, we soon found an alternative, all gravel, section that led us to a splendid timber framed hotel with an excellent restaurant where the rally will take lunch.  Another short but challenging section soon followed before we crossed a mountain range on a sweeping road with multiple tunnels.

The final section of the day looked fairly twisty on the map, but the road was wide, fast and asphalt. And then it wasn’t. We will save the surprises for the rally itself. A fairly short run took us to Asahikawa and our charming, city centre hotel and the end of our first taste of Japan.

Day 2

After a splendid buffet breakfast, we headed out of town, the light traffic the last we were to see for the rest of the day. It took about 50 kilometres for the scenery to become really inspiring despite the rainy start to the day. We found a smart cafe, aptly named Black Mountain Coffee, at a cable car station. We were resigned in this hilly area to enjoy the flowing, traffic free roads, and the spectacular scenery, but without any competitive sections, due to the topography. However, we bet on a one percent chance and nosed into what is marked as a footpath on the map, and lo, discovered Highway 47. This clearly, at some point in the distant past was the main track through the valley for there were faded road signs and safety mirrors throughout its length. The surface was grassy gravel, and we were delighted with our discovery. Back on the asphalt we drove over a couple of passes before another, less unusual section presented itself on our right. We arrived at the lunch halt feeling pleased with our morning’s work. The local noodle dish with fabulously light vegetable and prawn tempura felt well deserved.

The afternoon went almost exactly to plan. Three regularities, the first like a classic WRC stage on smooth gravel, the second a super twisty, asphalt challenge and the third a gravel mountain road with distinctive white road kerb stones that could be seen far in the distance. We descended into an attractive, tourist village on the shores of Lake Akan. We are far away from Japan’s famous tourist spots, have yet to see a shrine or much in the way of traffic, but are delighted with our decision to start the event with a loop of Japan’s most northerly island, Hokkaido.

Day 3

There was zero traffic as we left town on a pleasant, if cloudy, morning. The road climbed and the views were great, but little did we know what we had to look forward to.

We climbed steeply out of Abashiri before seeing a sign for the Lake Mashu Observatory. A great café and gift shop (which sold local melons at £65 for a pack of four!) led on to a terrace with amazing views over said lake, nestling in an extinct volcanic crater. The views all around were breathtaking. After half an hour or so we dragged ourselves away and descended through many hairpins onto a plain which took us to MokMok Base where volcanic vents spew boiling water and sulphuric gases into the air. The sights, sounds and smells were unbelievable! After a great melon ice cream cooled us down we headed off for the serious part of the day.

We quickly found a forest complex with some great logging roads and set out a regularity section with some interesting twists and turns. There then followed a wonderful asphalt mountain pass which we decided would be untimed to let the crews enjoy the views and the driving. A little mixed surface regularity followed before the day’s jewel in the crown. The Chimikeppu Lake regularity twisted and turned, rose and fell for over 12 kilometres with barely a straight to be seen on smooth gravel roads devoid of traffic. A great find. From there we headed north to the coast and the Sea of Okhotsk with Russia not very far away. This is Japan’s crab capital, and we soon found a seaside established serving a great crab gratin which will be on the lunch menu for those who like shellfish. A final 80 kilometre run along the coast to the Shiretoko Peninsula and our excellent resort where the rally will stay for two nights. No rest for us though, being back on the road first thing the next morning.

Day 6

Having had some good pizzas in town for dinner and a full night’s sleep, we started the morning feeling good. We felt even better when we discovered that the Tokachi Speedway, just out of town, has a driving course that could have been made for our type of event. There were some great classics in the paddock too, including a Mini Marcos and an Alfa Romeo GTAm replica, and each of the owners were more than happy to show us their pride and joy. We then passed west through the beautiful Hidaka Mountains before descending once again to the Pacific Ocean. A pair of mixed-surface regularities were discovered before lunch in a wonderful timber-framed steak restaurant set in a forest location. From there it was only a few kilometres to a nice kart and drift circuit complex where we hope to use both circuits. Having spent a lot of the day looking in vain for extra regularity sections, it was already dark when we got into our hotel on Lake Toya but we were well entertained by a spectacular firework display over the lake.

Day 8

After a non-driving day in Hakodate (rest never really came into it!) we were on the road at 07:30, direction car ferry. Having heard from Iain of his four-hour crossing from Aomori with limited facilities on board we made a last-minute decision to change the crossing to arrive in Oma, the most northerly point in mainland Japan. The Shimokita Peninsula was a revelation and within a few kilometres of the port we were on wonderfully testing, twisting and undulating, super-smooth asphalt roads. A remote Onsen will provide a great lunch with the opportunity for an open air, hot spring experience thrown in. A second, similar regularity followed almost immediately before we drove south on the west side of the peninsula. Rejoining the original planned route, we found 14 kilometres of superb gravel through the mountains. The day ended with a beautiful route following a spectacular river with waterfalls and rapids in abundance before we joined the shores of Lake Towada, the largest crater lake on Honshu. Our hotel is on the lake’s edge, and we went to dinner feeling very pleased with the first day’s route through the second of our islands of Japan.

