Jigokudani (地獄谷) or “Hell Valley” so named due to the area’s steam vents and boiling waters bubbling up from crevices in the ground, its rough terrain and frigid snowy climate. Snow covers the peaks for just under five months a year. The valley is lined with jagged cliffs reaching over 2000meters in height. There is a high alpine pass from east to west Kusatsu Onsen to Shibu Onsen that is open for motor vehicles; the pass reaches up to 2,172 meters high (7,125 feet), it’s open from spring to autumn, depending on snow fall. This high alpine route is a twisty one; it's a natural roller-coaster with switchback corners, steep gradients. The rewards, this is one of the countries most scenic routes. The third week of August 2017 I drove the pass with fellow photographer and friend Gary Kohn of GJK Photography USA.  We were driving from Nikko where we had just finished documenting the Toshugu Shrine built in the first half of the 1600’s designated a UNESCO world heritage site.  Our destination Jigokudani Joshinetsu-Kogen National Park which is home to the Snow Monkeys. We started up the pass mid afternoon, stopping only to take in the odd landscape shot, due to a weather front in the valley. It usually takes under two hours to drive the pass in good weather. We reached the mountain pass summit at 2,172 meters high (7,125 feet) on time, but then just as descending we drove into a thick fog bank. Quickly I turned on the running lights and four-way hazard lights. The driving was slow at best-walking speeds when the visibility was good I was able to drive at a fast walking speed. This is not my first time driving through foul weather, and this high alpine pass has guard rails and is well maintained. On this high alpine route, there are several tunnels which are a hundred yards or more in length; unfortunately, the tunnels are not illuminated by road lights. The lack of lights in a tunnel during a fog bank make it extremely difficult to drive through  and will disorientate you. Imagine, flying blind through clouds at night with your landing lights on, making for a runway landing. We, of course, did not have radar and runway landing lights, we had only the center yellow line to guide us around the hairpin corners and steep gradients. My worst fear was that we would have to spend the night on the pass, once or twice the fog got heavy enough I thought I was going to have to call it. My wife Manami was in the back seat sleeping! Gary was in the front passenger seat his wife Niki was in the back seats, next to Manami. During our seven days journey through Japan, this was the quietest time in our vehicle. After several hours driving through the sea of fog, Manami was awoken by applauding and me giving cheers “We are through, Bravo Zulu.” It took five hours to cross the pass, arriving at Shibu Onsen Village, Jigokudani Hell Valley snow monkey park, just after sunset. The next day after visiting the snow monkeys we went back up the pass. We reached the summit pass at 2,172 meters high (7,125 feet), but then we saw another fog bank coming in and headed back down. In the coming weeks, I will drive the pass again while leading a Japan photography tour, with a group from the United Kingdom, this time coming from the snow monkeys direction.