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

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...

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:

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!

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!

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:

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:

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 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!

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

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!

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 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