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HI all

I have the opportunity to head to tokyo in a couple of weeks for 2 weeks as my girlfriend is Japanese and I'm a huge WMMT fan, drive a 2014 VW Golf R in real life.

Is there special things to buy that is Wangan or Initial D related there? I was toying with the idea of driving the expressways just for once but not sure if its worth it to rent a car just for the one drive.

Any suggestions?

It is only worth it if you feel it is worth it; especially if you won't be coming back to Japan for a long long time OR going to Japan is just a one time thing. Savor the moment, at least once.

I went to japan in 2009 and rented a Z34 to go blasting on the expressway.

Still to this day one of the best nights of my life. I went down to Daikoku Futo rest stop and it was like heaven. teamded up with a few young local guys and we did the wangan west route all the way down to nearly yokohama, then back up the yokohane line over the rainbow bridge and onto the C1.

You will be AMAZED how many people after midnight are running hard on the public roads.. everyone wanted to race!

@Crow,

how much did it cost you to rent that? and is that a daily rent or for a certain date range?

Wow that sounds amazing!

Do you have to know a substantial amount of Japanese to have fun in Japan with the locals?

I thought everything was limited to 180km/h stock.

Sure you could do plenty of touring, and looking at the sights, which would be epic, but not so much racing.

this so much, sigh if only I could speak jap.

Do not F**k around on C1. There are speed cameras, undercover cruisers and motorbike cops that will pull you over. Additionally depending on when you drive it's also extremely congested. Aqualine has a smaller cop and camera presence but you're going nowhere fast if you're in a factory tuned car and if you're caught, that gets expensive fast and Japanese jails are not pleasant. You do not have the right to an attorney. Drive to experience the sights, don't drive recklessly if you do choose to drive the line.

^ as I've seen in some videos, C1 is normally congested.

@TheJ, is there like a dead hour where most shutokou normally "race"? And if they do, what is their average speed compared to the likes of the commuters (not including Wangan / Aqualine)

Tin Foil hat theory here....i think it might be around 2-3 am?Then again im just speculating here...And its true what The J and Gunma said regarding C1 portion of the highway,its congested regularly barring some few select days and hour...

I think I saw a film before entitled Shutokou midnight of a tuner who traversed from an SW20 to an R33 and they took it at c1, the pace was like (in Maxi5 terms) N-class pacing until the spin out.

It should be common sense to not race on public roads.

The only thing I will say on the times it's clear is this- there is film of some guy in an RX7FC on C1 on New Year's eve into morn driving it like he stole it. There are a few other choice performance vehicles that are on the road going at it and he makes them look like they are standing still. I guess they run with no plates or have some countermeasure for all those speed cameras.

@deskyx- After Crow's statement and all the questions about when the line is free and clear, times that the implication is one can drive spiritedly on the expressway, I believe the reminder had to be put out there. Common sense is not so common, but I'm guilty of failing common sense too.