Rally Japan 2025 - Route Preview

Rally Japan plays host to the last tarmac rally of the 2025 WRC Season and features twisty and technical stages in the region of Aichi. This year's route has seen some minor changes, including the addition of one new stage on Saturday.

Thursday

Thursday features a run of the pre-event Shakedown stage, which will also be used as the first stage of the event later in the day at dusk. This format was similarly used in 2022, at the return of Rally Japan to the WRC calendar, but the Shakedown was run in reverse to the actual stage. 

Shakedown/SS1: Kuragaike Park - 2.75km

Changes compared to past editions: The stage is identical to the SS1 of 2022, and the Shakedown stage that was used in the 2023 and 2024 editions.

Stage description: The first two kilometers of the stage are on a twisty tarmac road in the forest. It features many elevation changes, giving a roller-coaster feeling, and also has many surface changes, between a smooth and a more broken surface. After an exceptionally narrow section, the route then exits the forest, and after a donut on a roundabout, climbs uphill on a smooth medium-wide road until the finish.

Toshi Arai had a heavy accident on this stage in 2022.

Friday

The first proper day of action features an identical mix of stages to last year. Unlike 2024, Isegami's Tunnel will be run in reverse direction. Inabu / Shitara is now the day's opener, with Isegami's Tunnel being run back-to-back before and after service.

SS2/6 Inabu - Shitara - 17.08km

Changes compared to past editions: It's the Inabu-Shitara stage used in 2024, shortened slightly from the start. This means the place where Thierry Neuville crashed out in 2023 will not feature.

Stage description: The stage is initially on a wide road, with high-speed sections and long winding corners. At 3.6km, it turns away from that road, and joins a narrower, bumpier one, into the forest. The stage becomes twisty and technical, with many slow corners.

A faster section starting from 6.5km, leads the cars onto a smoother road, with the stage continuing to be faster than before. The road surface becomes more worn at 11km, with the stage then joining the fast and wide road it started from at 12.1km.

After two deviations at 12.4 and 13km, the stage turns onto a narrow and broken downhill road, which is slow and sinuous until the finish.

SS3/7 Shinshiro - 17.41km

Changes compared to past editions: Identical to the Shinshiro stage used in 2024.

Stage description: Shinshiro starts off with a twisty downhill section on a medium-wide road. Following a long straight, it becomes more technical again, but is quicker than the start. Eventually, it becomes very narrow, having long winding sections, with the road mimicking the flow of the Shimata River it runs parallel to.

A slow technical section on a narrow road follows after a junction at 6.15km, with the stage becoming very wide momentarily, before returning to narrow following a pass through a bridge at 8.89km. The stage then becomes slow and technical, with an exceptionally sinuous section starting from 10.5km. 

After a junction at 12.6km, the stage becomes faster, remaining narrow, but also more broken. It becomes wider at 14.2km, and also more flowing, remaining the same until the finish.

SS4/5 Isegami's Tunnel - 19.66km

Changes compared to past editions: For this year, Isegami's Tunnel has been reversed and shortened compared to the stage route that's been used since 2022

Stage description: Isegami's Tunnel is perhaps Rally Japan's most famous stage since the event's relocation to the Aichi province. The stage named after the rumoured to be haunted tunnel has claimed plenty of victims through the years, including Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who crashed at the exit of the tunnel in 2022, Dani Sordo, whose i20 Rally1 caught fire in the same year, Katsuta, Fourmaux and Sordo going off in the same corner in the rain in 2023, and then last year, Andreas Mikkelsen crashed out on the second pass.

The new look stage starts on a relatively smooth uphill road, which is medium-wide, and features many slow to medium speed corners. It gets twistier as it continues onto this road, with a section of hairpins and slow corners following after 8km, on a more worn and broken surface. The stage then passes through Isegami's Tunnel.

After passing through the tunnel, the stage continues onto a narrow, worn road with trees on either side, which is initially very slow and sinuous, but becomes faster at about 12.7km, now going downhill.

Following a twisty and sinuous section on a very worn and narrow road, there's a high-speed section, with the stage remaining narrow, but with the surface becoming smoother. The last 1.7km of the stage is on a flowing, smooth, medium-wide road.

Saturday

Saturday is the longest day of the rally at almost 122km. It features three stages used twice, as well as a pass of the Toyota City SSS. Just like last year, there will be a tyre fitting zone instead of a return to Toyota City at the midday break, and a new stage, SS Obara, replaces SS Nenoue Kougen.

SS8/13 Obara - 16.44km

Changes compared to past editions: Brand new stage, not used before in the rally.

Stage description: This new stage starts off on a narrow and worn road, which becomes wider and faster shortly after. It again becomes worn and medium-wide as it heads into the forest at 2.4km, with a twisty section ensuing.

After a hairpin at 6.2km, the stage turns onto a very narrow and dirty downhill road, which is twisty and technical, with trees running alongside its path. 

Following a junction at 8.9km, the route follows a wide two-lane road, on a broken surface, for a brief fast section with big straights and high-speed corners, including a chicane.

At 12.6km, the stage turns onto a smooth medium-wide road, with armcos on each side, and becomes more technical. After a hairpin at 14km, it turns narrower again, with the end of the stage being on a medium-wide and flowing section.

