The is a mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 that lies between Nagano

Nagano Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...

 and Gunma Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...

s in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century.

Road

The pass on the ancient Tōsandō

Tosando

was an old Japanese geographical region that made up the gokishichidō system and was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshū, Tōhoku region....

 highway was described as early as the 8th century, in the Nihon Shoki

Nihon Shoki

The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...

, as Yamato Takeru

Yamato Takeru

, originally Prince Ousu was a Japanese legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Keikō of Yamato, a legendary monarch who is traditionally counted as the 12th Tennō or Emperor of Japan. The tragic tale of this impressive figure is told in the Japanese chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki...

 went through the pass during his journey in eastern Japan. Later, the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

, one of the five routes

Edo Five Routes

The were the five major roads that started at Edo during the Edo period, the most important of which was the Tōkaidō, which linked Edo and Kyoto...

 of the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 maintained by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 (and one of the two that connected Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

, modern-day Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, to Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

) followed the route through the pass.

The modern National Route 18, which goes through the pass, serves as a major link between the popular tourist spot Karuizawa

Karuizawa, Nagano

is a town located in Kitasaku District, Nagano, Japan.As of January 1, 2008, the town has an estimated population of 17,833 and has a total area of ....

 and the Kantō plain

Kanto Plain

The ' is the largest plain in Japan located in the Kanto Region of central Honshū. The total area 17,000 sq km covers more than half of the Region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, and Tochigi Prefecture.The northern limit borders on...

 (including Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

). A bypass and an expressway

Controlled-access highway

A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...

 now make the trip faster and safer. The original road still exists as of 2007.

It was featured in numerous Initial D

Initial D

is a manga by Shuichi Shigeno which has been serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine since 1995. It has been adapted into a long-running anime series by OB Planning, Studio Comet, Studio Gallop, Pastel, and A.C.G.T, and a live action film by Avex and Media Asia...

episodes as the home course of Impact Blue. It is also the home course of the real life drift racer Keiichi Tsuchiya

Keiichi Tsuchiya

is a professional race car driver. He is also known as the "Drift King" for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport...

.

Railway

The Shinetsu Main Line railway went through the pass between 1893 and 1997. The 11.2 km pass segment, between Yokokawa Station

Yokokawa Station

is a train station in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.-History:Yokokawa Station opened on October 15, 1885 as the terminus of the governmental railway between and Yokokawa....

 on the Gunma side and Karuizawa Station

Karuizawa Station

is a train station located in Karuizawa in Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*East Japan Railway Company **Nagano Shinkansen *Shinano Railway**Shinano Railway Line-History:...

 on the Nagano side, had been operated with the rack-and-pinion railway system until 1963 when the line was rebuilt and new locomotives for non-rack operation were introduced. The new locomotives were the JNR Class EF63

JNR Class EF63

The JNR Class EF63 is a class of 1,500 V DC electric locomotives formerly operating in Japan.-History:A total of 25 Class EF63 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1976 exclusively for use as bankers on the steeply-graded Usui Pass section of the Shinetsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Karuizawa...

 banking engines used for help in both ascending and descending the 66.7‰ (1 in 15) gradient line. In 1997, the segment was closed due to opening of the new Nagano Shinkansen

Nagano Shinkansen

The is a Shinkansen high-speed rail line operated by East Japan Railway Company between Takasaki and Nagano in Japan. It opened on 1 October 1997, connecting Tokyo and Nagano in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano...

line that detours the pass with a long tunnel. A museum now stands on the site of the old locomotive shed at Yokokawa.