Drive Japan: The Forza Horizon 6 Road Trip
A 12-day driving route across Japan's car-culture hits and mountain roads.
OlaChill 實地測試
🗓 Day by day
Arrival & Shibuya warm-up
Land at Haneda or Narita and get into central Tokyo without trying to win the day on hour one. Drop bags, take a short Shibuya loop, get one good city view if the weather is clear, then keep dinner easy: ramen, konbini snacks, or whatever is close to the hotel. The point is to arrive, get the first bit of neon, and sleep.
Aoyama & Tokyo Tower
Start quietly at Meiji Jingu, then walk into Omotesando for architecture, coffee and a little car-window fantasy without the car yet. If the season is right, loop through the ginkgo trees around Meiji Jingu Gaien. Later, aim for Tokyo Tower and Zojoji for the classic silhouette, with Andaz as the optional last drink if everyone still has energy.
Karts & Daikoku
Keep the day built around three beats: a goofy street-kart warm-up, a few hours of Akihabara wandering, then the guided JDM ride to Daikoku PA. Do the shopping lightly, eat before the tour, and leave the night flexible. Daikoku is at its best when you treat it as a scene you are visiting, not a show that owes you a performance.
Yokohama cooldown
Treat Yokohama as the morning-after cooldown from the Daikoku night, not a second car-meet day. Come down from Tokyo and use the harbor like a low-speed cruise: Minato Mirai, Landmark Tower if the sky is clear, Cup Noodles Museum if the weather turns, Chinatown for lunch, then Red Brick Warehouse and Yamashita Park near sunset. Keep the walking light and the pace loose. Tomorrow the road points toward Hakone, so this is the reset lap.
Hakone Turnpike
Odakyu Romancecar or rental car to Hakone (~90 min). Ryokan check-in or bag forwarding from Hakone-Yumoto, lunch on soba or rainbow trout. Afternoon: full-length Hakone Turnpike - 15.8 km climbing 1,000 metres with Fuji and Sagami Bay panoramas, with photo stops at the Daikanzan lookout. Owakudani sulfuric valley for the kuro-tamago black eggs. Back to the ryokan for first onsen soak, kaiseki dinner, and a second soak before sleep.
Fuji Speedway
Drive 45 minutes through Gotemba to Fuji Speedway. Morning safety briefing, parade lap behind a pace car, lunch at the circuit, then your main track session in the afternoon. Optional Toyota Automobile Museum and paddock walk afterwards. Stop at Lake Yamanaka on the way back for the postcard Fuji shot. Return to the ryokan for onsen and a final Hakone kaiseki. Initial D fans variant: swap this day for Fun2Drive's 5-hour 'Ultimate Hakone' JDM rental day covering Hakone Skyline, Tsubaki Line, Ashinoko Skyline, and the Turnpike.
Fuji Five Lakes
Make this a slow scenic driving loop rather than a hiking day. Leave Hakone after breakfast, roll into the Fuji Five Lakes region, and use the car to chase the clearest view: Arakurayama Sengen Park if the mountain is out, Lake Kawaguchi for the reflection shot, and a simple hoto noodle dinner nearby. If you are staying near Fuji Speedway, the hotel museum and paddock views are a bonus. Keep the day calm; tomorrow is the long run to Nikko.
Nikko temple town
Leave the Fuji Five Lakes after breakfast and make this the longest transfer of the trip. Break it with coffee, service-area snacks and a proper lunch before reaching Nikko. Spend the afternoon at Toshogu, Shinkyo and Rinno-ji, then close with Kanmangafuchi if there is still daylight. Dinner at a ryokan in Nikko town.
Irohazaka loop
This is a driving day first. Climb Irohazaka's one-way uphill road, take the Akechidaira ropeway if the weather is clear, then cruise around Lake Chuzenji for lunch and photos. Kegon Falls is the obvious pullout; Senjogahara is the optional leg-stretch if the group still wants quiet air. Come back down the separate one-way descent, or detour to Nikko Yumoto for a sulphur soak before dinner in town.
Urabandai road day
Drive north from Nikko and let the miles do the work. Stop at Lake Inawashiro for lunch or fuel, then follow the quieter roads into Urabandai. Treat Goshikinuma as a color stop if you want one: park, look at the ponds, stretch your legs, then get back in the car. Aim for a late Lake Hibara loop before dinner.
A 12-day driving route across Japan's car-culture hits and mountain roads.