After almost a year of non-stop grafting, it only felt right that we took a little break. As one of the brands we run happen to be an automotive content website (the one you are now reading this on), it also only felt right that whatever break we decide to embark on should have an automotive flavour.
It had to be in a country dripping with automotive heritage – we wanted to sample some of the local car culture, whilst then also driving through some properly scenic roads. It also couldn’t be too far from Singapore, as we only had a small window to travel in – wasting precious hours in the air wasn’t an appealing thought to either of us.
As such, we settled on Japan. And as an added bonus, our intended travel dates overlap with the 2025 iteration of the Tokyo Mobility Show. A great way to kill two birds with one stone then.
A MINI? As a Road Trip Car for Two?
There’s actually a lot more space in a MINI than you’d expect. Sure, some creative Jenga-ing was required, but we managed to squeeze two full-sized suitcases into the car with space to spare. One of the suitcases was stuffed in the boot, with the other finding its way onto one half of the rear bench.
The combustion MINI Cooper S Cabrio (F67 in MINI speak) was also ideal as a road trip car for another reason. It isn’t as thirsty as its JCW sibling (we drove the SG Press Unit here), and has significantly more poke than the base Cooper C. So then, it should be able to tackle all of the 1,000+ kilometres we needed the car to cover.
Tokyo Mobility Show 2025
When you are in Japan during the Mobility Show week, it’d be rude to not pay it a visit. Having already covered the Tokyo Auto Salon in years prior, we expected the JMS to be a blend of what you’d experience at a dedicated new vehicle auto show, with your usual Japanese tuning quirkiness sprinkled in.
Which actually isn’t too far off what we experienced at the show itself. Afterall, it is primarily a new car show. New launches aside, there were concept cars, as well as technological and classic car showcases, with car meets and Formula Drift Japan demonstrations outside the event halls.
If you are a casual eventgoer, budget about a full day of your itinerary for this!
Street Karting in Tokyo
MINIs are well known for being great handling cars. So much so that they’ve had a reputation for being road-legal go karts. What better way to honour our loan car than to actually drive road-legal go karts on Tokyo’s streets?
We chose a vendor that brought us around Tokyo Bay and up the iconic Rainbow Bridge. These “karts” have moped engines, which actually spew a good amount of smoke when you are really on gas. It is a novel experience for sure, but there wasn’t anything particularly mind blowing about the drive itself.
That isn’t to say we didn’t have our fun. The views are spectacular for sure, but it isn’t something we’d actively seek to do again the next time we find ourselves in Tokyo!
Suzuka Circuit Park
The attractions here are clearly geared towards children. The only things that’d appeal to adults are attractions like Circuit Attacker and Kart Attacker, both of which requires you to book in advance. Something we wished we had paid closer attention to.
We ended up on trying out their Rocky Coaster, which is a roller coaster, and Duel GP, a ride in which you have to “drift” your vehicle through the course to give you speed boosts. As F1 fanatics, the Honda Racing Museum was also an eye-opener for us, with multiple legendary Honda-powered Formula One machines on display.
You may want to consider doing this as a daytrip from Nagoya. There’s little to do in the area after dark, and visibility is best described as “poor”.
Hakone Turnpike
Steeped in automotive lore, the Hakone Turnpike has been made famous by urban legends, having served as the backdrop for the now-iconic Initial D series. This 14-kilometre stretch of tarmac is a privately-owned toll road, which means road laws technically don’t apply.
Still, despite manufacturers occasionally using the roads to test their latest offerings, locals don’t actual drive like utter maniacs through the Turnpike. Sure, there’s a nice flow to the road, and it definitely feels good to check this one off the petrolhead bucket list.
But the scenery on Hakone Turnpike really isn’t as good as the surrounding mountain passes, and there’s really not much to do aside from drive from one end to the other.
Umihotaru PA
We actually came across Umihotaru PA purely by chance. Initially this was supposed to be our dinner spot for the night, after spending the evening at Daikoku PA soaking up all of the car culture. However, Daikoku was actually shut on the evening that we were there.
We followed several locals, who were all bound for Umihotaru PA. This rest stop had multiple levels, as well as F&B outlets and even a lookout point. The car culture here was still excellent – we have never seen that many R34s of any specification in one place at one time.
The locals were still every bit as enthusiastic when leaving the PA, and you’ll hear internal combustion happening as the soundwaves ricochet off the flyover structure and the PA itself. Side note – this PA is in the middle of the sea, so do bring the appropriate winter wear should you travel there in late Autumn or Winter.
There Are More Stories To Tell!
We still have many untold tales from our MINI trip to Japan – stay tuned as there’s a lot more to come!
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