The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

I recently received an email about travelling to Japan and what you can do while you’re out there, so I decided to make a blog post about it so everyone can get help and achieve their dream! I’m the ‘Japan-Guy’ in the office so everyone just turns and looks at me

I recently received an email about travelling to Japan and what you can do while you’re out there, so I decided to make a blog post about it so everyone can get help and achieve their dream! I’m the ‘Japan-Guy’ in the office so everyone just turns and looks at me

This post will tell you everything you need to know about the Drift Matsuri’s at Ebisu circuit and the dates for them too! - Drift with me (If you can make the August Matsuri I will be there! I’ll take you drifting!)

So where do I begin...

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

This post will tell you everything you need to know about the Drift Matsuri’s at Ebisu circuit and the dates for them too! - EBISU DRIFT If you can make the August Matsuri I will be there! I’ll take you drifting!

So the things that you will need:

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

Tokyo subway app - Android - iOS
This app will be your lifesaver, it will help you get around Tokyo and make sure you never get lost, and its free!

This is the place where I stay in Tokyo when I go - Ryokan
It’s a Japanese cultural place to stay, but everyone speaks english and it is a good price. It’s in Ikebukuro which is a very nice area and there are lots of things to do in the area.
There is also another place to stay which is in Shinjuku, my friends stay there it’s a really nice place, more european than Japanese as it’s actually a hotel, not a ryokan - Hotel

You might also want to take a look at a Japan Rail Pass if you’re not hiring a car and plan to take the train a lot while in Tokyo - Rail Pass

Now down to the car parking areas!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

Daikoku PA is the place where you want to go to see cars (like all the photos on the internet of cars at cars parks) - Daikoku
You need a car to get there as it’s not easy to get there without one.

Tatsumi PA is the other parking area that is actually on the freeway (where you see the bosoku cars and lambo’s with crazy lights) - Tatsumi
You need a car to get here, there is no other way to get there, this is a more random spot that Daikoku as cars show up after doing the C1 loop.

You can also go down to Osaka where they have street drifters, but this is obviously random, they don’t really do set times but you might be able to catch them on Saturday nights!

Now down to getting your car sideways!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

If you want to go for drifting then Ebisu will be the place to go, you can hire a car, drive down (if it’s not festival time then the weekend is the best chance to catch drifters) have some lunch, check out the zoo (yep, there is a zoo at the circuit too!) then drive down to Mt Haruna (Mt Akina from Initial D), nerd out for a while, and then drive down to Kyoto and do all the tourist stuff!

Just take a look at Powervehicles to get help with the Drift Matsuri’s and to find out if they have any cars available! - Drift Heaven Week
They helped me get down there for the first time, now I always talk to them and you could call me their favourite black drifter! It’s owned by Andy & Emily Gray who are awesome (and from Scotland, so it’s all in english)!
Andy competes in FD and D1 and he just won the first round of Formula Drift Japan!

Speedhunters just done a Q&A with him, good for anyone who thinks they need a high power car to drift! - Drift Baby Drift

In Tokyo:

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

Shibuya (crossing) is where the famous scene from Tokyo drift was filmed (when he drifts through all the people in Tokyo), for the record it actually is that busy! It’s also a really nice area for tourists to go with loads of shops and places to eat (there is a HUGE food court in the big shopping centre)! There is a cat cafe in Shibuya as well!

Shinjuku is another place which is pretty good for tourists.
Akihabara is the city of anime/hobby games.
Ueno is where they have a huge park and a zoo.

There is Tokyo Skytree as well, which is the highest point in Tokyo and you can go to the top and literally chill in the clouds.
Ginza is the rich area, that’s where you’ll find all the high-end cars and possibly some Yakuza cars too. Plus they have really nice shops, but they’re expensive.

Akihabara is where you can drive Go-Karts on the streets of Tokyo, ON THE STREETS OF TOKYO! - Tokyo Go-Karts

At the airport:

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

I go to Narita airport as it’s the main airport (I think), there are loads of things to do there in the airport before you decide to go to Tokyo. They have food places, gift places etc.

Once you get to the airport make sure you go and buy a sim card (it’s a Japanese sim card, which is internet only, either 15 days or 30 days). You can also buy a wi-fi dongle from the same place if that suits you better.
You can also get a hire car from the airport too!

The train is the best way to get from Narita airport to Tokyo, it’s called the Tokyo express service and it takes 45 minutes and costs Y3,000.

FOOD!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

The food in Japan is AMAZING! It is honestly sooooo good and you don’t have to spend lots of money to eat good food.
The small convenience stores are really really awesome for selling good food for a really good price (this is where I buy most of my food)! 7/11 and Family Mart are the main 2 small convenience store and most are open 24 hours.

They sell Bento boxes (Small packed lunches which are cooked before hand and they will heat it up for you in the microwave), they have loads and loads of different types from Chicken to Fish, from rice to noodles. You can honestly go crazy. Plus Japan is snack crazy, you can honestly live off snacks, they have so many and they are so good!

There are also restaurants all over the place, including Subway, McDonalds, and KFC in case you don’t want Japanese food.

Little bits to remember!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

Japan is a very cash oriented country, not a lot of places will let you pay by card so make sure you have cash on you, most 7/11’s have cash machines which you’ll be able to take money out of.

Everyone is super nice, so don’t be afraid to ask for help or say a few of the most common english words and some will understand.

Try and learn a few phrases or judge what people are saying by the situation you are in (e.g. if you take a bento box to the till, the lady will ask you if you want it heated, you can either shake your head or nod).

Plus, Taryn (from Speedhunters) has just launched her new website which has really in depth guides for everything to do with Japan car culture. It’s awesome and is really helpful. Check it out! Japan Car Culture

A few words to help you

I was interviewed by a Japanese TV show about drifting!
I was interviewed by a Japanese TV show about drifting!

