So I hired an 86 and went to see Mt Fuji.

[sir_binkalot]

FT86CLUB Homepage Featured Story


I was in Japan earlier this year, and one of my goals for my time there was to drive an 86. I've been following the car since the first internet rumours, and since I can't afford to buy one just yet I really, really wanted to drive one.

I found a couple of websites offering one to drive for a pretty good price - 10,000 yen or so. However, after shooting them an email application it seemed that they required a Japanese licence or for an applicant to hold some company position in Japan. I was about to give up on my dream, when I thought I may as well check the Toyota rentacar website to see if they had one there.

There was nothing on the English website, but by sleuthing around on google I found this one page offering you to hire either an 86 or a Prius PHV. Hmm, tough choice...
So I called up their English rentacar hotline and they let me rent one! It was 23,000 yen or so, so not the cheapest but I didn't care.

I picked it up in Yokohama later that week (you can see my brother in the back seat!):



We wanted to head for Hakone, a hot spring resort town about two hours drive along the coast then up into the mountains. Sweet.
At a service area, we found a BRZ. The owner was quite amused to see us I'm sure.



Once we headed into the mountains, a large sign saying 'TOYO Turnpike' caught my attention and the GPS's instructions were ignored. All told, I rode the turnpike 3 times that day. It was an amazing road: wide, plenty of corners and pretty deserted! Being the cold day that it was however I was a little scared of frost so I didn't push the car hard at all.

Sorry I don't have any photos of the road - I was too busy enjoying it. Here's a photo of the rest area:



At the top of the mountain, it was really really cold. Well, cold for an Australian like me anyway. I'm glad the snow wasn't on the road.



We were pretty hungry so we drove along the lake to a curry place for lunch. While I was taking a photo, a super unusual car for Japan just happened to drive past:



I wasn't a big fan of the econobox exhausts, but looking at the car from this angle I did notice the numberplate they had on the car. Cool!



The coastal town of Odawara had a cool castle:


Anyway, after lunch, we headed up another pass (seriously, I was just chasing signs that said 峠 (touge)). Upon traversing a tunnel to the other side, we were greeted by an amazing view. At this point, any regrets of spending 23,000 yen hiring the car were banished from my mind:



Wallpaper version of the image here. I can't stop drooling over it.


In summary, it was an awesome day in an awesome car. I can't wait to get one for myself! Oh, and random fact: my 190cm brother said sitting in the back for a good 4 hours that day 'wasn't too bad'!


As a finisher, when I lived in Japan for a year a few years ago, I hired a car with a little more power as a goodbye present to myself:

[zbt]

That 86 looks like an FR-S with toyota badges and clear side markers

[Spd229]

Thanks for sharing! Awesome pictures.

Also like those wheels.....

[DylanFRS]

Pretty sweet! Thanks for sharing!

Two Summers ago my fiance and I drove up Mt. Haruna (aka Mt. Akina) but it was in a Toyota Ractis, not nearly as cool as an 86. Oh well, slow driving allowed me to get pictures of the famous gutters.

[M-17]

Great story, it seemed like a good adventure and I really like this picture.

[ZetaVI]

Damn. Smexyy quality photos.

[campy]

Living in Japan with a GTR would be awesome haha

[hushypushy]

Originally Posted by zbt

That 86 looks like an FR-S with toyota badges and clear side markers

Yeah, rental spec

There are four trim levels of the 86 in Japan:

RC: Lowest, track spec. Stripped out, unpainted bumpers, steelies, etc.
G. This is the car that the OP rented. It has "FR-S" headlights, no fog lights, and a simpler all-black interior. This model has the FR-S (non-auto) climate control.
GT: Interior is similar to the FR-S (aluminum and red trim/stitching), but it has auto climate control. The outside has the familiar HID/LED headlights and foglights.
GT "Limited": Top of the range. Has the not-subtle bright interior with all the features, like heated seats.

Check it out: http://toyota.jp/86/001_p_001/grade/grade1/index.html

[Nambo]

Thanks for sharing OP, you've inspired me to do something similar
I was originally thinking of renting an 86 whilst travelling New Zealand, but Japan would be great!

Do you think it would be very difficult for to navigate through Japanese streets only relying on GPS? I've never been to Japan before, and can't speak the language.

[sir_binkalot]

Originally Posted by Nambo

Thanks for sharing OP, you've inspired me to do something similar
I was originally thinking of renting an 86 whilst travelling New Zealand, but Japan would be great!

Do you think it would be very difficult for to navigate through Japanese streets only relying on GPS? I've never been to Japan before, and can't speak the language.

No worries - I'm glad to be of help! Going to either Japan or New Zealand and driving twisty mountain roads in an 86 would be pretty fine, I think.

You should be just fine with the GPS, and pretty much all of the important street and highway signs have English text on them as well. I'd just check with the rental company if they can put the GPS in English for you first!

Originally Posted by DylanFRS

Pretty sweet! Thanks for sharing!

Two Summers ago my fiance and I drove up Mt. Haruna (aka Mt. Akina) but it was in a Toyota Ractis, not nearly as cool as an 86. Oh well, slow driving allowed me to get pictures of the famous gutters.

Ah, so Mt. Akina is really Mt. Haruna in real life? I'm watching Initial D for the first time now (how it escaped my notice for so long I'll never know) so I think a trip to Gunma next time is in order 8).

[Roen]

Yup, Haruna-san is Akina-san.

I, at one point, had marked all the routes in my Google Earth globe. Real Myogi, Real Usui, Akagi, Haruna and Irohazaka.

[Arekkz]

This is awesome! And thanks to you it's now something I might consider doing next time I go to Japan.

If I was outside Tokyo, I imagine I'd probably save quite a bit on travel as well, assuming I got decent fuel consumption.

[Giccin]

Thank you OP for resparking the inspiration in people.

It was a wonderful read and I'm really happy that you had an awesome time.

[Chef]

Thank you for sharing! I hope to do this one day and eat at Jiro's restaurant with my cousins.