Despite the mini-bikers, this stretch has some of the nicest scenery of the entire route, with lots of twisty roads like this - almost all of them a gentle downhill.

Once you've turned off onto the Futatabi road, you have a relatively short uphill before arriving at the turnoff to Futatabi Park. It's worth a stop; there is a nice reservoir that looks like a beautiful mountain lake, with boats for rent and a small restaurant and snack shop. Before you decide to indulge in celebratory alcohol, keep in mind that you have to get up one more short uphill before the final (steep) downhill. There's also a "foreign cemetery" (originally founded in a different location in 1898) in a pretty mountain setting that's worth seeing.