【群馬旅】秋の道の駅ドライブ｜爽快峠道で長野まで来ちゃた♪

【群馬旅】秋の道の駅ドライブ｜爽快峠道で長野まで来ちゃた♪

Whoa, it’s slippery.
Whoa, whoa! That was close. Hello, it’s Piyo.
Today, I’m heading out to find autumn in Gunma again. And here—can you see it?
That’s Mentai Park. I’m riding past Mentai Park. I’m currently on National Route 254.
If I keep heading west on this road, I’ll cross a mountain pass and—
See that sign? It says Saku. That means we’re entering Nagano. I think I’ll go that far today. Please stay with me until the end if you’d like. I won’t be stopping at Mentai Park. This is the Shimonita Interchange on the Joshinetsu Expressway. I guess this is the starting point for today’s ride. So, the first destination—or checkpoint—
is Roadside Station Shimonita. Turning left here—
Yep, this is it. Roadside Station Shimonita. I’ll take a short break here. It’s still before 9 a.m.,
so I don’t think the shops are open yet. The bike parking is packed. Wow, it’s really busy. This is Roadside Station Shimonita.
It’s very clean and pleasant. Shimonita is famous for Shimonita leeks and konjac.
But it’s still early, so none of the shops are open yet. For example, they sell konjac soft serve and Shimonita leek croquettes.
Those are delicious. I saw a sign for Kozu Farm earlier—
Their soft serve will appear later too. They also had miso konjac and ramen.
This is the gift shop. Lots of souvenirs were available.
I couldn’t film it, but the left side was spacious too. Outside, there’s a grassy courtyard
where you can relax and eat. On the right side, there was a stamp rally station.
Now, I’m leaving Roadside Station Shimonita. I’ll keep heading west on Route 254. That sign says Saku—this is Uchiyama Pass. It’s exciting to ride a road for the first time. The terrain is rugged, with exposed rock faces.
The autumn leaves are just starting to turn. It’s a great road to ride.
Big trucks pass by, so it’s not a tough mountain pass. You can see Mt. Arafune on the left. That’s Mt. Arafune.
It looks like an overturned ship in rough seas—like a ship’s bottom. That’s why it’s called Arafune-yama, I believe.
What a place! The road was carved through the cliffs.
Whoa, slippery again. The surface is slick—gotta be careful. We’re deep in the mountains now.
Is that Mt. Arafune again? Hmm… this is fun.
Elevation: 900 meters. Oh, this is Kozu Farm!
I often eat their soft serve, but I never knew where it was. So this is the place.
The autumn leaves are starting to show—beautiful. Finally found Gunma’s autumn!
People kept asking when I’d find it. Is this tunnel long?
Ah, this is it—Uchiyama Tunnel. Probably the longest one. Ah!
Wait, are we in Nagano now? I think we’ve entered Nagano Prefecture. That tunnel must’ve been the border. It says Saku City now.
This might be the Cosmos Road. It’s my first time riding into Nagano by bike.
It feels different from Gunma somehow. Not better or worse—just different.
The car behind me is driving aggressively, so I’ll pull over. There should be a parking lot nearby.
Here we go. Maybe my tire pressure is low?
Let’s check. Yep, it was pretty low.
I just inflated them. The front tires especially were off.
I felt something was different, so I’m glad I checked. I just changed the tires recently,
so I hadn’t checked the pressure. I always keep an air pump in this small bag. It’s reassuring to have it.
This bag is surprisingly useful. Since I’ve come all the way to Nagano,
I’ll ride along the Cosmos Road for a while. I think there’s a roadside station ahead,
so I’ll stop by. Not a Gunma station, but a Nagano one.
Let’s check it out. I figured out what felt different from Gunma—
It’s the shape of the mountains. The scenery is completely different. Not the mountains I’m used to seeing.
So the atmosphere feels totally different. It’s nice to experience this once in a while. Whoa, that was close!
Saku blends nature and city life really well. It seems like a very livable place. It’s more developed than Gunma. And surrounded by nature—amazing. Oh, that’s Mt. Asama!
It looks different from the Gunma side. The shape is totally different. This is it—Healthy Terrace Saku Minami.
Let’s check it out. Where do I enter? Where’s the motorcycle parking?
Ah, everyone’s parked here—guess I will too. Healthy Terrace Saku Minami. Here we are at Healthy Terrace Saku Minami.
It had a very bright and welcoming atmosphere. The dorayaki looked delicious. Inside the store, there were piles of cabbage
and even some big napa cabbages already. They also had rice, and it looked like
they could mill it for you on-site. There were all kinds of vegetables—
the selection was impressive. There were lots of apples too.
The place was crowded inside. The restaurant hadn’t opened yet,
so I just bought one sweet potato bun to tide me over. I was going to eat at the restaurant inside
the roadside station, but it didn’t open until 10:30.
I waited at the entrance, but even at 10:30, it didn’t seem to open. Someone tried to go in and got scolded,
so I gave up. I didn’t want to get scolded too. So I just bought a sweet potato bun
and ate that. That gave me a bit of energy again. If I head east on this road,
I’ll reach Uchiyama Pass again and return to Shimonita,
but I think I’ll take a different road to the south. It’s an old-fashioned mountain road,
so I think I can show you what it’s like. It’ll probably be a bit of a challenge. Oh, right—that’s Mt. Asama.
It looks different from the Gunma side. The shape is totally different. This is it—Healthy Terrace Saku Minami.
Let’s check it out. Where do I enter? Everyone’s parked here, so I’ll do the same.
Healthy Terrace Saku Minami. Here we are at Healthy Terrace Saku Minami.
It had a very bright and welcoming atmosphere. The dorayaki looked delicious. Inside the store, there were piles of cabbage
and even some big napa cabbages already. They also had rice, and it looked like
they could mill it for you on-site. There were all kinds of vegetables—
the selection was impressive. There were lots of apples too.
The place was crowded inside. The restaurant hadn’t opened yet,
so I just bought one sweet potato bun to tide me over. I was going to eat at the restaurant inside
the roadside station, but even at 10:30, it didn’t seem to open. Someone tried to go in and got scolded,
so I gave up. I didn’t want to get scolded too. So I just bought a sweet potato bun
and ate that. That gave me a bit of energy again. If I head east on this road,
I’ll reach Uchiyama Pass again and return to Shimonita,
but I think I’ll take a different road to the south. It’s an old-fashioned mountain road,
so I think I can show you what it’s like. It’ll probably be a bit of a challenge.

📍ピヨなび! のんびり探訪

【今回のミッションは？】

秋の群馬をのんびりドライブ！
上信越道下仁田ICからスタートし、道の駅しもにたへ。
爽快な国道254号線の峠道を走っていると、
荒船山の雄大な景色に感動している間に、
気づけば長野県佐久市へ越境！

■今回の道の駅
　・道の駅しもにた（群馬県下仁田町）
　・道の駅ヘルシーテラス佐久南（長野県佐久市）、

✅今回のルート
下仁田IC → 道の駅しもにた → 国道254号線 → 長野県佐久市（コスモス街道） → 道の駅ヘルシーテラス佐久南

【次回予告】
この続きは来週、日曜日公開予定！
酷道として知られる田口峠を越えて群馬に戻る、
アドベンチャーの旅をお届けします！

🎥 毎週木曜19時に新作公開。ぜひチャンネル登録お願いします。
https://www.youtube.com/@piyogramchannel

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