Irohazaka Road, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan Nov 15, 2025

If you think the alphabet is straightforward, Japan"s Irohazaka Road in Nikko will twist that belief right out of you. Named after the old Japanese syllabary "Iroha", this mountain pass once had 48 hairpin bends—each curve matched to a character of the alphabet. Today, it"s a pair of separate one-way roads—one goes up, the other comes down and both make drivers feel as if they"re spelling out a story with every turn.

© oneinchpunch/Shutterstock

palette

Today in History

Nov 15, 2023Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
Nov 15, 2024Chiang Mai, Thailand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 13, 2026Vale of Clwyd, Wales
Oct 2, 2024Wind River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA
Sep 21, 2023Inside the Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo, Norway
Aug 8, 2024Spotted owlet, Bangkok, Thailand
Mar 22, 2024Blue Spring, Te Waihou Walkway, New Zealand
Nov 29, 2024Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
Sep 26, 2024Blue-throated toucanet, Costa Rica
May 27, 2025Heidelberg, Germany
Aug 23, 2024Prasat Phanom Rung temple ruins, Thailand
Apr 30, 2024Cheetah in Tanzania
Aug 14, 2025Piz Nair mountain, Switzerland
Jul 15, 2025Great Basin National Park, Nevada, United States
May 1, 2024Hawaiian lei flower garlands
Sep 22, 2023Marsala salt pans, Italy
Jul 2, 2024Italica, an old Roman city in Santiponce, Andalusia, Spain
Dec 2, 2023Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
May 28, 2024The Monastery of Roussanou
Feb 25, 2024Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada
Mar 9, 2025St Marks Clock Tower, Venice, Italy
Aug 22, 2023Amphitheatre of El Jem, Tunisia
Aug 18, 2025Avalanche Lake Trail at Adirondack High Peaks, New York, United States
Jan 16, 2024Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Mar 10, 2024Prosecco Hills, Veneto, Italy
Apr 8, 2026Seattle, Washington, United States
Apr 2, 2024Beech trees and anemone wildflowers, Jutland, Denmark
Jun 2, 2024Ploumanach Lighthouse, France
Feb 11, 2025Yungang Grottoes, Datong, China
Mar 20, 2024Peveril Castle, Derbyshire, England
Apr 6, 2026Hirosaki Castle with cherry blossoms, Hirosaki, Japan
Apr 16, 2024Union Square, Manhattan, New York, USA