Hakone and Fuji Go-Ko

Hakone is where the car magazine editors send their writers to test drive the newest Japanese sport cars. Recently, the Audi R8 and the Nissan GT-R were test driven and compared here. It is about 100 km south of Tokyo. Additionally, roads in this region are featured in many car racing video games.

Aside from the roads, Hakone is famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji. Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo. This green lush mountainous region is even more charmed by the calm Lake Ashi.

Due the weather system in the region, it is a very rare occasion to be able to see the famous Mt. Fuji as the backdrop for the already amazing postcard perfect view of caldera Lake Ashi. Most of the time, the thick fog curtains Mt. Fuji.

Finding exhilarating roads in this region was very easy. By zooming in and out the navigation system, I was able to see the stupendous serpentine mountain passes. My co-driver and I decided to drive Toyo Turnpike, Hakone Skyline, and Route 401.

Toyo Turnpike is a very swift wide twisty road with mild elevation change. Looking up I saw the fast large radius bend followed by a few tight zigzags. The drive up was very leisurely in this A5 3.2 Quattro. The precise steering, the sport-tuned suspension, and the 265 hp V6 made the climb up effortless. We devoured the S turns and zigzags at almost double the suggested speed and the 19 inch 255/35 tires didn’t even squeal. It felt like we were on a roller coaster track. We were even able to chat about rice fields while I was maintaining the angle of the steering wheel and adjusting the throttle to get the fastest speed through the S turns.

Black tire marks forming all kind of shapes on the parking lot on the connecting road between Toyo Turnpike and Hakone Skyline entrance gave me enough proof that the scenes I saw in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift are common occurrences here and they are not just a Hollywood imagination.

Hakone Skyline is a narrower road than Toyo Turnpike. It is a slower road but it is packed with a different kind of fun because it has more elevation change and tighter turns. We stopped at some vista points to enjoy the green lush panoramic scenery. No matter where we look, the mountains, layer after layer, filled the landscape. At a distant, the thick fog rolled down from the top of the mountain slowly turning the landscape from fluorescent green to moist grey.

Japanese road engineers installed convex mirrors on every blind turns. This made the drive through hairpins a lot safer and more joyful. I adjusted the navigation system zoom level so I could see the upcoming turns clearly and match the speed to get the best line. The F1 style pedal shifters enabled me to maintain my nine and three o’clock hand position on the steering wheel as I smilingly attacked the hairpins and switchbacks. The almost 50/50 distribution and the 40/60 front/rear Quattro torque split made this A5 extremely easy to rotate around very tight hairpins.

Hakone and Fuji Go-Ko

Hakone is where the car magazine editors send their writers to test drive the newest Japanese sport cars. Recently, the Audi R8 and the Nissan GT-R were test driven and compared here. It is about 100 km south of Tokyo. Additionally, roads in this region are featured in many car racing video games.

Aside from the roads, Hakone is famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji. Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo. This green lush mountainous region is even more charmed by the calm Lake Ashi.

Due the weather system in the region, it is a very rare occasion to be able to see the famous Mt. Fuji as the backdrop for the already amazing postcard perfect view of caldera Lake Ashi. Most of the time, the thick fog curtains Mt. Fuji.

Finding exhilarating roads in this region was very easy. By zooming in and out the navigation system, I was able to see the stupendous serpentine mountain passes. My co-driver and I decided to drive Toyo Turnpike, Hakone Skyline, and Route 401.

Toyo Turnpike is a very swift wide twisty road with mild elevation change. Looking up I saw the fast large radius bend followed by a few tight zigzags. The drive up was very leisurely in this A5 3.2 Quattro. The precise steering, the sport-tuned suspension, and the 265 hp V6 made the climb up effortless. We devoured the S turns and zigzags at almost double the suggested speed and the 19 inch 255/35 tires didn’t even squeal. It felt like we were on a roller coaster track. We were even able to chat about rice fields while I was maintaining the angle of the steering wheel and adjusting the throttle to get the fastest speed through the S turns.

Black tire marks forming all kind of shapes on the parking lot on the connecting road between Toyo Turnpike and Hakone Skyline entrance gave me enough proof that the scenes I saw in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift are common occurrences here and they are not just a Hollywood imagination.

Hakone Skyline is a narrower road than Toyo Turnpike. It is a slower road but it is packed with a different kind of fun because it has more elevation change and tighter turns. We stopped at some vista points to enjoy the green lush panoramic scenery. No matter where we look, the mountains, layer after layer, filled the landscape. At a distant, the thick fog rolled down from the top of the mountain slowly turning the landscape from fluorescent green to moist grey.

Japanese road engineers installed convex mirrors on every blind turns. This made the drive through hairpins a lot safer and more joyful. I adjusted the navigation system zoom level so I could see the upcoming turns clearly and match the speed to get the best line. The F1 style pedal shifters enabled me to maintain my nine and three o’clock hand position on the steering wheel as I smilingly attacked the hairpins and switchbacks. The almost 50/50 distribution and the 40/60 front/rear Quattro torque split made this A5 extremely easy to rotate around very tight hairpins.