Japan / Tokyo Car Culture Holiday
Discussion
First ever trip to Japan booked for the end of the year
I am aware its not all Bosozoku / Teriyaki Boyz / Initial D but I'm keen to experience as much car culture as I can while out there.
Anyone been before, travel regularly or live out their have recomendations?
Unfortunately don't have an limitless budget, I plan to buy a rail card rather than rental car. As I understand, rental of something interesting like GT86/R34/Supra plus tolls, fuel and speed limits make it pretty cost prohibitive. Could be tempted into a short term rental though, go for a quick Tōge blast. (if so, any mountain pass recommendations?)
Sadly just miss the Japanese Grand Prix by a few days.
Tokyo hitlist:-
Daikoku PA (Is Daikoku PA impossible without a car? is it worth renting a car for the evening?)
Any rental company recommendations worth considering?
MariCar (Seam steep, but is it worth it?)
Fun2Drive (Same as above, seam expensive is it worth it?)
Tokyo Joyopolis
Is there other PA car meet's that are more accessible?
TAMIYA Plamodel Factory
I intend to travel further afield too so any recommendations welcome! (even none car related)
im normally there every 5 or 6 months, been going for the last 20 years nearly.
what are the exact dates, i think im there the same time if its sept/oct
either way some of your answers
1. id not use a car in tokyo. Parking hugely difficult (unless you know where you going) and expensive
2. Train/tube in tokyo is king
you got obvious stuff like Toyota Megaweb/ history garage etc.
you will bump into stuff.
Honda just re-done its HQ, i was there the day it opened this year, and was a big improvement on the previous setting. so its worth a visit. Its in Aoyama (south west tokyo) easy to get to by train, with multiple tubes. Outside there is aston martin, etc so you can take a look around.
further out, you have Nissan in Yokohamma, or Omori factory (nismo)
depending on your dates, you maybe into R's festival at FSW
http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/09/the-parking-lo...
Hiring a sports car? erm depends on what you really want to do with it, and what "value" you put on doing so.
what are the exact dates, i think im there the same time if its sept/oct
either way some of your answers
1. id not use a car in tokyo. Parking hugely difficult (unless you know where you going) and expensive
2. Train/tube in tokyo is king
you got obvious stuff like Toyota Megaweb/ history garage etc.
you will bump into stuff.
Honda just re-done its HQ, i was there the day it opened this year, and was a big improvement on the previous setting. so its worth a visit. Its in Aoyama (south west tokyo) easy to get to by train, with multiple tubes. Outside there is aston martin, etc so you can take a look around.
further out, you have Nissan in Yokohamma, or Omori factory (nismo)
depending on your dates, you maybe into R's festival at FSW
http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/09/the-parking-lo...
Hiring a sports car? erm depends on what you really want to do with it, and what "value" you put on doing so.
Thanks for the tips!
Think you’ve confirmed exactly what I thought about Tokyo traffic and car rental.
Maybe need to find a local that might be gracious enough to take me out Daikoku PA. I’ve heard it’s not to be missed on a Sat/Sun evening.
I’m for just under 3 weeks 18th Sept - 8th Oct ✌🏻
Think you’ve confirmed exactly what I thought about Tokyo traffic and car rental.
Maybe need to find a local that might be gracious enough to take me out Daikoku PA. I’ve heard it’s not to be missed on a Sat/Sun evening.
I’m for just under 3 weeks 18th Sept - 8th Oct ✌🏻
I wouldn't bother with the Mario Kart thing. Every time I'm in Tokyo I see another group of foreigners messing around in those things and getting on everyone's nerves. They are probably just one accident away from being banned.
More seriously, this Covid 19 thing is still panning out and I'm hearing of increasing numbers of car club events and some bigger professionally organised events being postponed or cancelled altogether (Motor Sport Japan festival - scheduled for early April in Tokyo - announced cancellation today). It will have an impact on events later in the year for sure, and all the more so with the possible re-scheduling of some Olympics-related activities. Might be worth keeping a close eye on.
More seriously, this Covid 19 thing is still panning out and I'm hearing of increasing numbers of car club events and some bigger professionally organised events being postponed or cancelled altogether (Motor Sport Japan festival - scheduled for early April in Tokyo - announced cancellation today). It will have an impact on events later in the year for sure, and all the more so with the possible re-scheduling of some Olympics-related activities. Might be worth keeping a close eye on.
PZR said:
I wouldn't bother with the Mario Kart thing. Every time I'm in Tokyo I see another group of foreigners messing around in those things and getting on everyone's nerves. They are probably just one accident away from being banned.
More seriously, this Covid 19 thing is still panning out and I'm hearing of increasing numbers of car club events and some bigger professionally organised events being postponed or cancelled altogether (Motor Sport Japan festival - scheduled for early April in Tokyo - announced cancellation today). It will have an impact on events later in the year for sure, and all the more so with the possible re-scheduling of some Olympics-related activities. Might be worth keeping a close eye on.
Yup totally agreeMore seriously, this Covid 19 thing is still panning out and I'm hearing of increasing numbers of car club events and some bigger professionally organised events being postponed or cancelled altogether (Motor Sport Japan festival - scheduled for early April in Tokyo - announced cancellation today). It will have an impact on events later in the year for sure, and all the more so with the possible re-scheduling of some Olympics-related activities. Might be worth keeping a close eye on.
Nothing worse than the buzz of a go kart
How they still operate is beyond me
I cringe as I’m on the monorail seeing them going over rainbow bridge
I went a few years ago now, here's what did that was car related -
Mario Carts
I wasn't too bothered by these but some of our group wanted to do it. Turn out to be great fun! Our guide was pretty sensible and so was our group but I can imagine things getting 'out of hand' if that's not the case.
Toyota Megaweb
Really enjoyed this - you could probably spend a few hours there if you rushed around, we were there for most of the day and wandered around at a fairly relaxed pace.
Fun2Drive
100% recommend this, its expensive yes but 2 of us shared the cost so not too bad. We hired the NSX and had an amazing time - the guides were really knowledgeable and let you drive 'enthusiastically' but safely - again your experience may differ depending on the people in your group. We were unlucky with the weather so couldnt see much scenery or Mt Fuji unfortunately. We got the bus there from Tokyo - a bit tight on time but we just about made it!
Nissan Crossing
Stumbled across this by accident - essentially a small Nissan showroom in Tokyo, they had the Nizmo IDX concept, Leaf Nismo RC and some original GTRs on show - worth popping in if passing
Daikanyama T Site Car Meet
Monthly (I think) car meet with a different theme each time - it was Zagato when we went. A bit out of the centre of Tokyo but nice to seem some of the less 'touristy' areas. There were about 40-50 cars there from Caterhams to Countaches with about 15-20 fitting the Zagato theme. Relaxed atmosphere, people turn up 9-10ish for a couple of hours, the book and music shop whose car park this is held in is also well worth a look.
There were lots of things I wanted to do but didn't have the time for - Fuji (just missed Super GT), Nismo Amori, Daikoki and some of the tuner garages to name a few. Jalopnik have a good series of article - A Car Nerds guide to Japan (or something similar) which is worth a look.
What ever you do I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Im desperate to go back again!
Mario Carts
I wasn't too bothered by these but some of our group wanted to do it. Turn out to be great fun! Our guide was pretty sensible and so was our group but I can imagine things getting 'out of hand' if that's not the case.
Toyota Megaweb
Really enjoyed this - you could probably spend a few hours there if you rushed around, we were there for most of the day and wandered around at a fairly relaxed pace.
Fun2Drive
100% recommend this, its expensive yes but 2 of us shared the cost so not too bad. We hired the NSX and had an amazing time - the guides were really knowledgeable and let you drive 'enthusiastically' but safely - again your experience may differ depending on the people in your group. We were unlucky with the weather so couldnt see much scenery or Mt Fuji unfortunately. We got the bus there from Tokyo - a bit tight on time but we just about made it!
Nissan Crossing
Stumbled across this by accident - essentially a small Nissan showroom in Tokyo, they had the Nizmo IDX concept, Leaf Nismo RC and some original GTRs on show - worth popping in if passing
Daikanyama T Site Car Meet
Monthly (I think) car meet with a different theme each time - it was Zagato when we went. A bit out of the centre of Tokyo but nice to seem some of the less 'touristy' areas. There were about 40-50 cars there from Caterhams to Countaches with about 15-20 fitting the Zagato theme. Relaxed atmosphere, people turn up 9-10ish for a couple of hours, the book and music shop whose car park this is held in is also well worth a look.
There were lots of things I wanted to do but didn't have the time for - Fuji (just missed Super GT), Nismo Amori, Daikoki and some of the tuner garages to name a few. Jalopnik have a good series of article - A Car Nerds guide to Japan (or something similar) which is worth a look.
What ever you do I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Im desperate to go back again!
The garage that built / builds the real-life Initial D AE86's is just outside of Kyoto iirc, so if you stop there you can always hop on a train for a quick browse..
Having never even seen one in person it was pretty cool to see a dozen or more all parked up on a tiny forecourt. Tried chatting with one of the employees but limited English lol.
I believe they rent out a couple of them, probably not cheap, but it would be cool to just hop in one for a few hours around some nice roads.
Having never even seen one in person it was pretty cool to see a dozen or more all parked up on a tiny forecourt. Tried chatting with one of the employees but limited English lol.
I believe they rent out a couple of them, probably not cheap, but it would be cool to just hop in one for a few hours around some nice roads.
smithyithy said:
The garage that built / builds the real-life Initial D AE86's is just outside of Kyoto iirc, so if you stop there you can always hop on a train for a quick browse..
Having never even seen one in person it was pretty cool to see a dozen or more all parked up on a tiny forecourt. Tried chatting with one of the employees but limited English lol.
I believe they rent out a couple of them, probably not cheap, but it would be cool to just hop in one for a few hours around some nice roads.
https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar_shop/0700631/detail.htmlHaving never even seen one in person it was pretty cool to see a dozen or more all parked up on a tiny forecourt. Tried chatting with one of the employees but limited English lol.
I believe they rent out a couple of them, probably not cheap, but it would be cool to just hop in one for a few hours around some nice roads.
That shop looks so cool haha!
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