Hey there everyone, I'll be heading over to Japan in October this year and I'm looking for some input from some of you that may've been before... I'm starting in Osaka and driving over to Suzuka the day I land for the Japanese Grand Prix. Afterwards, I'll be heading back to Osaka to start the trip. I'll be in Osaka for a few days, then driving up to Kyoto (again for a few days) and then driving down to Mount Fuji via Nagoya. Lastly I'll be driving across to Tokyo via Yokohama. When driving back to Osaka from Suzuka, I was going to stop off at Meihan Sportsland in Nara, to see if there were any drifting antics going on. Is it worthwhile? Whilst in Nagoya, I had considered visiting Kids Heart, Liberty Walk and Super Autobacs Ueda before driving down to Fuji, but not sure as yet. Lastly when heading from Mount Fuji to Yokohama, I was gonna stop off at Bee*R to check out their garage. I won't be going to Ebisu on this visit, but I am planning a return trip in a few years and possibly doing one of the Drift Heaven Weeks offered by Power Vehicles. I have a hire car booked for the entire trip, so will be driving everywhere (but not in Tokyo as I drop it off the day I get there). As much as I wanted to hire a GT-R, I couldn't unfortunately! Any tips and advice REALLY appreciated, as I really want to make the most of this trip. If you know of any drift events on at this time of year, any local "meets" around the areas I'll be going or anything unusual you think would be worthwhile seeing, then please let me know! All the best and thanks, J
Cheers mate! Yeah got a lot planned, but would really benefit from the input of some folk on here who have been. Any tips for driving? Any known drift locations other than Meihan Sportsland? Will there be anything on in October? Thanks again...
How long are you going for? I did pretty much this exact same trip just over a week ago and it was just such an assault on the senses that it was difficult to take it all in and absorb what you were seeing. I started in Osaka, headed up to Kyoto, then Nagoya, up to Tokyo and Yokohama before heading back down to Fuji and back to Nagoya before heading home.. all in 8 days. It's a pretty inspiring place to visit, not entirely what I expected but impressive none the less. Tokyo wasn't as 'cool' as I'd imagined but it was great to visit anyway. The scenery on the drive up from Nagoya to Tokyo is pretty impressive especially around Fuji too. What I took away from the trip mostly was just how friendly people were on the whole. You definitely feel out of place there but everyone is usually happy to help with anything and everywhere feels pretty safe.. although not in some of the seedier parts of Nagoya where Nigerians are constantly trying to get you to part with your cash on the promise of 'free titties'!
Cheers for the reply matey, much appreciated All in all I'll be in Japan for approx 12/13 days before heading to Singapore from Tokyo for a couple of nights and then picking up a tour around Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand... then I'm in work the day after I get back which sucks big time! It's bizarre to think you've just done this trip though hah! I bet it was an unforgettable experience for sure. How did you find the driving in terms of signage etc.? Sadly I don't have shatnav with my rental although I've tried my best to get it (it's just not offered by the company I've booked through). What I've done though is bought a pile of road maps, so should be fine with that. Sounds like you packed plenty in during those 8 days for sure, least it gives me some idea of what to expect. I've been taking Japanese classes for the past 20 or so weeks, so aiming to try out a bit of the lingo and I'm hoping it'll be appreciated. Totally get what you mean about the friendliness though; I've seen this through my tutor and her friends as to just how nice a people the Japanese are. As for naughty Nagoya; Hey, I'm all for free titties, but I'm fairly sure they won't end up being free, that is unless you want to part with a few limbs for not paying! J
Roppongi in Tokyo, and TBH anywhere where the pubs and clubs are will be full of dodgy Africans trying to get you to go to their shitty strip clubs. Don't bother. They seem to run half the clothes shops in Harajuku too, but that place is mental, and compared to here the clothes are awesome/cheap, so it's worth it as you can barter them down a shitload from their label price anyhow.
I would say make sure you have a local sim card with data (you can pick them up at the airport when you arrive) Then you can use google maps on your phone. Else you'll struggle if you can't read the Kanji signs ! Also find out how you pay the tolls - every car I went in had a toll card reader on the windscreen and we just drove through.
Noted mate, thanks for that. Having just Googled it, Harajuku does look like a cool place to visit with some weird and funky shiz for sale in the shops! Thanks for that pal. I had considered Google Maps; I'm yet to try it over here, but apparently Google Maps just requires the data to pinpoint your exact location, after which you can disable it and then just use the GPS functionality - any ideas? I've already used the backdoor method to save the maps for offline use to my device as well. Good suggestion on picking up a SIM at the airport though, thanks.
