Tokyo is a vibrant city full of energy and beautiful sites. It is also home to many subcultures and niche interests, with its unique car culture being a major one.
This city has been a staple for car culture since the 1980’s with the rise of popular makes, street racers and for the notorious and controversial drifting scene. There are also known to be a plethora of car meets in the area, known as hashiriya gatherings where people care more about connections than competition.
There is a sense of a strong community as well as a bond among the enthusiasts, almost like a family. This community has gained popularity becoming a worldwide phenomenon, bolstered with the release of “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.”
Two SJMC Japan students were fortunate enough to explore a car meet in Daikoku parking area and spent the evening with car enthusiasts soon after arriving in Tokyo.
Before arriving to Japan, one of the students researched car related activities in Tokyo and found tickets to the Daikoku car meet through Klook. Another students come along and record a reel of the meet. They found out that it would be a three-hour experience and that they would be driven to the event in one of the sports cars of the regulars. This experience costed around $120 for each person in U.S currency, making it cost around 19,248 in Japanese yen. The students were thrilled and were anticipating the event all day until the pick-up time, which was 10:30 p.m. They waited for their ride in the outskirts of South Tokyo, outside of a 7-Eleven. The outside was lonely at first, but the reflection from the store’s neon sign got them excited for the lights that were to come. Other people began to show up and began to wait for their drivers as well.
In the distance, small screeches of rubber on the road began to echo down the streets. Sounds of roaring engines began to get closer and closer, as well as the pops of exhausts and the smell of gasoline. The students then saw the cars each park in a line, and they were soon introduced to their driver Zhen.
Zhen drove a black Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, sporting a carbon fiber hood. He went up to the students and he only had one question that he asked with a smile: “Is it OK if I go fast?”
The students nodded in agreement and wasted no time. They hopped in the car and were soon off to Daikoku. They started off by getting a feel for the car throughout the nearby streets. The route to the car meet even took the students on the Chuo-Ohashi Bridge, during the perfect time at night. The lights on the undercarriage of the cars shined off of the bridge as they raced through it. The sounds of Zhen’s electronic house music tied it all together and made for a surreal experience.
While on the bridge, the rest of the drivers began to catch up as you can see them zoom past the car on the right side. The first one was a red Mazda and the other was a grey one. The students car then caught back up and arrived first to Daikoku.
While there, the sounds of drivers revving their engines filled the space, since it was in the middle of some loops of the freeway. At the meet ,there was a white Nissan Skyline, which is one of the more popular cars in Japan, especially in the street car scene. It’s parts were almost fully customized and it had a RB26DETT. Which is a very popular 2.6L twin-turbo option. Drivers would circle in and out of the place, but every now and then, a car that would really stand out would arrive. There was a minivan that got there within 10 minutes, that had lights all over its trim, as well as a huge subwoofer in the back. In my opinion, he wasn’t bumping his music loud enough.
The most popular choice of car that we kept coming across were the Mazdas. They were very common but they were all different by their accessories, model and year of the car. Junior year student, My favorite vehicle at the event was actually a Nissan Skyline R34. It was a GT-T model and it had very nice shade of green for its wrap.
After about 30 minutes, the drivers instructed the customers to head back to the cars they came in, as they were getting ready to head to a new location. The students took about a 20-minute ride through the streets of Tokyo, going through tunnels and witnessing all of the high rises reflecting the glow of neon lights. At one empty tunnel, three cars drove through it as they lined up with each other on each of the three lanes. They drove through it together but they each took off at their own speeds. They would change lanes and weave into each other’s lanes, racing to see who would get to the next location first.
The students and Zhen then arrived at the second location, which was by the water near Daikoku. I’m not sure if the location had a name but it was at a parking garage at a dock. We watched drivers speed their way to the top of the garage, and the students were able to get better videos and pictures at this location due to the lighting. After another quick look around the cars, the meet was coming to an end. People were returning to their drivers as they asked the customers where they would like to be dropped off. The students responded with the name of the hotel and thankfully they were able to head back to Ota City.
During the one last ride, the students shared the shots they got of the cars, and talked about the favorite ones they saw. They rode through another long tunnel that went underwater and enjoyed that last bit of throttle that they will feel in Japan. The electronic music was still going, and the lights were still shining, and after a 30-minute ride back to the hotel, the students parted ways with Zhen and thanked him for letting them tag along.
Before entering the hotel and calling it a night, the two students heard one more tire screech as well as another pop from the exhaust, capping a thrilling night.
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