Susono Riding
Brian and I have spent most of our riding time right here in little Susono and the surrounding "city" of Gotemba. Though there aren't any really great trail riding to be had, there are still some pretty good places to get off-road and in the mountains. I've tried to ouline a few below.
The Incinerator
The Incinerator Ride
Duration: about 40 minutes from door-to-door
Difficulty: Easy (about 4 km uphill, but not steep and all paved with no traffic
Fun Level: Do it for the exercise. Good possibility of seeing deer and wild monkeys at dusk or very early morning.
Where: From the Susono central post office, head straight past Susono Central park; go straight, then wind right and stay on the main road. When you eventually get to a fork, stay right. At the top (the Incinerator), go through the gates and out the "out" gate, turn left and head downhill again.
Map: click here.
(Same map as the ride below)
The Incinerator/Golf Course Ride
Duration: about 50 minutes from door-to-door
Difficulty: Easy
Fun Level: Very fun - especially the coming down part, where you are on a tiny, un-maintained farmer's road with large patches of off-road.
Where: From the Susono central post office, head straight past Susono Central park; go straight, then wind right and stay on the main road. When you eventually get to a fork, stay right. At the top (the Incinerator), go through the gates and out the "out" gate, turn right and plow on uphill some more. Eventually you'll come to a flat(ish) spot, with a choice to continue straight or turn right. Straight goes only about 300 meters and ends at the golf course; turning right will bring you back downhill to the foot of the main road where you started.
Map: click here. (same map as above)
The Fireroad Collection
The Fireroad is a longish road that runs along the mountain ridge from Mishima city (Route 1, near Hakone), to Gotemba City (to Route138). It is a lovely, rolling paved road with no traffic at all and great from a cardio workout. This road runs parallel to the 246 etc, but really goes nowhere and doesn't attract cars or people in general. There are several good routes up to the Fireroad, and, after exhausting yourself riding along it, many really fun routes down. Some routes are paved, some off-road, some easy and some technical. A great way to be alone or with a group - something for everyone.
The maps below open in a new window. Each link leads to the same map as all these rides are simply Fireroad Variations!
Swimming School, Turn Right
Duration: about 90 minutes from door-to-door
Difficulty: Intermediate (long uphill, though not steep; non-technical downhill)
Fun Level: Very fun - quiet and nice going up, some rolling hills from the top to the downhill start. Non-technical but fast coming down on a rarely-used (no cars) paved farmer's road.
Where: From the Susono station head away from the city; go straight, and cross the Nomendo (a big road). Follow the map attached - wind your way up toward Hakone on a nice, paved road. You'll go past Ichinose, a swimming school/ onsen.When you reach the top of the winding road, there will only be two choices - left or right. Going right will take you toward Mishima; after 15 minutes or so of rolling hills (a fair bit of uphill), you will come to a small intersection. Turning left here will take you up to the edge of the Hakone Skyline (you'll be blocked from entering it by the shrubs and a small fence); turning right will take you down a really fun, scenic farmer's road back to Susono. NOTE: if you take this way down, 3/4 of the way down, keep an eye out for a small path to the right - you need to take this route to continue the fun and avoid the traffic.
Map: click here.
Swimming School, Turn Left
Duration: Various
Difficulty: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate (long uphill, though not steep; various technical or non-technical downhill)
Fun Level: Very fun - quiet and nice going up, some rolling hills from the top to the downhill start. Lots and lots of choices for coming down.
Where: Same as above: From the Susono station head away from the city; go straight, and cross the Nomendo (a big road). Follow the map attached - wind your way up toward Hakone on a nice, paved road. You'll go past Ichinose, a swimming school/ onsen.When you reach the top of the winding road, there will only be two choices - left or right. Going left will take you toward Gotemba, and there are a lot of routes down (and also back up if you want). Just take any of the left-hand paths and you'll find yourself heading back to Susono.
The most fun: One of the best ways down for me (and slightly challenging, and all off-road) is the first obvious choice on the left after you turn left onto the Fireroad from the Swimming School road. It's not well marked, but it's fairly obvious as it is has a wide, graveled road start to it, at about ten o'clock on your left. Going down is a bit tough - lots of red-clay and ruts, but it smooths out. Keep your eye open for a small field with a path on the right - this leads to just lots more fun and is one of the best patches of single-track around here. Just beware that for a small portion there is nothing but a small bit of dirt and huge valleys on either side. Don't put your foot down.
Map: I've tried my best to find the most fun route down, but... well, here's my attempt; click here.