We chanced upon Usui Pass on our way to our accomodation. It was a sight not to be missed. Might be better if we came down to walk through it.

Being a driving enthusiast, my main purpose of visiting the Usui Pass was to, well, drive the Usui Pass. It is featured in Initial D, and is the home turf of Mako and Sayuki, two female racers that enthusiasts should be familiar with. Anyhow, the Usui Pass is about 13km long, and takes roughly 20 minutes to drive from end to end. An interesting thing to note is that each corner is numbered, with there being about 180+ corners all in. The Megane Bridge, which is an iconic structure, can be visited for those who choose to self-drive. Park up at an open lot and walk a few minutes down to climb up the bridge for a bit of railroad history. Karuizawa can be reached in about 90 minutes from Tokyo via Shinkansen, and JR car rentals are a good way to traverse the area. A stop at Mount Myogi a bit further down is also highly recommended.