Conquering the Dragon - Yamata no Orochi
A 62km round trip ride in Okuizumo from Sakura Orochi lake to the Orochi loop and back
One of the major legends in Japanese mythology is the legend of the defeat of the 8 headed dragon Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇) by the god Susanoo. The photo below is from an Iwami Kagura performance of the legend that I saw a couple of years ago in Gotsu.
It’s a great story and the Iwami Kagura version is always worth watching. But one of the interesting things about it, is that it is very precisely placed in the headwaters of the Hiikawa (斐伊川) river, that is to say what is currently Okuizumo town (and a bit in adjacent Unnan). Hence in Okuizumo there are lots of things named after it. It is also considered by some people to be an allegory of the taming of the Hiikawa to stop it flooding uncontrollably so it is fitting that one of the things named after it is the large lake behind the Ohara dam and this is where our course starts.
Specifically the course starts at the Orochi no Sato Michi no Eki (道の駅 おろちの里) just off route 314 on the border of Unnan and Okuizumo (the michi no eki is just on the Unnan side FWIW). The place has good restrooms, numerous vending machines and a shop where you may be able to buy some onigiri or other food. The course described is about 62km long with about 850m of elevation gain/loss.
Anyway, after you have taken advantage of the facilities at the michi no eki, the ride starts by heading to the left around the lake and after about half a kilometer turning left. There’s an option for you to shorten the ride slightly (about 2km) by continuing straight crossing the bridge and then turning right at the T junction which is where you rejoin the main route (this shorter version is the course that the links at the bottom depict, but I recommend not taking this shortcut).
Assuming you don’t take the shortcut you cycle along more of the lakeside and then across the dam. Turn right at the end of the dam and then right again at the T junction once you’ve crossed a large bridge. The dam and lake are quite pretty with various possible photo/view spots and if you are collecting “Dam Cards” then you ought to be able to get one from the office by the dam (the one time we tried they claimed coronavirus forbade them from handing the out so YMMV).
After the next T junction where the shortcut road comes in you start to wind up a gentle hill past the parking area for cycle events (this is an alternative parking area if the michi no eki is very busy, but although it has toilets it doesn’t have any vending machines or shops to get food or drink). Often on the right hand side there are cows in the field who can be curious about these weird humans on their spindly bicycles.
Past the cows there’s a slight descent and then another rise before you reach kendo 県道25. Just before the junction there’s an onsen on the left (Sajiroonsen 佐白温泉 長者の湯), which is a nice place for a post ride soak. The junction is notable for the dinosaur outside the building opposite it. That’s the Tane Museum of Natural History, which is also a hotel but I have no idea how good it is.
Anyway, turn right and go down hill and round a couple of bends. The road then starts to rise as you cross over the railway. A hundred meters or so after you cross the railway take the left turn on to kendo 県道156
Stay on the kendo as it drops down into one valley climbs up to another pass drops down again and so on, gradually losing altitude until you reach the national route 432
The valleys are very pretty with little rice paddies, flowers and so on and there are plenty of spots where it is worth taking pictures.
When you get to the main road turn left and then after 100 meters or so turn right to continue on kendo 県道156 as it now climbs up next to the railway. This road is narrow in spots so take care because it does have occasional vehicles. On the way down from the top of the pass the road zig-zags a lot and at one point there is, allegedly, a waterfall a short walk away. The sign (and path) for it were very overgrown last time I was there.
When you emerge from the woodland there’s an interesting collection of buddhas on the left. You see these all over Japan, but these seemed to me to be a bit more special than some. Not long after the buddhas the road starts to rise and there’s a turn to the right which is totally unsigned but keeps you in the valley with the railway (if you don’t take the turn you get a completely gratuitous pass to climb and descend). Take that turn and stay on the road as with wiggles around before finally climbing to a T junction with route 314. Turn left and stay on 314 as it passes around Yokota and through Yakawa. There are various restaurants, a convenience store and numerous vending machines if you need to eat or refill drink bottles.
