For my final weekend visiting Japan, I made my way up to Utsunomiya by bullet train for the Super GT round at Motegi. The rail line is run by JR East who offer the best carriages for the bullet train; Gran Class. Big, comfy seats with plenty of space and included food service if you travel far enough. It isn’t cheap, but the price for my short 50 minute journey was reasonable enough to have the experience.

Visiting Japan – Rental Car

I then picked up my second rental car – a Honda N-WGN. Not the latest generation, but it still came with a reversing camera (of dubious quality) and a peppy little 660cc engine. The N-WGN is a kei car, which means it’s limited in engine size, power and dimensions. However, it benefits from lower cost and taxes. The boot is a bit small, but the internal room is well-used and laid out. The gearbox is designed for city use which the car is intended for. So it felt much more suited to the Japanese speed limits than the Mazda 3. The journey to Motegi was almost all 50kph (30mph) roads. Apart from one small section where I was limited to 40kph. It was efficient and comfortable enough for the weekend, with its own charm thanks to the tiny engine.

Visiting Japan – Accommodation

My chosen accommodation while visiting Japan was R9 The Yard. A hotel where each room is a converted shipping container with a full bathroom, television, fridge/freezer, desk and chair. They’re able to moved and converted as required to assist with disaster relief, whilst also providing a quirky hotel option.

Visiting Japan – Motegi

And now for what was arguably the main reason for my trip – Super GT at Motegi! Japan’s top national sportscar series sees GT500 and GT300 vehicles in multi-class events across eight races throughout the country. GT500 cars factory-made by Honda, Nissan and Toyota, with single turbo, 2L 4 cylinder engines producing over 650hp and lots of aero; extremely fast! The GT300 class is mostly GT3-spec machines with a few others thrown in. It’s a recipe for exciting racing with plenty of bold moves, overtaking and a very high level of competition.

Saturday is practice and qualifying day, but with the almost constant heavy rain forecast (and there on the day!). I made sure to make my morning plan a visit to Honda’s Collection Hall. Here is a huge range of Honda road and race cars and bikes. Providing a comprehensive history of the brand and covering key models and points over the years. It’s a very large collection overall several floors, including their other motorised offerings. A highlight for me was the Le Mans Honda NSX and Mugen GT500.

Some strange lighting choices meant that some photos didn’t come out as well as I was hoping. A small amount of noise is visible in the images. The museum was a welcome break from the rain though, but many others had decided the same and it was very busy.

Super GT at Motegi

After having a quick look around the stands and purchasing a poncho (for better rain protection) and some yakisoba for lunch (fried noodles – very tasty!). I made my way to the grandstand at the end of the lap. The grandstand is opposite the appropriately named Victory Corner.

My seat gave me a good view as the cars emerged from under the bridge where the oval passes overhead. Just left of centre to my seat was the start of the fencing down to the first corner. Additionally, past the end of the start/finish straight is the oval, so you need to walk all the way around the outside to see the circuit again.

Needless to say, the heavy rain meant I was soaked by the time I left. After a couple of red flags for stranded cars in the first GT300 qualifying session I made the decision to head back to my hotel via the outside of the oval. Had I known it was a view of nothing, I’d have walked backwards around the track instead… But the heater on max in the N-WGN meant I dried out fairly quickly. Thankfully it was almost 20c so not cold at all, just extremely humid!

Visiting Japan – Super GT at Motegi – Race Day

A sunny day arrived with no rain forecast at all, but this meant I discovered a flaw with Motegi; access. Public vehicles were all being sent to the North Gate along the single lane each side 50kph road. About 10km away from the track, I hit very slow stop/start traffic. After an hour of queueing, I diverted off for a comfort break at a 7-11 and to grab some lunch ahead of time. A quick check of the map later and a route was found along the side roads to cut through most of the traffic. This route took me to just 1.5km from the entrance amongst only a handful of cars looking for alternative routes.

I was placed in the same car park as the Saturday, but slightly further around the track. Up another long set of stairs, I headed around to the banking above the exit of Hairpin. I set my stool down and saw that others had already placed chairs down. Japan is a country where I could have left it there all day and come back to it in the exact same place. I took the chance to grab some lunch then checked my camera settings and tuned in the shutter speed and ISO. 

Super GT at Motegi

As the cars set off for a couple of warm up laps, the safety car was proceeded by a now traditional parade of Police bikes and cars. Including a Subaru Impreza and an superb Honda NSX! The race then started with the GT500 and GT300 split as they set off for 300km of close, fast racing. Hairpin provided a great spot to watch the overtaking and battling in the early laps. It wasn’t too long before the GT500s arrived to start lapping, with the speed differential on show as they powered down to the next corner.

Motegi – Victory Corner

As I took more photos I made my way around to the grandstand at Victory Corner. I took a few shots from along the top of the banking. There’s a view back through the fence with a zoom lens from 90° Corner (another self-described name), looking back up the straight. A 300mm or longer here would provide an interesting angle for head-on shots at this popular overtaking place.

The grandstand had a few more spectators in it today, but there was still room to use the camera as on the Saturday. The big screen gave a good view of the action elsewhere, but I was focused on Victory Corner and the corners leading to it from under the bridge at 90° Corner. The dry weather meant no spray coming off the cars, but it was a better experience as a spectator.

Super GT – Post Race

After the race, an orderly queue formed and everyone with a general entrance ticket was allowed onto the track. The podium took place by the start/finish line and the cars were lined up down the grid. A barrier was up, but there was ample time to work my way along the crowd and take some pictures. The whole of the West Circuit was also available to walk around.

As a photographer, the track provides plenty of excellent opportunities, if a little bit distanced. There’s a large portion of the circuit where you’re raised up on the banking compared to the track itself. This is great as you can see a lot of the circuit from most locations. Zoom lenses are a requirement to get any close shots, 200-300mm would be suitable. You could go longer for different angles depending on where you are, as the ‘back straight’ provides a decent view of the whole circuit. 

Although Motegi isn’t a top tier track like Fuji, the facilities at the track are well organised and laid out. There are several places I’d go to on a return visit and make sure to have some zoom lenses with me. It isn’t known like Suzuka or Fuji, but is worth planning into an itinerary if there’s any car or motorbike racing on.

Bullet Train

I then had a comfy return to Tokyo by Gran Class bullet train. I journed across the city to my final night’s hotel adjacent to Haneda Airport. A quick stop was made at Shibuya to see the famous crossing. A rooftop setting as the sun set with teppanyaki wagyu for dinner was a great way to sign off the holiday. A return is planned for 2026, with other tracks like Suzuka on the list and different parts of the country to visit. 

All photos were taken on a Nikon D780 with a 24-120mm Nikkor lens and a Sony Xperia 10 IV phone.