Hakkoda-Towada Gold Line, Aomori: drive guide, map & corners

Satellite map of Hakkoda-Towada Gold Line, Japan

The Hakkoda crossing on Route 103 past Sukayu Onsen, famous for spring snow walls and autumn beech.

This is the mountain section of National Route 103 over the Hakkoda massif south of Aomori City, promoted as the Hakkoda-Towada Gold Line on its way toward Lake Towada. The road threads dense beech and Maries’ fir forest with steady hairpins as it climbs to the highlands around Sukayu Onsen, the historic lone hot spring it connects through, then continues south past Yachi Onsen. It is best known for two seasons: spring, when the freshly cleared road runs between towering snow walls, and mid-October, when the Hakkoda and Jogakura slopes turn gold and crimson. The driving is a classic forested touge of linked switchbacks rather than open sweepers. The high section closes for winter and reopens around April. Mind the long winter closure and late-spring snow walls narrowing the lanes, frequent fog and sulphur steam near Sukayu, and slow sightseeing buses on the hairpins.

On the road

The road runs from Sukayu Onsen to Jogakura. The full Gold Line covers about 39 miles (62.6 km) from Aomori city to Lake Towada. Sukayu is one of the snowiest places in Japan. On 26 February 2013 its weather station logged 5.66 metres of lying snow, the deepest ever recorded at an official Japanese station. Even so, Sukayu stays open all winter and is reached by road from the Aomori side.

South of Sukayu, about 5 miles (8 km) of Route 103 to Yachi Onsen closes from late November to 31 March. It usually reopens to cars on 1 April, between walls of cleared snow that reached 7 metres in 2015. Just before opening, the Hakkoda Walk lets people stroll the snow corridor on foot.

Jogakura Bridge carries Route 394 across the Jogakura gorge. Opened in 1995, it is the longest deck arch bridge in Japan. There is parking at both ends and a footway on each side, so you can walk out for the view. In autumn the beech forest below changes colour and the bridge gets busy. It closes at night in winter.

Scenery

MountainForestValley

Best seasons

SpringSummerAutumn

In these collections

Japan’s Touge

In these guides

Hakkoda-Towada Gold Line on the map7.4 mi · point to point

Sukayu Onsen, AomoriStart · Aomori

Jogakura, AomoriEnd · Aomori

Navigate to the start: Apple Maps · Google Maps

Character

Corners90bends

Tightness6of 10

Max gradient8%≈ 1-in-13

Descent459 mtotal descent

Summit810 mhighest point of the line · 2,657 ft

Corners

busiest around mile 6

Elevation

under 4%4 to 8%over 8%435 to 810 m

Points of interest3 stops

Sukayu OnsenHistoric 340-year-old hot spring with the huge hiba-wood Hiba Sennin Buro public bath, at the southern start of the road
at the start
Jogakura BridgeJapan’s tallest deck-arch bridge at 122m, with panoramas over the Hakkoda mountains, Mount Iwaki and Aomori city
0.3 mi in
Hakkoda RopewayCable car up Mount Tamoyachi for sweeping mountain views and the winter snow monsters, just off the road
2.7 mi in