Jigokudani Monkey Park
Japancultural

Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko

Alpine Japan: castle towns, onsen villages and cedar avenues

Distance
168 mi
270 km
Driving
4 hr 12 min
excl. stops
Suggested
3 days
balanced split
Stops
4
curated

Distance and driving time are measured along the mapped route through the 4 stops listed below. Officially signed versions of famous routes often quote a longer figure, since they include promoted detours this line doesn't take.

Jigokudani Monkey Park · Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Opens the planner with every stop loaded. Free, no card needed.

Day by day

Distances are measured along the actual road geometry, not straight-line. Drive times exclude stops, traffic and ferry waits.

What the drive is like

It's split between the E18, the E50 and the 143, with no single road carrying more than 24% of it.

There's real climbing in this one: the road gets up to roughly 1,070 m near Aoki, with something like 1,994 m of ascent over the whole drive.

The bigger places on the way are Aoki, Komoro, Fujioka and Tanuma, handy for fuel and food between the stops.

The Usui Pass is 3 km off the route if you have time for a detour.

  • E1824%
  • E5020%
  • 14317%
  • 1216%

How high it goes

~1,070 m near AokiMatsumotoNikko · 267 km
Height above sea level along the driving route, measured at about 50 points. Total climb roughly 1,994 m.

Passes and famous roads

From the 500-plus roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app.

Mountain pass · 3 km off the route

Usui Pass

Famous road · 16 km off the route

Irohazaka Winding Road

Hairpins
48 hairpins

Famous road · 18 km off the route

Mount Haruna Touge

Before you go

Best time to drive it

May to June, or October to November

Spring and autumn colour. Some mountain roads on the way close for winter, so check before driving between December and April.

Driving rules

Emission zones, mandatory equipment and licence requirements change country by country, and in 2026 several of them changed mid-year.

Every stop on the Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko

  1. Matsumoto

    Start

  2. Ueda

    +50 km from the last stop

  3. Karuizawa

    +40 km from the last stop

  4. Nikko

    +177 km from the last stop

Worth a detour

Curated places within 25 km of the road.

Common questions about the Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko

How long does the Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko take?

The driving itself is about 4 hr 12 min across 168 miles (270 km). Most people spread it over 3 days: the day-by-day breakdown on this page splits it into balanced stretches rather than equal ones, so no single day is all driving.

How many miles is the Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko?

168 miles, or 270 km, measured along the actual road rather than straight-line between towns.

When is the best time to drive the Japan Romantic Road: Nagano to Nikko?

May to June, or October to November. Spring and autumn colour. Some mountain roads on the way close for winter, so check before driving between December and April.

More routes like this