Tokyo: Daikoku JDM Car Meet & Night Car Culture Tour
Description
From legendary JDM SPORTS CARS, through JDM PERFORMANCE SEDANS, to LUXURIOUS JDM VANS, we have options for everyone to deliver an UNFORGETTABLE CAR EXPERIENCE…put your seatbelts on and enjoy! We will take you on the iconic C1 and Wangan highways, see spectacular views of Tokyo, make stops at epicenters of Japanese Car Culture the legendary Daikoku and Tatsumi plus others and see an eclectic collection of cars from classic to absolutely wild. We have the experience, the knowledge, and the absolute desire to make your memories from Japan the best that they can be. Your time is precious to us and we want to fill it to the brim with fun, passion, and excitement. Run by professionals with over 30 years of insider auto industry knowledge, and a lifetime preoccupation for cars, we know we can do that. We will share stories, history, and the current state of the industry and the car scene with you. But we also want to learn about your piece of the world and the car culture there. Let's GO!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Along the way you will pass the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower building, home to many prestigious international companies, upscale shopping, and fine dining.
On the way we will cross the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge with views that are simply divine, spectacular, awe inspiring. There are many places that you can see Tokyo at night but this one can only be seen from the car, and what a view it is! On one side you will see a spectacular city scape full of lights and on the other, equally impressive lights of Odaiba island with its amazing Fuji TV building.
While crossing the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge you will get great views of Odaiba, the man-made island home to residential buildings, shopping, and leisure activities. You will get a chance to see the unusual Fuji TV building among others.
TIME includes a 25min ride to Autobacs and 25min at the location. We will make a top at the A PIT Autobacs store. This is Autobacs' flagship store and is an absolute pleasure to browse all things car relate. In a world of online shopping, it is refreshing to see all these accessories and parts in real life. There is a thing to be said about brick & mortar stores.
TIME includes a quick 10min hop to Tatsumi and 15min rest at the place. We will take a 15min break at Tatsumi PA, a place where many car enthusiasts come for a stop while making loops on the highway or getting ready to head to, or are coming back from Daikoku PA. This is an iconic photo location from GT video game and a spawn point in Asseto Corsa.
While on our way to Daikoku along the Furukawa Line we will have fabulous views of the Tokyo Skytree, one of the tallest structures in the world.
We will pass through the Haneda Airport through tunnels under the runways. If we are lucky and the time is right then we can see airliners taxiing above us as we enter the tunnels.
Just before arriving at Daikoku PA you will get an amazing view of the Yokohama Bay Bridge and off the Yokohama skyline. Yokohama is a major cruise ship stop and you may see those also.
TIME includes a 40min, conversation filled, ride to Daikoku and a 60min stop at the location. Heading towards your final destination we will take the Wangan Hwy. This is a long straight highway connecting Tokyo and Yokohama made famous by the street racing escapades of the '90s and a manga, aptly named Wangan Midnight. Ever since then it has been the artery connecting key epicenters of Japanese Car Culture. Daikoku PA is an unassuming parking area that has been a place for nightly car gatherings for decades. You can see iconic JDM machines from stock, classic to wild time attack builds, from drift machines to Kaido Racers, and from obscure to highly popular. There is probably something for everyone there. You will also find plenty of Euro metal and American muscle. If you are lucky, you may see supercars, vintage classics, lowrider, and hot rods, you name it. All along we will immerse you in the stories behind the car culture and life in Japan.
On the way back you get a beautiful view of the Yokohama city skyline, Minatomirai area, and Yokohama Port.
One of the best views of the Tokyo city skyline is from the car when you cross the Rainbow Bridge from the Odaiba side to Tokyo....breathtaking.
Seeing the Tokyo Tower from the C1 Loop Hwy at night is an incredible experience.
