To just about everybody, the concept of transport your automobile midway internationally for a three-week vacation would appear insane. However for a bunch of 4 Australians, that loopy mindset is precisely what landed them the journey of a lifetime in Japan.
Fortunately for me, these 4 Australians additionally occur to be my pals, so I’ve had the prospect to reside this dream vicariously via them, all while capturing a few of the finest moments to share right here.
No good journey begins with out a headache, and for Jake, it got here proper after leaving the port when his KE70 Toyota Corolla was sideswiped by a truck whereas driving to the resort. Thankfully, with just a few hours’ work and a few very useful locals with spare components, Jake was shortly again in motion and able to proceed.
Together with the KE, the group consists of Ben’s Z30 Toyota Soarer and Jake and Chris’s S13 Nissan Silvias. The automobiles are all totally different, however have one factor in widespread: they’re drift-spec all-rounders.
After just a few days spent coming to the truth they have been in Japan with their automobiles, a visit up Mt. Hakone was a bucket listing second everybody wished to examine off. Having shot quite a few native automobiles right here over time, it felt loopy to be doing it with Australian-registered automobiles that I shot in Sydney nearly two years in the past.
Not solely is Hakone residence to a few of the finest driving roads on this planet, it’s additionally proper subsequent to Mt. Fuji. It was the right place to shoot some images price displaying everybody again at residence who thought the entire concept was subsequent to unattainable.
On that be aware, you’ve in all probability obtained a bunch of questions about how one thing like that is even potential, and why anybody would even contemplate doing it within the first place. However it may be summed up fairly simply.
How? Official paperwork. The overall scheme falls beneath the Carnet de Passage settlement between international locations with a view to briefly import your automobile and use it while you’re there. These paperwork are sometimes utilized by a barely totally different aspect of the automobile fanatic world, with supercars and hypercars the most typical autos to cross continents or be shipped or flown round the globe to allow them to be pushed in several international locations. WRC rally automobiles and staff help autos additionally use the Carnet de Passage scheme.
In fact, alongside the paperwork is a complete different pile of (very costly) items to the puzzle. This contains the transport, loading and unloading, logistics, port charges and extra.
So, ‘why?’ Properly, for this Australian group, restrictions round drifting of their residence state of New South Wales (and different components of Australia too) have resulted in few alternatives to go drifting legally. Solely two drift-friendly venues stay in NSW – one costing the equal of round US$250 for a four-hour night time session (after they really occur), and the opposite a go-kart observe round 5 hours’ drive from Sydney. With limitations like that, it begins to make sense why they determined to ship their automobiles to Japan for an prolonged keep. Nikko, Sportsland Yamanashi, Ebisu and Mobara are all inside an inexpensive driving distance from Tokyo, and entry charges are comparably low.
However the principle ‘why?’ is why not? Who wouldn’t need to ship their Japanese drift automobile to drifting’s motherland? The reminiscences made on this journey are certain to final a lifetime, and for the 2 Jakes, Ben and Chris, that makes it cash effectively spent.
Our story doesn’t finish right here. We’ll choose issues again up shortly at one of many many observe days these automobiles made it to throughout their time in Japan.
Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco
