Hokkaido
ModerateShiretoko Pass Forest Road – Rausu to Utoro Highland Route
Bear country and sea fog on Japan's wild edge.
Feature: Camping
Japan
DifficultSoni Plateau Forest Road – Muro-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park Tracks
Highland moorland Japan has mostly kept to itself.
Japan
DifficultYakushima Forest Road – Yodogawa to Arakawa Trailhead Loop
Ancient cedars, relentless rain, zero cell signal.
Ishikawa
ModerateNoto Peninsula Backroads – Oku-Noto Forest Circuit
Japan's forgotten peninsula. Real roads, real remote.
Fukushima
ModerateBandai-Azuma Skyline – Fukushima Highland Traverse
Volcanic skyline, five colored lakes, no crowds.
Japan
ModerateAso-Kuju Highland Forest Roads
Drive inside a living volcano's caldera rim.
Hokkaido
DifficultDaisetsuzan Forest Road – Nukabira to Shirogane
Bear country traverse across Hokkaido's wild core.
Aomori
DifficultShimokita Peninsula Backroads (Aomori)
Volcanic otherworld at the top of Honshu.
Japan
ModerateKunisaki Peninsula Forest Roads (Oita)
Ancient temples, forgotten tracks, zero other overlanders.
Japan
ModerateYatsugatake Highlands Forest Road (Yachiho-Nobeyama Line)
Volcanic highlands, larch forests, Japan's clearest skies.