Route 1 River Loop
Length: 12km Vertical: Approx. 200m Start & Finish: Hirafu Intersection Type: Trail and road mix Required: Decent off-road running shoes
This route is perfect for anyone who is regularly running around 10km or perhaps wanting to spend 45-90 minutes out exercising in summer. A nice easy warmup jogging down from Hirafu along the pavement passed Izumikyo. The first photo spot would be on the St Moritz bridge where the view of Mt Yotei over the river is spectacular in the right light. After the bridge, you hook a left and drop down to the river. The path along here can be pretty muddy at times and after heavy winds there may be a few branches down but it’s peaceful and quiet for about 3-4km down into Kutchan. You’ll get another great view of Mt Yotei across the farm fields and as you run the final stretch into Kutchan you can see the Shinkansen work being done as tunnels start to be dug.
Once you reach the bridge in Kutchan you can turn around and come back the same way or turn right and run back up the road. This is a nice long hill to stretch the legs out, but before you start be sure to grab another photo from the bridge this time looking back up at Hirafu and Mt Annupuri. If I’m feeling like I have a few extra kilometres in me on this run, I might carry on up Route 5 and turn left to Lake Hangetsu and do a loop around there. This probably adds about a total of 6-7km to the length but is a beautiful addition to the run. The loop around the lake is about 2km and all single-track trail through the woods with some amazing views down into the volcanic lake.
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