Usui Pass

nihongo|Usui Pass|碓氷峠|Usui-tōge is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma Prefectures in Japan. Used since at least the 8th century, it has been one of the major transportation routes in central Japan.

Road

The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was described as early as the 8th century, in the "Nihon Shoki," as Yamato Takeru went through the pass during his journey in eastern Japan. Later, the Nakasendō, one of the five routes of the Edo period maintained by the Tokugawa shogunate (and one of the two that connected Edo, modern-day Tokyo, to Kyoto) 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 and the Kantō plain (including Tokyo). A bypass and an expressway now make the trip faster and safer. The original road still exists as of 2007. It was featured in numerous Initial D episodes as the home course of Impact Blue. It is also the home course of the real life drift racer Keiichi Tsuchiya.

Railway

The Shinetsu Main Line railway went through the pass between 1893 and 1997. The 11.2 km pass segment, between Yokokawa Station on the Gunma side and Karuizawa Station 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 EF63 Class bank engines used for help in both ascending and descending the 66.7 ‰ line. In 1997, the segment was closed due to opening of the new Hokuriku Shinkansen line that detours the pass with a long tunnel. A museum is now held in the old locomotive shed in Yokokawa.