''Bandai Azuma Skyline'', a driving route with spectacular views, opens

The Azuma Mountain Range, which rises in the western part of Fukushima City, is part of Bandai-Asahi National Park, where you can enjoy beautiful natural scenery in all seasons, including fresh greenery and autumn leaves. Among them, Azuma Kofuji, which is 1,707m above sea level, has a mortar-shaped crater and its appearance resembles Mt. Fuji, hence its name, and has become the symbol of the Azuma mountain range.

Every year in early April, the shape of snow that appears on the mountainside of Azuma-Kofuji is called the "Yuki Usagi." Since ancient times, farmers have used this snow shape as a guide to start sowing seeds, which is why it is also called the ''Seed Rabbit''. In mid-April, the Bandai Azuma Skyline, which was closed during the winter, will open.

The Bandai Azuma Skyline is a mountain sightseeing road that connects Takayu Onsen in the western part of the city to Tsuchiyu Pass, with a total length of 28.7 km and a maximum altitude of 1,622 m, and is a driving route that has been selected as one of Japan's 100 best roads. The trail weaves through the Azuma Mountain Range and is dotted with the ''Azuma Eight Views'', named by the late writer Yasushi Inoue, including ''Shirakaba no Mine'' and ''Tsubakuro Valley (Fuzawa Bridge)''.

Jododaira, located at the midpoint of the drive route, is a flat area at an altitude of approximately 1,600m, where you can enjoy a variety of scenery including mountains covered with volcanic lapilli, wetlands, and swamps. There are stairs leading from the parking lot to the top of Mt. Azuma Kofuji, and even tourists can climb it in about 10 minutes. The ''Obachi Meguri'', which goes around the crater wall, is about 1.5 km and takes about 1 hour. On clear days, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city, and if you're lucky, you might even see a sea of ​​clouds. At Bandai Azuma Skyline, you can enjoy a scenic drive through a snowy corridor until early May every year. Why not go out and experience the arrival of spring?