Big thanks to ‘The Jap Mini’ for going into detail with the words and the pronunciation!

Wakadimashita - I understand wa-ka-di-ma-shi-ta
wakadimasen - I do not understand wa-ka-di-ma-sen
Arigato - Thank you (casual) Ar-e-ga-to
Arigato gozaimasu - Thank you (formal or very appreciative) Ar-e-ga-to go-zai-ma-s
Sumimasen - Excuse me (can also be used as a quick sorry, e.e. if you bump into someone) su-e-ma-sen
Ohayo Gozimasu - Good morning Ohio Go-zi-mas
Konnichiha - good day (said after noon)
konbanha - good evening (said anytime after sun down)
Hai - Yes/ ok/ yes sir (do not say that to elder!)
Daijoubu - means “are you ok” in easy terms
Sugoi - Awesome (how excited you are determines the meaning) so SUGOI!! Means like “holy sht that’s sweet!” Men can say sugei (pronounced su-gey) means exactly the same.
Kawaii - Cute Ka-wi-e
Kowai - scary ko-wi (long i sound)
chotto- wait! cho-tto /Or if used properly means little
Gomen’nasai - Sorry (formal Use only with older folk! or people you know and you are really sorry) go-men-a-sai
Gomen - Sorry (if you bump into a friend) go-men Remember to bow for both!*
This will be a bit longer but VERY helpful!
ego ha hanashimasuka. - Do you speak english? eggo (yep)- wa- ha-na-shi-ma-su-ka

Oh and toilet is toile pretty much say toilet and they understand.

That's all folks!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

I think I’ve covered everything that you need to know about going to Japan as a car guy/girl or anyone in general to be fair!
If you need anything else, just let me know!

I’ll be going out to drift at the end of next month for 2 weeks! Keep up to date with everything on my Snapchat: milkydiamonds (I do a full walkthrough from the day I go to the day I leave, you’ll feel like you’re there with me)!

Hopefully I’ll see you out there!

Check out my other stuff!

The Guide to Having Your Own Adventure in Japan!

The Cars at Japan’s Nikko Circuit Open Drift Day
Japan Drift Matsuri Dates, Who Wants To Come With Me?
Adventures in Japan - The Daily Drifter S15
Adventures in Japan - The Salaryman’s S15

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Comments

TheStig'sMexicanCousin

Goals

03/22/2016 - 18:57 |
48 | 0
Anonymous

so cool!

03/22/2016 - 19:04 |
0 | 0
MrGovenator

I’m lucky to have a buddy stationed in Japan for the next few years and plan on taking a trip for a few weeks over their next year! The excitement can’t be withheld lol.

03/22/2016 - 19:09 |
14 | 0

Make sure you go drifting too! I’m assuming your buddy is stationed in Osaka, if so, Meihan Sportsland isn’t too far!

03/22/2016 - 19:59 |
0 | 0
J Bennett

One of my neighbour has got one of those mini vw campervans made by subaru… Its so ridiculously cool, mayby I should go to Japan one day… Anyone know what the BMW scene is like over there, if it even exists?

03/22/2016 - 19:09 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

going to japan in the summer, but I’m only 14 so I’m not doing much car related events :(

03/22/2016 - 19:25 |
0 | 0
Milky Diamonds

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

This will still help you with where to go in Japan!

03/22/2016 - 19:56 |
0 | 0
The Jap Mini

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Be polite! Ramen I expanded the basic Japanese a bit in my comment.

03/25/2016 - 11:19 |
0 | 0
Willie

I really wish I had the cash to take a trip to Japan. From all of the videos I’ve seen (Mighty Car Mods) It looks like an amazing place to experience car culture

03/22/2016 - 19:33 |
6 | 0
Milky Diamonds

In reply to by Willie

It definitely is!

03/22/2016 - 19:57 |
0 | 0
DJ N

I wanna go to Japan for the above reasons, but my parents already went in 2011 and I couldn’t go. They bought back pics of Caymans (Caymen?) and even an LFA!

03/22/2016 - 20:04 |
0 | 0
Milky Diamonds

In reply to by DJ N

Show them this blog post and maybe they’ll go again, and you can go too!

03/22/2016 - 20:33 |
0 | 0
Stubaru

Japan is amazing. I stayed there for 5 yrs! I got to see many JDM cars, LOTS of drift cars , classic MR2/MRS, even some GTR s! I wish i could go back…

03/22/2016 - 20:11 |
0 | 0

My dad was stationed there, we stayed in Zama Garrison Base.

03/22/2016 - 20:12 |
0 | 0
Bence Kurucsai

Thank you soo much for writing this down. Japan is a place I will definitely visit after I have my license and my international license and have enough Drifting knowledge under my belt. I will also probably go there buy a RWD car and bring it back. Cause I want to go there to Drift at Ebisu and visit a few places. Plus I rather drift my car than to trash (if that’s the right word) other peoples cars. :)

03/22/2016 - 20:14 |
0 | 0

No problem! I hope to see you out there one day!

03/22/2016 - 20:31 |
2 | 0
hisothiro

Going to japan next year with my girlfriend, already warned her that I need to go to Daikoku PA, I could try and sneak a quick trip to Ebisu in there… To see Haruna and nature and stuff. Of course.
Great tips for the western traveller by the way! Those sim cards look pretty useful.

03/22/2016 - 20:24 |
0 | 0

Those sim cards are life savers! If you can base your trip around the Matsuri weekend that will be amazing as you’ll be able to check out drifting when it’s busy, check out the zoo, have some lunch at the restaurant, then drive down to Kyoto and do the sightseeing stuff!

03/22/2016 - 20:40 |
2 | 0