Wild Nights In Tokyo (A Pictorial)
09 March 2001, 02:08 AM
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I posted some fun pics of the Tokyo night driving scene taken last month entitled "Wild Nights In Tokyo".
In the late hours of the evening, hordes of car fans crowd the largest rest stop on the highway that circles Tokyo (called the Shutoko). Easily, several hundred cars gather upon this place each mysteriously gathering in their own respective areas whether they are V8 fanatics, massively decked out K-cars, or speaker-laden vans pumping out hundreds of decibels of the latest J-pop music.
It's a sight that rivals any sponsored car show and when the excitement wears off, it's then off running laps on the Shutoko circuit where you find the hard-core Skylines, Supras, and basically any other top Japanese sports cars parked at various stops waiting for a challenger to come along.
Enjoy!
In the late hours of the evening, hordes of car fans crowd the largest rest stop on the highway that circles Tokyo (called the Shutoko). Easily, several hundred cars gather upon this place each mysteriously gathering in their own respective areas whether they are V8 fanatics, massively decked out K-cars, or speaker-laden vans pumping out hundreds of decibels of the latest J-pop music.
It's a sight that rivals any sponsored car show and when the excitement wears off, it's then off running laps on the Shutoko circuit where you find the hard-core Skylines, Supras, and basically any other top Japanese sports cars parked at various stops waiting for a challenger to come along.
Enjoy!
10 March 2001, 01:36 AM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by JohnS:
<B>Wow, I can't believe some of those cars are road legal![/quote]
They possibly aren't... There is close to zero law enforcement here. People drive with open pipes - even 10 tonne diseasel truck (and that hurts!). Trucks have huge chrome pointy bumpers that would be very illegal in the UK.
I have ridden/driven for 3 years with total disregard for speed limits and never had a problem. You never see traffic cars and the few police chases I have seen have involved the police putting their hand out to stop people and the nasty criminals driving straight by. The police head of in hot pursuit, obeying the speed limits and stopping at red lights.
They don't seem to catch many people.
Eric, where is this? I might head out one evening.
Steve
<B>Wow, I can't believe some of those cars are road legal![/quote]
They possibly aren't... There is close to zero law enforcement here. People drive with open pipes - even 10 tonne diseasel truck (and that hurts!). Trucks have huge chrome pointy bumpers that would be very illegal in the UK.
I have ridden/driven for 3 years with total disregard for speed limits and never had a problem. You never see traffic cars and the few police chases I have seen have involved the police putting their hand out to stop people and the nasty criminals driving straight by. The police head of in hot pursuit, obeying the speed limits and stopping at red lights.
They don't seem to catch many people.
Eric, where is this? I might head out one evening.
Steve
10 March 2001, 10:59 AM
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Not quite as much class as Tokyo but I did a few years in Saudi with British Aerospace. The equivalent bash there was all the local kids in their toyota 2.4 pickups (don't ask me why) would gather at a freeway intersection between Two rock cuttings. The spectators would climb the cuttings for a grandstand view while the "racers" would do endless circuits of a narrow oval track.
Down one side of the freeway to the traffic lights.
U turn
back up the freeway for 150 yds.
across the central reservation (no barriers at this point).
back down to the lights etc, etc.
The police would let them run for 3-4hrs and send them home.
Funny world
Down one side of the freeway to the traffic lights.
U turn
back up the freeway for 150 yds.
across the central reservation (no barriers at this point).
back down to the lights etc, etc.
The police would let them run for 3-4hrs and send them home.
Funny world
10 March 2001, 08:28 PM
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Hi all,
In fact, Tokyo is top class, as my wife is Japanese, I'm visiting there quite often and one day I even participated in one of these night Shutokou (the highway that goes all around the city) illegal racings! I drove with the boyfriend of one of my wife's friend in his Nissan Fairlady (300ZX in Europe)! Damn that was a hell ride I thought I never come back to Luxembourg (my home) alive! So, if you ever drove in one of those jap' cars and look at the Tokyo Bay bridge at night you know you're in the right place.
Anyway the cars I saw were absolutely awesome 'even more crazy than the ones at the Tokyo Auto Salon tuning show) and the other girls are as good as the Salon's Race Queens!
By the way that picture above might be a Toyota Previa or a Honda Oddysey I saw lots of those they're so low that they can never drive up a parking lot and you should see the inside of one of those, even your living room at home isn't that well equipped!!)