SS9/12 Ena - 21.25km

Changes compared to past editions: Identical to the 2024 stage, just shortened slightly from the beginning. Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta picked up punctures on this stage in 2022. Last year, the first pass of the stage had to be cancelled due to a van making its way onto the live stage.

Stage description: The start of the stage is on a medium-wide and bumpy road, which becomes narrow and twisty as the stage climbs into the forest.

From the 6km mark and onwards, the stage turns downhill, on a very tricky sinuous section that is full of hairpins and slow corners. It then turns onto a wide, two-lane road at 10.5km, with a high-speed section ensuing, as the stage starts to climb uphill again.

Said road becomes narrow and worn following a tight bridge pass at 11.2km, becoming twisty and sinuous soon after. A fast passage comes after that from 13.5 to 15.4km, again on a narrow and worn surface, before the stage again becomes slow and technical, remaining the same until the finish.

SS10/11 Mt. Kasagi - 21.74km

Changes compared to past editions: Last year's Mt. Kasagi stage, extended by about 5 kilometers from the start.

Stage description: The new start is on a generally narrow road, that is full of slow and medium speed corners. The surface is quite worn and broken, with greenery growing from the middle of the road in sections. At 3.8km, the stage turns onto a different road, which leads to a mickey mouse section, which was where the stage started at in 2024.

That section is in an open area, with red/white barriers lining up the route, featuring chicanes and two donuts. It leaves this section at 6km, and continues onto a narrow and twisty road, which is slow and technical, climbing uphill. Following a junction at 10.4km, the stage goes downhill, and continues to be very slow and technical.

At 11.7km, the stage becomes twistier, with a series of downhill hairpins appearing. After a junction at 14.03km, it continues onto a smoother and slightly wider road, which is again technical and slow. That road becomes narrow and worn in places as the stage enters the forest. A short faster section at 19.69km breaks the monotonous slow and sinuous nature of the stage, with the finish being at its end.

Josh McErlean hit a tree stump and broke his suspension here in 2024.

SSS14 Toyota City - 3.05km

Changes compared to past editions: A new SSS in Toyota City. Parts of it were used in the TGR Rally Challenge last year.

Stage description: The stage starts off on wide two-lane tarmac roads, before going onto the Shirahama Park, where a mickey mouse section follows inside some parking lots. It then continues straight on a narrow tarmac access road, turning left for a donut under the bridge. After a series of junctions, it climbs up the bridge, where the stage finish is located.

Sunday

The last day of action features three repeated stages, one of which is the Okazaki SSS. There is no return to the Toyota City Service Park, only a tyre fitting zone after both passes of the Okazaki SSS. Nukata and Lake Mikawako again feature, in an identical configuration to last year.

SS15/19 Nukata - 20.23km

Changes compared to past editions: Identical to last year's Nukata stage. This is where Ott Tanak went off the road from the lead in 2024.

Stage description: The stage starts off in a wide two-lane road which has many medium speed corners. After 3km, it turns onto a road which is initially narrow, but widens shortly after, going into the forest. This road is generally fast, with medium speed corners.

The stage then turns onto a smooth and narrower road at 5.1km, with a high-speed section on a wide road following, passing through a small village.

After that the stage re-enters the forest on a worn and broken road at 8.6km, becoming twisty and slow. Following a brief pass through a wide road, it rejoins a forest road, which is very narrow, bumpy and broken, and initially very slow and sinuous.

The next 1.4km is fast and flowing, on another wide two-lane road, before the stage again joins another route inside the forest, which is very twisty, including some tight acute uphill hairpins.

Following another fast section on a wide road from 17.74 to 18.66km, which includes a chicane, the stage reaches the finish, passing through a medium-wide section with fast and medium speed corners.

SS16/20 Lake Mikawako - 13.98km

Changes compared to past editions: Identical to last year's Power Stage.

Stage description: The first 3.5km of the Power Stage are on a medium-wide to narrow road, that is smooth and twisty. A flat-out section follows, before the stage turns onto a short narrow section, which includes a tight pass through a bridge.

At 5.3km the route joins a narrow-ish smooth uphill road, which becomes slow and sinuous as the stage enters the forest. Following a hairpin at 9.75km, the stage turns onto a wider road, going downhill, which is high-speed, and features a technical section at 11km. As the stage exits the forest, it becomes fast again, and has a small technical and slow section just before the finish.

SSS17/18 Okazaki - 1.98km

Changes compared to past editions: The SSS is held in the area where the 2023 and 2024 SSS' were held, but uses a slightly different configuration.

Stage description: The route of the Okazaki SSS is comprised of roads and parking lots inside the Okazaki Central Park.

It starts inside one of the park's parking lots, and after a series of junctions, it continues onto a two-lane road before turning onto another access road. 

A mickey-mouse section inside a parking lot follows, which includes a donut, after which, the stage continues onto a wide, two-lane access road. Another mickey-mouse section with a donut follows, after which the stage joins a narrower tarmac road resembling the ones found in the mountain stages, until the finish.

Thank you everyone for following my blog this season, I hope to see you in 2026!