As for the tolls you don't necessarily need to use the card, just stay clear of the ETC lanes and then you can just pay in cash at the booths. As for the language, it can be a bit of a hinderance but most of the people you'd need to be able to speak to usually have a grasp of the English language. It's only when you stray from the beaten track that it becomes more of an issue but if you've been taking classes then you should be fine. I learn't 'cardo daijoubu desu ka' pretty quickly.. 'is a card ok'.. useful to ask before trying to buy something
Gotcha, thanks for that mate. On average, what are the toll costs like, or does it vary a lot? Reason I ask is that when I did a rally around Europe a few years ago, some of the tolls through France etc. were seriously expensive (circa £50), unlike our £5 M6 Toll Road special! Cheers for the tips
Nah I dont think there too bad, but it depends where your joining I think and where your leaving. I went through the ETC lane before with no card. hahah Was rather funny.. I didnt know what I was doing, I was just trying to get to Daikoku with no maps. Its a hell of a place though. Few people I know are over just now, and there touring round all the big named shops and tuners. Dam I miss that place.
Good good, I don't fancy spending all my ¥¥¥ on toll booths so that's great news 10/10 for effort on navigating with no maps... that's the stuff adventures are made of lol. Yeah, as mentioned in my first post, I really want to get to some of the stores and tuners whilst over there if possible... Just a bit frustrating as I don't have a drift mobile at the mo, although I shall be back on the hunt again for a PS13 soon. Does anyone know if there'll be any drift events in October? I'm hoping Meihan will have something on when I head back to Osaka from Suzuka via Nara at the very least... http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~meihansl/index.htm J
Well the lads I know over there currently went to LB works along with most other tuners Autobacs is always pretty sweet. Super Autobacs in Tokyo Bay (Shinonome) and one in Yokohama both really sweet for spending your yens. Hire a car out and take it over to Daiko on a friday or a saturday when your up Tokyo way.
Just what I wanted to hear, cheers bud Any further details on Daiko? Just had a quick Google, but only seem to pickup Daiko in Nagoya... I'm guessing a few things go down on a Friday/Saturday night there then?
Daikoku Futo | minto fruit Check out my blog on there for my Japanese adventures. I have included a bunch of places worth seeing and tried to include directions if possible. http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/a-visit-to-scarab-japan/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/off-to-visit-kawagoe-川越市/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/iv-been-back/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/its-fuga-time/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/tennoji-zoo-天王寺動物園/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/shuri-castle-okinawa/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/shikinaen-garden-okinawa/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/ebisu-circuit-fukushima/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/tokyo-from-above-東京タワ/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/super-autobacs-return-shinonome-bay/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/o-genki-desu-ka/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/lets-go-for-a-walk-浅草-part-ichi/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/lets-go-for-a-walk-浅草-part-ni/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/lets-go-for-a-walk-in-osaka/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/lets-go-for-a-walk-in-tokyo/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/スーパーオートバックス-time-to-shop/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/tokyo-auto-salon-part-iii/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/tokyo-auto-salon-part-2/ http://mintofruit.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/hiroshima-nuf-sed/ Just a couple links, Mostly not car stuff but just other stuff I was up to in Japan.
Well, I've spent my entire lunch for the past couple of days going through each of those mate, thank you very much. Some good memories for you in there clearly Made some notes as I went through for some of the sights you mentioned, so have now added these to the list. Think I'll be going to the Super Autobacs in Tokyo Bay now, instead of the one in Nagoya. Also, after doing a bit of research on the Daikoku Futo CP, I'm going to try and pay a visit on the day I drive over to Bee*R in Yokohama from Mount Fuji, as it's closer to Yokohama than Tokyo as well. I'll be arriving there on a Sunday so hopefully there'll be something happening. For anyone reading this in the future and looking for a bit more info, check out: Daikoku Futo: About | Daikoku Futo Parking Area With regards to the driving, I was originally gonna try and navigate around the toll roads to save some money, but I don't think I can be arsed to be honest; it'll make the drives a lot longer and more complex, so will probably just take the hit on the toll charges. Anymore for anymore?
Again for anyone reading this and trying to find Meihan Sportsland in Nara, here are some useful bits... Address: Japan, 〒630-2234 Nara Prefecture, Yamabe District, Yamazoe, Kirihata, 1343, 名阪スポーツランド Telephone #: +81 743-87-0007 Website: http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~meihansl/index.htm Google Map: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x8c75cf62f8f4d46d?hl=en_uk DriftSpots Map: Drift Spots | The World Atlas of Drifting and Drift Friendly Tracks Drift Spots
Cheers matey For info, it looks like I may have actually found a rental company in Tokyo that will hire me a GT-R for the day... I've got all kinds of images rolling through my mind now of rocking up to Daikoku Futo in one haha
Haha brilliant. Glad they were of some use to someone. Some dudes from here I know who went over earlier this year rented a R35 and a AE86 I think, some other friends of mine rented a PS13 and an RX7 to go hoon around in. They have GPS locators' in them, and onboard camera's etc, so you cant go drifting about but still be sweet to roll up to Daiko in one haha. I did it in an Auto Honda Fit hahaha with 5 up!
