If you’re wondering how to experience the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) sport cars and car culture, or even wondering if the underground car scene still exists in Japan, well, here’s some good news! It does exist and there are several ways you can experience Japan’s rooted JDM car culture.
How you approach this depends on whether or not you plan on driving in Japan. If you are considering renting a car in Japan, then you could simply rent a JDM vehicle to have all to yourself. Omoren is one of the most popular rental car companies in Japan and has a great selection of JDM vehicles including Skyline, Supra, RX-7, S2000, and Impreza to name just a few.
While this may sound like a simple and easy solution there is a catch: JDM vehicles are rare so not all dealerships will have what you’re looking for when you want it! Furthermore, the rental companies’ hours are often sporadic so they may not even be open when you’re ready to rent! We ultimately decided not to rent a car and opted to experience the JDM car scene in other awesome ways, read on to see how!!
Click here to learn more about the pros and cons of renting a car in Japan!
On our first day in Japan, we took a driving tour. This was not your typical sightseeing out of a bus window tour. We were driven, spiritedly might we add, in a modified Nissan GTR (R35) through Tokyo’s expressways to a few popular landmarks and to a couple of local car-meet areas. The most famed being Daikoku. The Daikoku Carpark is essentially a highway rest-stop where drivers roll in around the clock, park, and hang out, admiring each other’s rides. It truly turns into a Fast-and-Furious worthy vibe at night however the locals say police regularly arrive around 8-9pm to break up the crowd so make sure to time your visit well!
The locals are super friendly and, in fact, love that people from all over the world are fans of their cars! Feel free to point and take all the pictures you want but we recommend keeping your hands to yourself though!
While you’re there, be sure to try one of the hefty ramen bowls at the local food court. There is so much incredible #livinguptothehype food in Japan, we just had to share our absolute favorites that you should try on your trip. Check them out here!
There are no convenient train or bus stops to get to Daikoku, which is why we looked specifically for any driving activities that stopped here. Check out this amazing Daikoku Tour!
Thinking of taking a taxi? Daikoku’s address is 15 Daikokufuto, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0054, Japan. We opted not to taxi as we figured by the time we paid cab fare and waiting fees we might as well use that toward a fun experience, especially on our first day!
Update: There are now self-driving Nissan GTR and Nissan Z tours for those who want to hold the power in their own hands!
Fun2Drive
While we had an amazing time in the modified Nissan GT-R, nothing beats getting behind the wheel yourself-especially on those beautifully curvy Japan mountain roads! Fun2Drive absolutely delivered an experience worthy of their name. They offer a jaw dropping selection of cars for JDM fans. You can choose from the new flavors like the Toyota GR Supra or Nissan GT-R R35, or kick it back to the hay days of the 90’s-2000’s with the Mazda RX-7, Honda NSX, A80 Supra, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, or Nissan R32, R33, and R34 Skyline, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, and even a Toyota AE86 with Initial D livery.
The selection of cars would mean nothing, though, without the spectacular driving experience that can only be realized in the Hakone Valley area of Mount Fuji!
After the usual scare-the-pants-off-you safety presentation, we were all provided with headsets so that the lead car could easily communicate information about stops, hazards and generally help us find our way! This was incredibly priceless as we were driving on REAL Japan roadways and not on a closed course which meant that the lead car also had to help us avoid any brushes with local law enforcement! The cars were well-maintained and in exceptional condition, so we really didn’t have much to worry about other than remembering to drive on the correct side of the road!
There are several tour options with Fun2Drive. We opted for the route that included a lunch stop at the famed Fuji Speedway, a trip to the famous drifting site featured in Initial D, a breathtaking drive by Mt Fuji and an ice-cream stop at Lake Yamanako. Regardless of what tour you choose; you can be sure of one thing: the experience will be phenomenal, and you likely won’t be able to replicate it any where else!
For more on other car experiences, we loved check us out at the Monza Circuit or as the locals call it Autodromo Naccional di Monza in Monza, Italy.
Visit our Japan page now for absolutely everything you need to know before your first visit to Japan!
