Konichiwa!

It was not an easy decision whether or not to continue with our Japan 2020 trip (Did I ever mention that? I don’t recall ever doing so… <shrugs…>) especially in the midst of the corona virus pandemic. But after serious consideration, weighing out options, keeping up with news daily, taking extra precautions, and in lieu of majority of people’s opinions, we decided to go forth with our trip.

And frankly, I’m quite pleased that we did because the trip was incredible to say the least. Japan is everything that I thought it’d be and more. I’ve always felt that Las Vegas was my playground, but now it’s been surpassed.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Japan if I didn’t do some type of DRIVE there. My brother did this Fun2Drive Tour on his last trip to Japan. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise.

I was anticipating this for quite some time… the thought of DRIVING in a right-hand drive car in Japan was getting to much for me!

How much does it cost?

It depends on what tour and what car is chosen to be DRIVEN. There are 3 main tours and a fleet of cars to choose from. The longer the tour and the more prestigious the car, the more it’ll cost. I chose the Ultimate Hakone Drive tour.

You have to make a reservation if you want to participate in the tour and can be done on the website. Some tours are available only on certain days. Further, make sure it’s done well in advance – the car that you want may not be available because someone else may have it reserved already. I had made my reservation about 2 months prior.

As for the car, I ended up picking a car I was least likely to drive in the states anytime soon – the Nissan Skyline R34. There were other cool lesser expensive options – A Supra, a modded S2k and RX7 but those are cars I could technically find and DRIVE back in the states.

How Do I Get There?

Fun2Drive is in Hakone and suggests different options to get there. I opted for the simplest way – a direct bus ride from Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, located right across the street from Shinjuku Train Station in Tokyo. It’s about a 2-hour bus ride and cost about ¥3900 (~$39) round trip per person.

The Fun2Drive Venue

After the 2-hour bus ride, the bus stop is conveniently right across the street from the place. I checked in and had a few minutes to spare so I was able to get pictures of what was outside. I saw a lineup of Skylines, a modded RX7, and an Initial D AE86 replica.

The R34 Skyline

I went through a small inspection of the R34 before the tour started to check for damages and to adjust seats, mirrors, etc. For a 2000, the interior and exterior was in pretty good condition. I was pleased to see Direzza ZIII tires mounted on the stock wheels and would be perfect for some sport DRIVING! Other than tires, I believe the car was relatively stock, which I didn’t mind. Getting to DRIVE a car in its natural state can be a good thing.

Pre-Tour Meeting

Our tour guide, Nozo went over some things with me and three other DRIVERS before heading out – mostly having to do with safety. He showed us some dash cam vids of accidents caused by previous participants that were costly – as small as curbing wheels to fully wrecking the front end of an NSX. Some accidents were so bad that some cars – I’m told – were deemed “retired.”

We were all fitted with headsets for on the go communication. We weren’t allowed to mess with the dash cams and not allowed to do any recording of our own…

The DRIVE

I couldn’t believe that I was in Japan DRIVING a Skyline!

The gas, brake, and clutch pedal are the same. The shift pattern is the same. It did feel so out of place being on the right side of the car and on the left side of the road. I just had to make sure not to stray over the center line of the lane. The blinker is on the right side of the steering column, but that didn’t really bother me, however I found myself glancing to the right rather than the left when checking my rearview.

It’s an awkward, yet alluring feel on the roads for DRIVING right-hand drive for the first time especially making turns into and out of private driveways and I made a huge effort to stay on the right-half of the lane. I’ve never felt so alert on the road in a long time. The R34 is a much bulkier and heavier car than I’m used to.

Shifting felt more natural for some reason but the coordination to rev match with my left hand took some getting used too.

The Ultimate Hakone Tour features four major touges that inspired battles in the Initial D manga and anime. I can’t remember which one exactly was my favorite but all of them had something special to offer. Many of them referenced Initial D in some way – from certain turns, to location stops, to signs on the road.

There are stops along the way so it isn’t continuous DRIVING. One stop we had lunch and other stops along the way were for breaks and picture taking. If you and/or a companion suffer from motion sickness, I suggest taking some pills to alleviate it, especially for passengers. If you don’t, bring some anyway just in case.

I DROVE with three others from New Zealand, Australia, and the states DRIVING a RX7, R32, and R33 respectively. It was quite a lineup! The headsets were wore were useful in that Nozo in the pace car could communicate with us for upcoming cautions such as cars, motorcycles, narrow roadways or for special landmarks or roadways.

Final Thoughts

This was a definite highlight of my trip!

One thing to keep in mind is that it can get pricey overall considering costs to get there and back, toll booths, gasoline, lunch, and the tour itself. However, the ease of travel, the tour layout, the safety precautions, and the experience makes it all worth while.

This is exactly what it is in it’s name. It’s a tour… albeit some areas with some spirited DRIVING if (and this is a very big if) DRIVERS are comfortable in doing so. It’s not a race or a place to try out drifting skills.

This tour was perfect for my purposes – a “car person” traveling for the first time to Japan without a Japanese companion. “Non-car people” can enjoy it to because of the site seeing and touge roads. My fiancé agrees! I do recommend this if it’s your first time in Japan, you want to drive a cool car, and you’ll enjoy a nice drive with some great views. It is quite an experience! But if you have a buddy in Japan who’s already accustomed to the roadways, the sites, and has access to some cool cars that might be another option to consider.

Till next time guys! Until then…