{"id":37515,"date":"2021-01-22T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T21:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37515"},"modified":"2021-06-01T23:37:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:37:37","slug":"boxster-touring-202012-kyusyu3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/boxster-touring-202012-kyusyu3\/","title":{"rendered":"2000km Year-End Touring with Porsche Boxster \u3010Day 3\u3011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the previous posts, 2000km Year-End Touring with Porsche Boxster \u3010Day 1\u3011<\/a> and 2000km Year-End Touring with Porsche Boxster \u3010Day 2\u3011<\/a>, my husband has written the article for Day 3.
\nPlease take a look if you like.<\/p>\n

Heading Toward Aso in the Boxster<\/h3>\n

At last, the Kyushu Arrival Chapter<\/strong> begins here. We booked a stay in Yanagawa City because, depending on the weather and climate that day, it would be easy to approach either the Aso area or Nagasaki area.<\/p>\n

That day, thanks to the rain the night before, the early morning was cloudy, but the weather forecast showed it would clear up quickly. Plus, the temperature was a very warm 12-13\u00b0C. So, we decided to head toward the Aso area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We initially planned to take mountain roads like K52 to Aso, but due to a navigation setting mistake, we ended up taking R210, which was just a normal route with no excitement. Losing some time here was regrettable. We chose a route heading south along the Sky Farm Road Hita.<\/p>\n

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As expected from a dead-end road, traffic was zero. We had the entire road to ourselves. After all, only serious lovers of spirited driving would deliberately choose a dead-end road.<\/p>\n

The roar of the Boxster echoed between the mountains. The tachometer needle stayed firmly past 12 o\u2019clock. The 3.4L flat-six in the Boxster GTS spins lightly and sings beautifully.<\/strong> Compared to engines like the GT3\u2019s, it\u2019s not especially explosive in response or power, but its lightness and the sound it produces even at low revs are top-notch. It feels wonderful.<\/p>\n

\"Boxster<\/p>\n

\"Boxster<\/p>\n

\"Boxster<\/p>\n

We continued along the Milk Road toward Daikanbo. The weather was perfect, and with few tourists around, we had the road almost to ourselves. After a break at Daikanbo, we took K111 to drive the Aso Panorama Line. On weekends, this road is usually crowded with tourist cars and buses, forcing slow driving, but that day it was wide open, allowing us to fully enjoy it.<\/p>\n

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It might be an exaggeration to call it the Stelvio Pass, but the road environment felt like being overseas<\/strong> as we sped through Aso in the Boxster. It was simply exhilarating to drive. Many people say driving is a chore, but to those people I want to say, “Try driving Aso once in a Boxster.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone will surely have a pure, innocent smile like a child riding a go-kart at an amusement park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next page \u2192 Getting Lost on Kyushu\u2019s Most Terrifying Narrow, Hard-to-Drive Road\u2026!<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Kyushu\u2019s Most Terrifying Narrow, Hard-to-Drive Road<\/h3>\n

After that, we headed south on R265 toward Shiiba Village. This R265 is apparently part of the Kamimashiki Aso Southern Tourist Route,<\/strong> and it\u2019s a wonderful road for spirited driving. There are a few narrow sections, but they\u2019re hardly a problem. Most of it is a wide, well-paved two-lane road, perfect for cruising at a brisk pace.<\/p>\n

However, R265 suddenly showed its fangs. We arrived at Shiiba Village and wanted to continue toward Kagoshima, so without any prior research, we just kept following R265. That was a big mistake.<\/p>\n

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This area was still manageable. It got worse, so bad I couldn\u2019t even take photos.<\/p><\/div>\n

The road gradually narrowed, and the factory navigation kept insistently instructing us to turn around. Switching to Google Maps showed we should keep going on R265. We should have stopped there, but our adventurous spirit pushed us deeper and deeper.<\/p>\n

Before we knew it, this was no longer just a narrow road. We had entered a truly brutal narrow, hard-to-drive road.<\/strong> We had mistakenly assumed it would be safe because it\u2019s a national road. The road was barely wide enough for one car, with crumbling shoulders and unpaved sections. There was no escape route\u2014just a single path with no way to turn back.<\/p>\n

The sun began to set, and darkness approached.<\/p>\n

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This was basically off-road by now.<\/p><\/div>\n

The curves repeated endlessly, making us feel like we were stuck in an infinite loop in Super Mario. The scenery and curves were all the same, and the navigation map showed countless tight zigzag bends still ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we even making progress?<\/strong>\u201d we seriously wondered.<\/p>\n

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The same scenery kept repeating. Some guardrails were missing here and there.<\/p><\/div>\n

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At one point, there were signs for construction and road closures that startled us, but a small note said “lifted<\/strong>,” so we breathed a sigh of relief and kept going. If the road had been closed here, it would have been impossible to turn around due to the narrowness.<\/p>\n

We would have had to perform a miraculous reverse on an ultra-narrow road. That was impossible.<\/p>\n

This had become a mental endurance test. Carefully avoiding stepping off the shoulder, dodging falling rocks and branches, considering the risk of a flat tire, and protecting the bodywork, we kept driving endlessly on this visually challenging, repetitive mountain road.<\/strong> In Buddhism, there is a practice called kaih\u014dgy\u014d, where monks run alone deep in the mountains as a form of ascetic training. This was the car version of that.<\/p>\n

The more expensive or wider the car, the greater the mental strain and the more intense the training.<\/strong> (Or so it seems?)<\/p>\n

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After who knows how long, the hellish R265 finally ended, and we reached R388. Although there were still some narrow sections here, it was tame compared to R265. Later research revealed that R265 is considered one of Kyushu\u2019s most terrifying narrow, hard-to-drive roads.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I strongly advise anyone except enthusiasts or those seeking spiritual training to avoid it at all costs.<\/p>\n

Relieved to be free from the nightmare road, we changed plans and headed straight to the hotel on the highway.
\nI said to the car, “Boxster, well done. You really gave it your all today.<\/strong>” and turned off the engine.<\/p>\n

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