Renting GTRs in Japan! | Daikoku PA Meet & Hakone Turnpike Thrills 🇯🇵🔥

Renting GTRs in Japan! | Daikoku PA Meet & Hakone Turnpike Thrills 🇯🇵🔥

Welcome to the world of JDM. From the streets of Tokyo to the mountain passes around Mount Fuji, Japan’s car culture has captivated car enthusiasts worldwide, and we’re going to take you to the heart of it all. First, we’ll be driving a Nismo R35 GT-R to the world famous Daikoku parking area. Then we leave the city for Hakone Turnpike in a beautiful Bayside blue R34 GTR. And we’re going to show you how to do all of it. [Music] All right, first things first. So, you want to drive in Japan. Let me get you some tips to get you started. Number one, before leaving, you need to get your international driver’s permit. A regular driver’s license is not good enough. It’s about a h 100 bucks. You can get this at any insurance agency and you must pick it up in your home country before you arrive in Japan. Number two, cars are right-hand drive and they drive on the leftand side of the road. Now, if you’re not used to it, this can be a bit strange and a bit scary. So, take your time, get acclimated, and be cautious at first. Finally, book your car or car tour well in advance. The most popular cars get booked months ahead of time. Avoid disappointment. Book your car as early as possible. We booked our car with Ichoku Tours in Shabuya where we got to cruise to the legendary Daikoku parking area with iconic stops along the way. For those of you that don’t know, Daikoku is where car enthusiasts meet nightly to show off their cars. Their fleet is growing and they have a large selection of cars to choose from. And the cool thing is we’re rolling in the streets of Tokyo in a convoy of iconic Japanese cars. I like the white one. When we get there, check-in is a breeze. We fill out some forms, do a walk around the car for any pre-existing damage, and get the cars lined up for the convoy. [Music] We chose the white GTR cuz it reminded me of Brian’s GTR from Too Fast, Too Furious. [Music] Are you excited to drive the GTR FS? Yeah. Yeah, I am. Little scary though driving a like a car in Japan like this. [Music] After the nerves have settled, we’re ready to go. First stop, we’re going into the heart of Shabuya and the world famous Shabuya crossing. We’re going to open it up, see what these cars can do, have a little fun, and do a little drifting. [Music] Just kidding. We didn’t do that. Are you insane? Nah, we parked along the street near the busiest intersection in the world. We just hung out, took some pictures. We’re only there for about 15 minutes, but it was really chill and a really cool experience. [Music] After leaving Shabuya, we hit the streets of Tokyo on the way to Daikoku. Driving over Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo Expressway was surreal. It was just like playing Gran Turismo on my PlayStation 5. [Applause] After about an hour of driving, we finally arrive at Daikoku parking area. [Music] [Applause] Daikoku is renowned as one of the world’s most famous car meets, but due to social media, it’s recently exploded in popularity with people around the world coming to check it out. Unfortunately, because of this, there’s a heavy police presence and they shut things down pretty early. We’re only there for about an hour, maybe till about 8:00 p.m. before they finally kicked us out. [Applause] [Music] That’s the cop shutting this down. [Music] [Applause] It’s your car. It’s a 10-second car. Samantha takes the wheel as we leave Daikoku for the next stop. It was a bit disappointing that we didn’t get to spend much time here, but as we left, we’re treated to fireworks that illuminate the Tokyo sky. This is so cool. Yeah. Amazing. Now, I got to say with Samantha driving, she likes to go a little fast. Bored. It’s a Lambo. Well, she decides it’s a good idea for us to catch this Lambo. [Applause] The speed hits a little different when you’re in the passenger seat. She got me yelling like Arnold Schwarzenegger from one of his old movies. After some spirited driving from Samantha, we arrive at our next meet. Umiotaru parking area. This being a parking garage, it kind of gives me Tokyo Drift vibes. But I was wondering one thing. Where’s the loud music? Where’s the DJ? Where’s the party at? Alas, Hollywood has tricked us once again. Even without all those bells and whistles, it was awesome seeing all these JDM cars. Back home, you’d rarely see an R34, but here there’s at least five of them. Just like ours back. As the night draws to a close, we hit the streets of Tokyo once again for one final stop. GTR Centipede. [Music] We then see our destination in the horizon, an illuminated Tokyo Tower. [Music] [Music] There’s an electric buzz in the air when we arrive. We just parked, took another pic with Tokyo Tower in the background and just soaked it all in. [Music] That’s the end of the tour. And the last thing to do is return the cars back to the garage. Now, what did we think of Ichoku Tours? Driving a GTR in the streets of Tokyo is an awesome experience. They have a wide selection of cars to choose from, and they’re getting