Day 9

The roads all around Lake Towada are fabulous and we had to stop ourselves from making the run to coffee a single, long regularity. Luckily common sense prevailed but within 25 kilometres of the hotel we found the perfect opener to the day. Two asphalt roads either side of a valley were linked by a twisty gravel track. We tried a few combinations before deciding on the day’s nine-kilometre opener. From there it was a short run to a wine hotel, sitting in an immaculate golf course, and with great twisty roads leading to and from its front door. Morning coffee sorted we headed west in search of the area’s famous Apple Road, lined, as you would expect, by thousands of apple trees. We are planning a tasting of the many varieties of the fruit grown in the region. From there we circumnavigated the 1,624-metre-high Mount Iwaki before joining the Sea of Japan coast. We found some great, twisty roads on the inland side of the main road and identified a couple of regularities, including one with more bridges than Madison County. Finally, we took the scenic, parallel route south towards Akita, fitting in a short but challenging end of day section. We had an easy run into town and our smart hotel right by the station, ready to head further south.

Day 12

Early morning mist greeted us as we descended into Nikko. The city’s shrines and temples complex form a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 100 religious buildings. We will allow plenty of time to explore before the day’s timing begins in the more prosaic setting of a Lawson convenience store. A mere six kilometres later the day’s first regularity is the old road, now bypassed by a tunnel. The hairpin bends are numbered and run into the high thirties. On the following section Iain spotted a dramatic red bridge which I, being the pontephile that I am, insisted we cross. Naomi then, rather miraculously, found us a wonderful coffee stop only a couple of kilometres away. The Tomihiro Art Museum has terrific displays, a fine gift shop, and fabulous coffee in a riverside setting. Fully refreshed we set out to tackle the northern fringes of the Tokyo sprawl before rejoining the traffic free countryside. Lunch was taken Japanese-style with great tempura on the menu, before the day’s final two sections, the second of which featured three narrow tunnels on, now disused, asphalt roads. Karuizawa was our home for the night, but the rally will stay two, allowing competitors to relax in the beautiful town, once the home of Yoko Ono and John Lennon, explore Japan’s largest outlet complex, or even take the 60-minute Shinkansen directly into downtown Tokyo.

Day 14

Heading north out of town we quickly found a farmland regularity section with 12 junctions in six kilometres that will keep the navigators on their toes. Japan has suffered unprecedented, and unseasonal rains, in the last weeks and as the morning wore on we got more than our fair share. Shiga Kogen sits at the top of the country’s highest asphalt road at over 2,000 metres. The views are said to be outstanding, but we saw nothing but cloud. There are active volcanoes in the area, and although we couldn’t see them, the odour of sulphur filled the Hilux. A major feature of the rally on this day will be the opportunity to visit the Snow Monkeys. This will entail a walk from a very smart restaurant into the forest with a guide. With the rain beating down incessantly we decided to wait until next year for this treat. A second, and final, regularity of the day took us to Lake Hokuryuko. Our agent, Into Japan’s local representative Rich greeted us driving his classic Land Cruiser 40, a wonderful machine that would be fully at home competing on the event itself. He kindly let me drive it a few kilometres to a nearby shrine where Shinto priest, Shida-san will bless the cars while drums and horns entertain us. It promises to be a very special occasion and all who have arranged this deserve our thanks. Back in the real world we made our way to Nagano at the end of the penultimate day of Recce One.

Day 15

Our final day of this trip started out in full sunshine. The run out of Nagano was an easy one and we were soon at an off-road circuit set in densely wooded land in the hills above the town. The dirt road twists and turns through the forest and will make a great first test of the day. A beautiful road through the Japanese Alps had many viewpoints before delivering us to the aptly named Venus Line. A road station by a lake offered some classy stores, an ice cream parlour, and a micro-brewery on site. Thereafter the scenery changed, and we found ourselves in rich agricultural land in the middle of harvest season, with the rice fields looking particularly impressive. We had pencilled in a short lunch break for the event at a winery known to Naomi. However, when we arrived the welcome we received, and the sample food we were served, far exceeded our wildest dreams. Plans were hastily revised, and the rally will now have a leisurely stop with a walk through the vines followed by a gourmet lunch in the tasting room. From there it was a short drive to the Fuji Speedway with its wonderful hotel and motor museum.