TIME reflects our ride back from Daikoku to Shibuya with views of Minatomirai, Tokyo Tower, and of Tokyo from the Rainbow Bridge. On the way back to Shibuya you will have more opportunities to see the awesome night views of Yokohama and Tokyo. The crossing of the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge from the Odaiba side to Tokyo is among the most spectacular views of the Tokyo skyline. The drive back will take 45-60min with even more opportunities to take photos/videos while engaged in fun conversations about cars, the people, and life in Japan in general.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This experience visits car related places
- For groups of 4-5 please book the SMALL GROUP - Performance Van option
- We do provide a booster seat for the "car enthusiasts in training"
- Small foldable strollers can be taken, depending on the size, in the Sedan and Van option.
- For RX-7 bookings - Rear seat is best for clients that are under 170cm tall and of slim stature and from best for under 185cm.
- Provided itinerary is representative of our weekday experiences. On some days, Tatsumi or Autobacs are substituted with Umihotary and Gaienmae. All experiences visit Daikoku.
- We operate two luxury vans with a comfortable capacity of 5, and maximum capacity of 6. It may therefore be necessary to split the a group or a pair for the duration of the on-road portions of the experience.
Reviews(277)
My wife and I had THE BEST time with Michael! Easy to find meeting point, jumped straight into his super comfy Lexus and off we went. Michael told us all about car culture, and we chatted around everything car related. The stop at Diakoku was amazing, bucket list amazing! Obviously you can’t guarantee what’s gonna be there, but we saw many JDM and classic cars there, as well as a number of super cars… autobacs is a cool shop with plenty of merch and we actually bought a part for my wife’s fiat abarth there!!! Would highly recommend, with Michael driving his beautiful car, you can focus on the view and the beautiful Tokyo skylines including the Tokyo tower on the way home. Book it! You won’t be disappointed!!!!
It was worth it! We learned a lot about Tokyo and its car culture. Our driver was very accommodating and worked with our very jet-lagged family to keep us entertained and moving. The two teen boys were impressed with the different types of cars they saw at Daikoku PA. Definitely glad we did it.
If you like cars, this is the experience you want. Tons of R34/35 and Mitsubishi evo’s. Lotus, old/new supras, RX-7, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche…saw them all. Apparently they meet every night (and daytimes on Saturday/Sunday as well). Michael was great. Very comfortable skyline (13th gen—so essentially an infinity Q50) took us all around town. Solid 4 hour adventure with terrific, English speaking guide. Highly recommend.
Michael was great. Understood the car culture and shared great stories! Had a fantastic time touring Tokyo.
We really enjoyed the JDM Tour with Michael. We were totally floored by the number of amazing cars in the Daikaku parking area - we just kept walking and looking, and circling back to look again. This is a completely unique tour for people who enjoy cars...you don't have to be a die-hard car lover or even know that much about them. I was skeptical when we arrived at the Autobacs store, and thought "I hope this isn't as good as it gets"...and it definitely got better!! The Daikaku parking area alone was worth the long drive from Shibuya, and the sights and stops along the way were nice, too.
Rikki brought us to the most urban and most different part of Tokyo. As a running fan, I was amazed by Daikoku and the other places in the car world. This tour was worth it and I highly recommend it
Fun tour. Would have liked to learned more about the cars - I think assumption is you already know a lot if on tour. You walk around once you get there but self guided. Great way to see Tokyo at night.
Yesterday we went to see cars at 2 places, Daikoku and Tatsumi in Tokyo, where we learned about JDM culture, in other words, Fast and Furious cars. They picked us up on time and with good prior communication via chat. The reservation indicated a time but on the recommendation of the local staff we went earlier. We learned that these cars are specifically produced and sold in Japan, JDM means Japanese Domestic Market, if they are cars made for Japan. We had a good time and he took us back to our hotel.
The tour leader arranged for pickup and drop off at our hotel. A major bonus for us simplifying the logistics. We also had adequate shopping at a car emporium
Booked this for Dad, Uncle, and 13-yo son. Driver picked them up in Lexus LS. They drove briskly but safely 45 mins outside the city to a meetup area. He was very engaging and spoke excellent English. He was knowledgeable about the cars and the area. He then took us to another smaller meetup area and spent some time there. Finally, we went to a car enthusiasts store where there was an opportunity to purchase some things. Overall, it was a good experience but was overpriced ($196/pp) for what it was.
