In October 2024, I finally embarked on a bucket list trip, visiting Japan. Three weeks of travel, culture, food, and plenty of cars and motorsport. I had my Nikon D780 with a 24-120mm Nikkor lens for the whole trip, with my phone for quicker snaps on the move. My first report, A motorsport enthusiast visits Japan – Part One, can be found here.

Fuji

My next stop was a four-day tour around the Fuji area with a rental car. My provided transport was a Mazda 3 with the standard Skyactiv-G engine. Driving a Mazda 3 has interested me for some time. This was a good opportunity, but it was an automatic. This was useful in some aspects and disappointing in others.

It was raining when I collected it and was soon going dark, so it was a useful test of functionality and ease of driving. This was my first proper drive in an automatic (apart from a brief test of my dad’s BMW). The lack of left foot usage wasn’t a problem. The indicator stalk is on the right in Japanese market cars, but I avoided any light flashing by mistake!

Mazda 3

The Mazda 3 was comfortable to drive, had plenty of boot space, and the in-car menu was easy to navigate. Android Auto/Google Maps worked easily without any issues. 

The rear view camera for reversing is useful, but the rear visibility at the C pillar is a bit poor. Although I’ve been used to a diesel with mid-range torque, there was a lack of any power low down in the rev range. Above 2000 revs was where it started to pick up, but this came with extra noise. No problem in the day, but when driving through the mountains and quiet Japanese villages at night, you do try to keep the disturbance to a minimum. The automatic gearbox also struggled with the low Japanese speed limits. I feel the Mazda would have been much more suited to the roads in the UK or Europe. The sequential mode improved the experience, but not by much.

Overall, it did the job and safely transported me around the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka. I can’t complain too much! 

Mount Fuji

When visiting Japan the area around Mt. Fuji is well worth exploring, with a car making accessibility and travel a breeze. There are many places to get photographs of the mountain however, it is covered in cloud most of the year. I was fortunate enough to get some pictures on my first full day in the area. It had disappeared behind the clouds by the evening, and I never saw it again. Unusually the peak was free of snow after one of their hottest summers on record. I’d also enjoyed a picturesque view with my breakfast at a traditional ryokan (inn) up in the hills. It’s an area that’s well worth exploring. 

The area also provided some surprise car spots, including an Alfa Romeo 159, Willys Jeep, Porsche 928S, two Jaguars, and an American school bus! 

Maglev Exhibition Centre

Something else speed-related in the area is the Maglev Exhibition Centre. A mock-up of a Maglev train and how it works is on display, with a window to view the track. As it happens, the day I arrived was a test day, so I could check the handy boards above to see where it was. I was able to watch two fly-bys, with the fastest at a casual 300 mph… 

Fuji Motorsports Museum

There was, of course, my trip to Fuji Speedway, for the GTR Festival and the museums/collections. The first stop was Rookie Racing and their facility, where they have a selection of Toyota race and rally cars, plus a walkway to a viewing area above their workshop floor. A GT500 Supra and their Super Formula car were being worked on when I was there. The Super Formula car was fired up and echoed extremely loudly through the building! 

Fuji Motorsports Museum itself is across three floors of a hotel just outside the entrance to the circuit. The collection travels through time from early vehicles to the modern day. A carefully curated selection including an Isotta Fraschini, round-Australia Datsun, Le Mans spec Supra, Toyota TS020, and Toyota-powered Indycars & the Eagle GTP.

Some cars are replicas, but a lot are genuine with some borrowed from other museums and collections. The museum has a replica 787B with a sensor that plays a recording of it. When triggered it can be heard wherever you are in the museum! Some of the exhibits are well lit, but others have a single spotlight, and the shadows require a few camera setting adjustments. 

Overall, it’s an excellent collection, exhibits are regularly rotated throughout the year so it’s well worth a visit. (There’s currently a special exhibition on rallying in Japan). It’s absolutely spotless and probably one of the best-maintained museums around. There’s also a small shop and café which are worth stopping at. 

Fuji Speedway

The track itself has good viewing points in the top section of the grandstands on the main straight and the paddock café. With all tracks these days there is a lot of safety fencing. The FIA Grade 1 status does show itself somewhat. Elsewhere around the track looked to be just as restrictive unless you had accreditation. My report contains a selection of photos from the GTR Festival.

Car & Cafe Piccolo

I found a gem on my way to drop off the rental car. Car & Cafe Piccolo in Nagaizumi is located just north of Mishima. It’s a European import car dealership and café all in one, with a particular focus on Italian brands. There’s a lot of theming, artwork, and models all around the café; the passion you see at European car meets is in abundance!

I then spent five days back in Tokyo after a short bullet train ride and a walk in the rain. Areas visited included Ginza, Euno, Akihabara, Sugimo, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. The Akihabara district is known for scale model shops. I made sure I added to my 1/64 collection of cars while I was there!

The weather was cloudy for most of the days with some rain, but there was some sunshine at times. There’s plenty to explore in the city, and I only scratched the surface. My hotel in Ueno had a small shrine next to it, and I found an old railway bridge that had been converted into shops and an art gallery. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku provides an excellent platform for viewing the city.

On my trip visiting Japan I used a Nikon D780 with a 24-120mm Nikkor lens and a Sony Xperia 10 IV smartphone. A Motorsport Enthusiast Visiting Japan Part 3 coming soon.