It’s straightforward to grow to be desensitised to lots of the occasions I get to go to right here in Japan, however now and again I catch myself being fully blown away. That is a kind of uncommon occasions.

First let’s set the scene. Dori Dore occurs simply few occasions a yr, however solely as soon as on the iconic Okuibuki Motor Park. This yr it occurred to be the day after Wekfest Japan, which is just some hours’ drive away. I at all times see post-event protection and want I went, so whereas I used to be in Nagoya for Wekfest, I didn’t hesitate to splash out on an costly mid-Golden Week lodge room for the night time so I might take a look at Dori Dore the next day.

I simply so occurred to verify into the identical lodge as a one of many vehicles getting into the occasion, which gave me a very good style of what to anticipate. The next morning, I ran into one other entrant on the native petrol station. Anticipation was at an all-time excessive as I made my approach out to the venue.

Arriving at Okuibuki proper because the gates opened at 8:00am allowed me to catch among the vehicles unloading and coming in. It was onerous to consider a few of these vehicles could be drifting, as many had a show-like high quality to them. I might already inform it was going to be a day of aero package destruction.

Okuibuki is tucked into the picturesque mountains of Shiga Prefecture. It is a dual-purpose facility – within the winter it’s the Okuibuki Ski Resort; in the summertime the parking space transforms into the Okuibuki Motor Park. For the latter, the principle space is an open multipurpose course, however there’s additionally a touge part.

Being dropped on a mountainside creates a steep elevation change, making Okuibuki excellent for spectators and drawing greater crowds yr on yr.

Photographs like this are why I like to spend a lot time within the pits.

While I really like the drifting, my favorite a part of these occasions to shoot is the pits within the early morning. The atmosphere of the venue because the vehicles arrive and prepare for the day, while the solar nonetheless sits low sufficient to create that vibrant Japan glow, units the scene for a few of my favorite photographs. I usually discover myself hanging across the pits even all through the occasion, capturing the organised chaos.

With round 10 minutes till the drifting began, most vehicles made their approach over to the doorway of the observe. That is the place the occasion began to vary from a typical drift day. Lots of of spectators started to flock to the observe’s edge, cheering on the vehicles as made a symphony of largely SR, RB and JZ goodness. This half was rather more paying homage to bosozoku tradition, and I used to be all for it.

As it’s with many occasions, the foundations round media entry on observe could be fairly lenient in Japan in comparison with different nations. This was nothing in need of that, permitting us to arrange proper within the thick of it, within the centre of the observe.

you’ve acquired a great place to shoot when your 35mm lens has sufficient attain to get shut motion photographs of the vehicles.

I’ve shot Negi-san and Leina-san’s twin 180SXs prior to now at Nikko Circuit. It was nice to see them again out once more at Okuibuki.

Dori Dore is rather more about placing on a present than the driving itself. Being in Nagoya, lots of the entrants will make their approach from Tokyo or Osaka to hitch and drive the occasion with associates. The gang across the observe didn’t subside in any respect all through the day, and I attempted to seize photographs that spotlight the ambiance of the occasion as a lot because the driving.

After a morning of drifting on the multipurpose course, it was time for the extremely anticipated touge run on the backside of the mountain. This course has virtually no room for error, so I wasn’t certain what to anticipate from the drivers.

In fact, I used to be not dissatisfied; there was no hesitation to throw the vehicles in at ten tenths. This did nonetheless finish in a couple of 4×4 adventures, reducing touge time quick. I’m glad I managed to get down there for the primary of the runs to seize these photographs.

For the rest of my time at Okuibuki, I planted myself again in the course of the multipurpose course. The gang solely continued to develop in direction of the tip of the day, and there was even an announcement that the venue had reached capability.

Dori Dore Okuibuki 2023 was by far the perfect occasion I’ve been to in Japan but. The mix of surroundings, the group and the vehicles make it a must-do for anybody that ever finds themselves in Nagoya round Wekfest time.

Alex Pender
Instagram: noplansco