The railway is next to you as you climb and if you pick the right day (and the right time) you’ll see the Toroko tourist train as it climbs up the valley. The road gradually climbs but it is relatively gentle until you get to the Izumo-Sakane station. After this you begin the ascent of the Orochi loop and you pass under the red bridge which is the top of the loop.
While steeper the grade isn’t particularly difficult though the road surface in the second tunnel leaves a little to be desired. The views are spectacular, particularly at the points where you can see the road looping around and around
Eventually you reach the michi no eki just before the start of the red bridge you went under a while earlier. I recommend taking a break for food here if you didn’t have one earlier. No matter whether you eat or not, you’ll also probably want to use the toilets and refill water bottles because there’s not much opportunity for either for the next twenty or thirty kilometers.
Also the far end of the parking area, overlooking the valley is a great view spot, suitable for selfies, for spotting the Toroko if you are lucky, and so on.
After you’ve eaten, refilled water, taken photos and so on, continue across the big bridge and then through a short tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel you’ll see this sign which informs you that you are between the watersheds for the Hiikawa and Gonokawa rivers.
Just after that sign turn left and then stay on this side of the railway. You will gradually descend for a bit and go under the main road you just left. After a while the descent turns to ascent and you have a gentle half km or so of ascent to the pass which is the highest point of the route. In fact from here on it’s downhill or flat almost all of the time. The descent has a couple of hairpin bends at the top and various wiggles and eventually - after about 4km of descent you reach a crossroads as the valley you were descending joins in with another larger valley.
There’s a Daihatsu dealership at this junction. If you have time and, particularly if it is autumn, turn left and go about half a kilometer to see the Kingenji temple (金言寺) and its magnificent Gingko tree. If you do that then once you’ve admired the tree continue on until you cross over the small river and come to a T junction with a larger road, which is kendo 県道25 (though it isn’t signed that here). Turn right on to that to go down the valley.
If you decide to skip the temple continue straight at the crossroads. The road wiggles around a bit and then crosses the valley and river to come to a T junction with a more major road kendo 県道25 (though it isn’t signed that here - there is a sign to Matsue 松江 though). Turn right on to that road to go down the valley.
After two or three kilometers you come to a crossroads with kendo 県道49. Continue straight. After another couple more do the same at the crossroads with a couple of large nodos.
The road the climbs very slightly and cuts a bend in the river. As you descend from that you’ll come to a fairly sharp left bend with a liquor/grocery store and a bunch of vending machines. A couple of hundred meters you should turn left at a sign for Takao Elementary school (高尾小学校). This leads you up a small pretty valley over a low pass and down to another one. When you get to a T junction as you join another valley turn right and keep going down hill. Stay on that road until you get to a T junction with (the unmarked, but clearly busier) national route 432
[Alternative route - continue straight on and gradually climb until you see the clearly marked turn to the right to the Oni-no-Shitaburui (鬼の舌震) gorge that you’ve seen a bunch of signs for at previous junctions (e.g. in the picture above). Once you’ve had a look at the gorge, go back to the main road, turn left and then almost immediately right and climb gently up to a pass and then down to join the regular route by crossing a river and turning right at the subsequent T junction. ]
If you look to the right at the junction you’ll see a gasoline stand on the right and a road behind it. Turn right and left by the gasoline stand to take this road an continue to descend. After a couple of kilometers you enter a small village with some pretty traditional houses. There’s a point after post office where you take a tight right turn at a junction. On the left at that point is a nice temple at the top of a steep flight of steps.
Around a couple more turns you cross over the river three times and then you see a sign about a waterfall (トウトウの滝) on the left, just before get to national route 314. You can see it from the road but you get a slightly better view going down the path
When you get to route 314 go straight across and cross the bridge. The road turns to the left and climbs slightly. When it turns to the right there is a road to the left that you should take. Cross over the big bridge and climb slightly. Stay on the main road ignoring the roads off the the left and right at the top of the hill and go around the lake until you come back to route 314, Turn right and after a couple of hundred meters turn right again to get back to the start
Relive link (in English - so you can see the route in 3d)
Navitime link (in Japanese - so you can see the map and potentially download it)