Travels with Tackwanna 5: Route 376 and Mt. Fukiya

Today's trip almost didn't happen. The weather forecast was predicting a 70% chance of rain in the mid-to-late afternoon (which in the end, it did not), and I had to proctor a test in the evening. In addition, I needed to figure out a route that would be short enough for Tackawanna and I to cover. As the morning went on, I started to have second thoughts. I checked Google Maps and found another route: Fukushima Prefecture Route 376.

In my first TwT post, I went up the east coast of Lake Inawashiro and then back onto National Route 49. However, I didn't go near the west coast at all. So today, I decided to give it a shot. And this is where I went.

If you zoom in on the area near Inari Shrine in the above link, you'll notice that Route 376 technically feeds into National Route 294, before breaking off back into its own road later south. However, that does not mean that there is no road between those two points. There is actually a local road that winds its way around the lakeside edge of Mt. Kanayama. That was the route that I took to get from the northern portion of Route 376 to the southern portion. Driving that road was a blast, and I got to experience Tackawanna at her true handling potential. Granted, I kept to a maximum speed of about 30 miles an hour, but I still had fantastic control around the especially tight corners.

The coastline of Lake Inawashiro was especially cooler than in Aizuwakamatsu. Aizuwakamatsu had a predicted high of 88 degress Fahrenheit today, but around the lake, it felt like the low 70s. The breeze was nice, and there was plenty of shade on the road. People were also out enjoying the weather and the lake. The eastern coastline was at or close to the shore along a dual-lane prefectural road; the western coastline had more beaches and gathering locations. Seeing all the boats and jet skis on the lake made me feel envious; I wish that my boating license could be considered transferrable in Japan so that I could go out on the lake, too.

(As an aside, there were a lot of wealthy people out on the coastline today. How do I know? The large SUVs and foreign imports. I saw a new Cadillac Escalade, in white, with custom plates, in one location, and a lifted Jeep Cherokee SJ in another. You need to have serious money to afford a vehicle like that here.)

On the way back, instead of taking Route 49, I turned onto yet another mountain road, this time with no route number assigned to it. This road was situated on Mt. Furiya and Takayama, and would take me back to Aizuwakamatsu without having to travel up and around like I did before. It was a twisty, challenging road, and I probably would've enjoyed it more had it not been for the guy in the red Nissan Pathfinder on my ass the whole time.

Seriously, I could not shake this motherfucker off. He rarely left my rearview mirror, and if he did, it was only very briefly. Whatever distance I would make from him would easily be lost seconds later. I was going pretty fast, but he was apparently willing to go faster, and there are no places to pull over on this road. I'll be honest for a second here; Tackawanna is not necessarily a fast car. I can actually get overtaken by modern kei cars if I'm not giving enough throttle. (And there's nothing wrong with that, because who cares about speed when you have a freakin' convertible?) But if there's one takeaway from this, it's that there's asshole drivers, even in Japan. I'm just glad that I didn't have to stop on a hill; I probably would've gone right back into his front bumper.

There will be no trip tomorrow, which means that next time I should write about why Tackawanna was having issues earlier. I said that I'd write about it yesterday, but I didn't. Whoops.

-wp