From Yamatsuri, the Kuji valley leads through rice fields towards Hanawa and Tanagura. The road gains height gradually before turning west towards Shirakawa. Beyond the city, a longer climb carries the route into the hills, where houses become more scattered and woodland closes around the bends. Lake Hatori opens between forested slopes, its branching shoreline tracing the shape of the flooded valley. The route passes the dam before climbing again towards the highest section of the day. Only then does the road descend to Konanmachi Fukura, a village among fields and ridges south of Lake Inawashiro. At roughly 86 kilometres, this stage has the tour’s largest amount of climbing, with a gentler opening followed by a distinctly hillier second half.
