At the end of last year, my husband set off alone on a touring trip to Kyushu in his Boxster. He kindly wrote about his journey in several installments, so please enjoy reading if you’re interested.

Boxster Touring

The year 2020 was coming to an end. It was a year of great upheaval due to COVID-19. Personally, it was a time to rethink how I work and live going forward.

Amid all this, he decided to take his beloved Boxster GTS (981 model) out for a long-awaited tour over the year-end holidays. Of course, it was a solo trip, carefully planned to avoid crowds and close contact with others.

The last long-distance tour with the Boxster was during Golden Week 2019, when he toured the Tohoku region. This time, since it was the end of the year, he had to avoid areas likely to have snow. Naturally, the destination became somewhere further south. After considering various options, he decided the final goal would be Kagoshima in Kyushu, passing through the Chugoku region.

Before departure, he gave the Boxster a thorough wash. Sliding on his driving gloves, he pressed the clutch, inserted the key into the ignition, and fired up the engine.

The first target was the Mimasaka Yamanami Kaido in Okayama Prefecture. This road is famously nicknamed the “Ascension Road” by Shima-san, known from wata-san’s blog. He cruised west on the empty Chugoku Expressway and exited at Tsuyama IC.

Though he had driven this road many times before, it remained spectacular. The route runs mostly straight north-south through forested areas, but it offers a well-balanced mix of elevation changes, high-speed corners, and low-speed corners, with wide lanes and excellent road surface conditions. Plus, there was almost no traffic.

While the Nürburgring Nordschleife is called “Green Hell,” this road deserves to be called “Green Heaven.” It’s truly a paradise for car and driving enthusiasts. However, don’t expect scenic views here—it’s not suited for drives focused on landscapes.

This road is for those who want to enjoy driving in a pure, focused way.

He deliberately avoided using auto-blip, instead employing his somewhat clumsy heel-and-toe technique in Sport mode, powering through in 3rd and 4th gears.

However, no matter how many times he tried, the pedal layout in the Porsche makes heel-and-toe difficult on public roads. The brake pedal is much higher than the accelerator, and the brakes are extremely effective, making it hard to smoothly blip the throttle.

That said, it’s easier to perform heel-and-toe in environments like circuits where heavy braking is common. Incidentally, he heard that Porsche doesn’t actually recommend heel-and-toe on public roads.

Having so much fun, he drove this road twice before heading to another famous Okayama route, the Oku-Kibi Kaido, in the Boxster.

Compared to the Mimasaka Yamanami Kaido, this route has more ups and downs and features more medium-speed corners, but it was also completely empty—like having the road to himself. Plus, it’s quite long.

The 981 Boxster’s initial response is a bit soft, but once it starts to turn, it pivots around its center of gravity, smoothly and delightfully changing direction through corners. It corners differently from a 911, but it’s just as enjoyable in its own way.

Roaring the Boxster GTS’s exhaust note through the mountains, he pressed westward.

Truly, Okayama Prefecture has many wonderful roads. Besides the ones introduced here, there are numerous wide agricultural roads, all with very light traffic. Many of these are dream roads for car lovers, so he highly recommends visiting at least once.

Tonight’s accommodation was in Higashihiroshima City. Although he could have taken the highway and arrived quickly, that would have defeated the purpose. Instead, he chose to explore mountain roads from Okayama to Hiroshima. He took the somewhat narrow K85 via the Fukiya Kaido, then K106, and finally K27 toward Kaminoge.

These roads were also very pleasant—flowing yet allowing a comfortable pace on country roads. Thinking, “It must feel amazing to drive these in an air-cooled Porsche,” he pushed the Boxster harder, then headed to his lodging via Route 432.

Since the focus of Day 1 was enjoying Okayama’s famous roads, he didn’t do much sightseeing but just kept driving (as usual). The roads around Okayama and Hiroshima are truly wonderful. There are still many unknown routes, so he plans to explore more when the opportunity arises.

The plan for the next day was to head from Hiroshima to Yamaguchi. After studying the touring map, he fell asleep.