PICS: Tokyo Street Racing

[GTO]

pics from nissanperformancemag.com (www.nissanperformancemag.com)

"Although NPM condemns street racing, street racing is universally so ingrained in the culture of car crazy Japan that we had to check it out. We attended Tokyo's famous street races on the Wangan, an elevated freeway that lops around downtown Tokyo. The Wangan is featured in Playstation 2 and the real one is exactly like the game. The scene here starts at about one in the morning and continues until about 4am. There are many park and ride lots on the Wangan and at night, these become meeting places for the street racers to congregate. The racers pair up and soon they are wailing around Tokyo at high speeds. Unlike freeways here, the Wangan is actually two to three lanes narrow and quite twisty. It is lined with unforgiving barriers ready to eat the unsuspecting. It loops around the heart of Tokyo is actually a pretty challenging drive.


Japans culture is surprisingly tolerant of there antics. It's rumored that some major tuners do testing here at night as well as some of Japan's famous racer car drivers. In fact we were the guests of a famous unnamed tuner who took us around in one of the shops Lancer EVO VIII's. The police even seem very tolerant. When the police did show up, a single patrol car pulled into a parking lot and the lot's occupants simply calmly left and the police did nothing to harass the racers. We didn't see a single racer pulled over all night. Nothing like this could happen in the crime ridden and lawsuit happy society of America. Surprisingly we met several Americans hanging out at this scene as well as others from Australia and New Zealand. "

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/6nitesti.jpg
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/1sti.jpg
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/2meetingplace.jpg
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/1wanganinevo.jpg
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/7nitez.jpg

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/5r34.jpg
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/tokyo.jpg

[cooperluke]

Pretty nice...
Just need the car there.
The track is always open!! ;)

[astonmartinandy]

Fantastic pictures, especially the last one. Surprised to read how accepting and tolerant the police seem to be!

[Volk]

Very nice pictures maybe post up som emore next time :wink:

[Volk]

Very nice pictures maybe post up som emore next time :wink:

[tuffguy]

i love the last pic

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february05/tokyo/images/tokyo.jpg

[gis]

nice pics,id love to go to japan to see the street racing scene

[SFDMALEX]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.

[23790554]

what's wrong with a 4 banger?

all WRC cars?

[Mezevenf]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.

Heh, so the Elise isn't a supped up 4 banger? :P :P

I know what you mean, I agree.

[GTO]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.
Elise is a four banger, the 350Z, and R34 GTR are 6 poppers, thr RX7 series 6 is a rotary BTW
It depends what does it for you, a supped up four banger in the real world now or a stock four banger in your imagination?

[SFDMALEX]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.
Elise is a four banger, the 350Z, and R34 GTR are 6 poppers, thr RX7 series 6 is a rotary BTW
It depends what does it for you, a supped up four banger in the real world now or a stock four banger in your imagination?

What I meant is a supped up four banger.....Im just being stereotypical here........Asian cars just dont do it for me. And neither do sky scrapers.......I'm more into the old school type of thing.......like a nice british sports car at Isle of TT or swiss mountains.....

[kksh]

Great Pics! That's how cops should behave!!! Makes you wanna go live in Japan eh?

[jimmyin]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.

its really funny,,
isn't Elise a 4 banger...

[GTO]

It looks nice and all. But to be honest, I'd shoot my self if I lived in a city like that, and to me going around some swiss mountains in an Elise is more appleaing the running around a city in some supped up 4 banger.
Elise is a four banger, the 350Z, and R34 GTR are 6 poppers, thr RX7 series 6 is a rotary BTW
It depends what does it for you, a supped up four banger in the real world now or a stock four banger in your imagination?

What I meant is a supped up four banger.....Im just being stereotypical here........Asian cars just dont do it for me. And neither do sky scrapers.......I'm more into the old school type of thing.......like a nice british sports car at Isle of TT or swiss mountains.....
These are enthusiast enjoying and connecting with each other with the passion of driving in another culture and language. That’s why I posted it, its something real and not some BS from a daydreamer about a single rich old wanker trying to relive his youth when he's outlived his own usefullness....Im just being stereotypical here........

:lol: :lol: :lol: j/k

But yeah I see your point though, I prefer mountain driving over city driving anyday of the week. The Lotus, is more a track car IMO. I met up with an elise on the mountain trying to shake me off. But on a real road with leaves, water, steep gradients and erroded parts of the road, I had the advantage and greater speed in the course. On a clean dry high speed corner he can just out run but everwhere else, you can see it struggling to keep its line on a damp mountain road, where as my four banger had greater stablility and speed.

[stracing]

actually i hear cops cheer them on from ppl who has visited jpn. but i would love to be in that parking lot.

in sydney all we get are shitty riced up bombs

[mike_sayer]

That last photograph is amazing!

I'd love to out and see that too, i mean even though i much prefer decent racing with decent cars, there is something unique about those guys out in Japan. I know street racing happens everywhere, but the cars those guys produce couldn't really be classed as your average ricer...can you imagine an essex boy in one of those? All we have over here is Novas and the like, at least those guys do it a little more seriously.

[raphaelws]

amazing city pic 8)

[oantob]

great pics man, thanks for sharing... I really like the street race at Tokyo, especially at wangan street, there are some mean cars you could find there :twisted: