This past October I was lucky enough to travel back to Japan. The trip was to serve two purposes; first, to visit my good friend and Japanese contact Keizo, and second, for a little much needed vacation.

Traveling to Japan is never really a vacation for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love it there, but I am running around from the time I land to the time I leave. There is a lot to see and do, especially if you are into the tuner market, and if you have a contact out there to show and introduce you around, there’s never a dull moment.

Before my trip I was looking around the internet to see if anything big was going on while I was out there. Two events caught my attention, the Super GT Round 8 race, and the Tokyo Auto Show. I was lucky enough to go to both, thanks again to Keizo!

The Super GT race was at Autpolis Circuit, which is nowhere near Tokyo. After a 6 hour Shinkansen ride south, followed by a 1.5 hour long local train ride, and finally an hour long bus ride through the mountains, I arrived at Autopolis!

Keizo and his family gave me the ticket as a gift, and generously gave me the ticket that included the paddock pass, and pit walk. The following are pictures from the paddock and pit area… race photos will be posted soon.

Story & Photos by Zack Tscharanyan