If you’ve ever read Speedhunters, shirtstuckedin, Noriyaro or a handful of other websites of a similar nature you’ll have no doubt seen photos from Daikoku Futo and Tatsumi Parking Areas. In essence, the ideology that drives car enthusiasts’ bonds with these places isn’t that far removed from the guys in badly modified 1.2 litre hatchbacks that you see gathering at your local Matalan car park. But of course, this is Japan, so it’s also massively different…and better.
Our night originally began at Yellow Hat in Yokohama (see my previous posts) before we moved onto the local Chinatown for some delicacies you probably won’t find at your local takeaway (side note: Jellyfish and Shark Fin Soup are surprisingly nice). After being bemused by the final dish of the banquet being nothing but egg-fried rice (apparently this is standard procedure in Asia, the more you know), we hopped back in Hidefumi-san’s DC5 and headed to Daikoku Futo.
Daikoku Futo is a man-made island that sits in Yokohama Harbour, primarily used by shipping companies for loading containers and the such like. However, it is also connected to the infamous Wangan-Line, which I’m sure will need no introduction to fans of the Japanese tuning industry. The parking area and facilities are, on paper at least, no more glamorous than the likes of Corley services on the M6 (albeit infinitely cleaner, less smelly and with a distinct lack of midlands accents) but it’s the cars that pass through this spot every night without fail that make this place so interesting.
On any given night you’re guaranteed to see some interesting machinery and, upon our arrival, it appeared we had stumbled on get-togethers for a group of R32 owners, a gang of Itasha themed Hondas and an American car club – quite a mix.
After having a walk round and taking some photos the cold soon got the better of us and we hopped back in the car to head towards Tastumi Parking Area. Equally as infamous as Daikoku, Tastumi is situated along the Wangan and is only around ten minutes from the heart of Tokyo.
The place is hugely popular mainly due to its location on the C1 loop…and I don’t think I need to explain what happens on the C1. Cars were constantly coming and going – the driver of one particularly wild Top Secret-stickered R35 GT-R reportedly arrived with a helmet on, no less. I suppose if you’re going to decimate the speed limit while trying not to lose your license, you might as well do it properly.
While it’s an ideal spot because of its convenience of being the perfect place to let your car cool down after a highway blast and grab some coffee, there are other perks too. For me at least, the incredible view was what made the place so interesting and so far removed from anything that I’m used to back in the UK. I’ve also never seen an E46 M3 rolling on Work Meisters and equipped with a Varis carbon wing in the UK either, for that matter.
An R34 GT-R in Bayside Blue rolling on BBS LMs and parked in front of some vending machines at Tatsumi PA. As far as modified car-related perceptions of Japan go, this is about as stereotypical as it gets.
We eventually called it a night – considering we’d only got to bed at 6am that morning and snuck in a couple of hours sleep we’d done pretty well to make it this far. The majority of the rest of the trip was spent taking in the more touristy aspects of Tokyo but fear not – next up is my coverage from Osaka Auto Messe which contained some of the wildest builds I’ve ever seen in my life. Stay tuned!