Sendai → Bandai Azuma Skyline → Tsubakuro Valley, Fukushima

Sendai → Bandai Azuma Skyline → Tsubakuro Valley, Fukushima
– October 17, 2025

Early bird at Tsubakuro Valley, one of the most important viewpoints on the Bandai Azuma Skyline (磐梯吾妻スカイライン). A valley with a brown iron bridge stretching over mist and waterfalls. This is the time when autumn hasn't yet reached its peak, but it's at its most beautiful—the colors of the leaves contrast with each other, with yellow, orange, green, and soft red interspersed gently. It's a sight "more beautiful than fiery red." I think it has a soft, gentle transition.

It's still a cool 9°C in Sendai this morning, and the roads are wet from the night's rain. A small rental car starts to leave the city. The sky is still white, and a thin mist floats above the pine trees.

The road up to the Bandai Azuma Skyline is open and winding, and the trees are beginning to shed their colors. Some are yellow, some are red. Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches, casting golden shadows on the wet road. It's like autumn is slowly waking up.

Tsubakuro Valley is a valley with a brown iron bridge spanning the mist. Below, a small waterfall cascades through the forest. The name "Tsubakuro" comes from the legend of swallows that used to fly through the valley before migrating south. Every year, the forest changes colors as if waiting for their return.

This route used to have a toll until 2013, when Fukushima opened it for free to promote tourism after the nuclear disaster. Today, it's become one of Japan's proudest autumn foliage viewing routes.

Today, the leaves aren't at their peak, and the fog hasn't cleared, but everything is just right, quiet, and gentle, like a morning just beginning to breathe.

🌾 For those interested in traveling:
• The Bandai Azuma Skyline is only open from mid-April to mid-November (closed in winter due to snow).
• The autumn foliage viewing season is at its most beautiful from mid- to late-October.
• It's easily accessible from Fukushima City, taking about an hour's drive.
• To see the mist and morning light, arrive at the valley before 8 a.m.—the mist will still be hanging over the bridge.

#EarlyBirdTohoku #BandaiAzumaSkyline
#TsubakuroValley #Fukushima #JapaneseAutumnFoliage