more. The actual time spent in Daikoku varies, but don’t expect to spend much time there. Cops shut it down early. Overall, Ichoku Tours was amazing and definitely a bucket list experience. We would highly recommend it. If you’re interested, I left the link to the website in the description. If you’re looking to rent a classic JDM car, Omosiro Car rental is the place to go. Located about an hour and a half away from Shinjjuku Station, they have a huge selection to choose from. Everything from Supras, RX7s, but we had our eyes on just one thing. Look at that. The legendary R34 GT-R in Bayside blue. This car is extremely hard to rent. We only had it for one day, so we got the white R32 the following day as well. All the day’s rentals were on the board, and when they were ready for us, they had us fill out some paperwork. Now, I noticed one thing on the form. It says, “Don’t attack the past like initial D.” [Music] What? So, you mean I can’t drive like this? After signing some papers and promising we won’t rip around the corners like Takumi Fujiwara, it’s time for the inspection of the car for prior damage. Scratch. And let me tell you, these cars are in rough shape. All four wheels have scratches. Sorry. It’s okay. Many many scratches. It’s gonna happen. Not for us hopefully, but they get rented out so often, they got major wear and tear. This one wasn’t even that bad compared to the white R32 we rented the next day. It straight up had significant body damage. Oh, okay. After the inspection, we’re off to Hakone Turnpike, where the popular anime Initial D takes place. [Music] When we finally arrive at the base of the mountain passes, it’s my turn to drive one of my dream cars. So, this car has been driven hard and often. It’s rumored to have well over 300,000 km on it. While it’s not perfect, I can see why this car is so loved by the car community. It only took a few moments on this winding mountain road for me to fall in love as well. Our first stop is the Anest Iwatada Sky Lounge. This rest stop is another place where the car community gathers and shows off their cars. [Music] on clear days. This is one of the first vantage points of Mount Fuji. As we continue along, we randomly stumbled across another car meet. This one specifically for the Toyota MR2. You got the [Music] Finally, we leave the mountain pass and make our way to our final destination with gorgeous views of Mount Fuji along the way. [Music] Wow. Yeah. [Music] Our [Music] final stop is Fuji Michii, also known as Honcho Street. It runs through the center of Fuji Yoshida and connects both the city and Mount Fuji. This street has become a hot spot on social media for seeing one of Japan’s most famous icons. [Music] That ends our day with the legendary R34 GTR. So, how was our experience renting from Omosiro Rent a car? [Music] Well, they have an amazing fleet of classic JDM cars to choose from. Everything from GTRS, MK4 Supras, RX7s, all the cars you dreamed of driving as a little kid, they got you covered. You have the freedom to go wherever you want. You can cruise at your own pace, your own pleasure, without having to follow somebody from point A to point B. You really have the time to get to know the car and get a great feel for the car. Now for the negatives. The cars, they’re in rough shape. This car wasn’t too bad with all the scratches all over the body, but the white R32 we rented the next day had significant body damage. Looks like it just got into a car accident. Here is the damage of the white GTR we rented the next day. On top of that, the drive was rough. The gears were all messed up and it made shifting super difficult. So yeah, some of these cars need some TLC. The most popular cars are hard to rent out. You can book the cars 2 months out, but the day it becomes available, it almost immediately gets booked and you have to book it one day at a time. So you have to be lucky to get the car that you want. Finally, a one-day rental is not truly a one-day rental. You don’t get the car for the entire day. Essentially, you pick up the car in the morning and return it at night. This really limits where you can go if you only have the car for a few hours. So, what’s the final verdict? Would we recommend Omosurro Rent a Car? Yes. Despite its issues, Omosiro Rental Car offers something that many places can’t. the chance to drive your classic JDM dream car. Without them, we may never have gotten the chance to drive the R34 and realize just how much we love that car. In fact, we love that car so much, [Music] we bought one of our own.

We explore Japan in TWO rented Nissan GTRs. First we go on a car tour with Ichioku Tours where we head to the legendary Daikoku car meet in a Nismo R35 GTR. Then we rented a Bayside Blue R34 and explored the mountain passes of Hakone Turnpike. This video was not sponsored by either company.

Ichioku Tours: https://ichioku.net/

Omoshiro Rent a Car: https://www.omoren.com/en/

Chapters:
0:00 – 0:54 – Intro
0:55 – 1:56 – Driving Tips
1:57 – 10:57 – Ichioku Tours (Nismo R35 GTR)
10:58 – 19:35 – Omoshiro Rent a Car (R34 GTR)

#japan #daikoku #gtr #hakone #mountfuji