Ramon
In fact, Tokyo is top class, as my wife is Japanese, I'm visiting there quite often and one day I even participated in one of these night Shutokou (the highway that goes all around the city) illegal racings! I drove with the boyfriend of one of my wife's friend in his Nissan Fairlady (300ZX in Europe)! Damn that was a hell ride I thought I never come back to Luxembourg (my home) alive! So, if you ever drove in one of those jap' cars and look at the Tokyo Bay bridge at night you know you're in the right place.
Anyway the cars I saw were absolutely awesome 'even more crazy than the ones at the Tokyo Auto Salon tuning show) and the other girls are as good as the Salon's Race Queens!
By the way that picture above might be a Toyota Previa or a Honda Oddysey I saw lots of those they're so low that they can never drive up a parking lot and you should see the inside of one of those, even your living room at home isn't that well equipped!!)
Ramon
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12 March 2001, 10:08 AM
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Glad to see you all enjoyed the pictures!
Blow-dog,
It may be blasphemy, but some of those Skylines are wicked enough to smoke most any car on the highway judging from the way the engines sound...
Tokyo-steve,
If you live here, then it's pretty easy to get to; hop on the Shutoko and take route 1 to Yokohama/Haneda. Keep heading south and you can't miss the entrance into the parking area... the best times are after 10:00 pm on Friday or Saturday. Once you have had enough sensory overload, head on out to the parking area just under the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo side) where all the racers hang out; I was there over the weekend and it was completely full as the weather was nice and the roads clear.
Cheers.
Blow-dog,
It may be blasphemy, but some of those Skylines are wicked enough to smoke most any car on the highway judging from the way the engines sound...
Tokyo-steve,
If you live here, then it's pretty easy to get to; hop on the Shutoko and take route 1 to Yokohama/Haneda. Keep heading south and you can't miss the entrance into the parking area... the best times are after 10:00 pm on Friday or Saturday. Once you have had enough sensory overload, head on out to the parking area just under the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo side) where all the racers hang out; I was there over the weekend and it was completely full as the weather was nice and the roads clear.
Cheers.
13 March 2001, 01:43 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by legacyb4:
<B>Glad to see you all enjoyed the pictures!
Tokyo-steve,
If you live here, then it's pretty easy to get to; hop on the Shutoko and take route 1 to Yokohama/Haneda. Keep heading south and you can't miss the entrance into the parking area... the best times are after 10:00 pm on Friday or Saturday. Once you have had enough sensory overload, head on out to the parking area just under the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo side) where all the racers hang out; I was there over the weekend and it was completely full as the weather was nice and the roads clear.
Cheers.[/quote]
Sounds easy enough. Look out for the confused looking Gaijin. I live near Ebisu so it won't take too long.
Thanks, Steve
<B>Glad to see you all enjoyed the pictures!
Tokyo-steve,
If you live here, then it's pretty easy to get to; hop on the Shutoko and take route 1 to Yokohama/Haneda. Keep heading south and you can't miss the entrance into the parking area... the best times are after 10:00 pm on Friday or Saturday. Once you have had enough sensory overload, head on out to the parking area just under the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo side) where all the racers hang out; I was there over the weekend and it was completely full as the weather was nice and the roads clear.
Cheers.[/quote]
Sounds easy enough. Look out for the confused looking Gaijin. I live near Ebisu so it won't take too long.
Thanks, Steve
04 May 2001, 05:32 PM
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Finally made it out there tonight.
Some of these guys linked their sound systems together so you've get 4 or 5 mobile speaker cabinets all blasting the same music. Enough to make your ears bleed!
Some had been in volume competitions and had the score written on the windows. One said 150dB!
Jeff - I couldn't find any parking space under the Rainbow bridge with racers in it. I kept being followed by police cars so I gave up after a while before I got arrested for breaking some strange law. I was right under the bridge (well nearly I stayed on land), should I have been a bit north, or south or something?
Cheers, Steve
Some of these guys linked their sound systems together so you've get 4 or 5 mobile speaker cabinets all blasting the same music. Enough to make your ears bleed!
Some had been in volume competitions and had the score written on the windows. One said 150dB!
Jeff - I couldn't find any parking space under the Rainbow bridge with racers in it. I kept being followed by police cars so I gave up after a while before I got arrested for breaking some strange law. I was right under the bridge (well nearly I stayed on land), should I have been a bit north, or south or something?
Cheers, Steve
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