Bandai-Azuma Skyline Autumn Leaves (Jododaira) 2026 Confirmed

磐梯吾妻スカイライン(浄土平)の紅葉 — Fukushima (Tohoku)

The Bandai-Azuma Skyline is a toll-free mountain highway snaking about 29 kilometers across a volcanic plateau above Fukushima City, and in autumn it's one of Japan's great foliage drives. Colors start around the Jododaira plateau at 1,600 meters in late September and sweep down to the Fudosawa Bridge area through mid-October, so the road delivers peak views for weeks. Expect raw volcanic slopes, steaming vents, and carpets of red and gold — a moonscape-meets-foliage combination unlike anywhere else in Japan.

Background

The road was built as a scenic tollway across the Azuma volcanic range and later made permanently free to drive. Jododaira, its high point, sits beside the active Azuma-Kofuji cone, whose perfectly circular crater has long been the emblem of Fukushima City, visible from the town below.

Getting there

This is a driving route: rent a car in Fukushima City (Shinkansen station) and allow a half day for the full traverse. Seasonal sightseeing buses to Jododaira operate from Fukushima Station in some years — check locally. Note the road closes entirely for winter from mid-November to April, and sections can shut on volcanic-gas alerts.

Tips

• The road is toll-free — the whole drive costs nothing but fuel, rare for a Japanese skyline route.
• Heed the volcanic gas warning zones: signs tell you not to stop or open windows on certain stretches, and that includes photo stops.
• Climb Azuma-Kofuji from the Jododaira parking area — the crater-rim loop takes about an hour and looks down on the foliage sea below.
• Go before mid-November: the Skyline closes completely for winter until April, and even in October early snow or gas alerts can close it for the day, so check the road status the morning you go.