- 2 days ago
Inside Japan's Illegal Drifting Underworld - TOKYO DRIFT
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LifestyleTranscript
00:11We've gotten access to peek through a very secretive door, the underground Tokyo drifting
00:17scene. And yes, it does still exist. This hidden subculture has now almost reached mythological
00:26status around the world through films, anime, and video games. But as the years go by, the drifters
00:32are growing smaller and smaller in numbers. Police cracking down is forcing them further
00:37into the shadows, almost so far as to make us believe they no longer exist. But if you look
00:43far enough, they are still here. And somehow, after weeks of back and forth and a near last second
00:49cancellation, we've been given the very rare permission to join and capture an evening of
00:54drifting in the mountains. And so, welcome to the real-life hidden world of Tokyo Drift.
01:22The sun is setting in Tokyo. We've gotten unbelievable access to a world that very few have ever seen up
01:29close.
01:29Yeah, we've had to work our way through some contacts and some loops to get to get access to the
01:35world
01:36that we are currently about to enter. Let's do it. Is this us? Oh. Maybe. No, this can't be us.
01:43Hello, hi. Nice car. Thank you. Are you going to the car meet? Yeah, we're going. You with us?
01:49Oh, wait. This is our car. Oh, sick. What's up, man? I'm Thomas. This is my car. Oh, this is
01:53your car? Yeah, nice, bro. Okay, cool. Hi. Nice to meet you.
02:01We're starting our adventure at this car meet called Daikuku, which is where many of the drivers in Tokyo
02:09who have the flashier, more interesting, more unique cars go and have a gathering in this open parking lot
02:16and just get to see some epic cars. These are not the drifters that we're going to be drifting with
02:20tomorrow, but we'll get to see a little bit of the scene here.
02:28We're going in the most legit way possible.
02:35You can trust me on this. I love my car more than myself.
02:43Okay, let's begin.
02:44Holy s**t.
03:04Oh s**t. That's fast. Samir, we're safe, right?
03:08Of course, we are.
03:09Samir, how often do you go out like this?
03:11I'm going like this every night.
03:12Every night?
03:13Every night, yeah.
03:16The highways of Tokyo are the birthplace of a car culture that has spread across the world.
03:22It all begins in the late 60s. The country was experiencing an economic boom
03:26and suddenly car manufacturers like Nissan and Toyota weren't just building sensible
03:31commuter cars anymore. They were showing off.
03:35That's the era when Samir's car, the Nissan Skyline GT-R, first shows up. Light, aggressive,
03:42and fast enough to make the rest of the world actually take notice. And for the first time,
03:47everyday drivers had access to cars that felt built for more than the daily commute.
03:52By the time the 70s and 80s rolled around, that ambition spilled onto the streets. Tokyo's Shuto
03:58Expressway became the unofficial testing track for local street racers. The highway circles central
04:04Tokyo and at 2-3 in the morning, traffic nearly vanishes, leaving a huge continuous loop where
04:10you could run laps without ever hitting a stoplight. This is where underground racing clubs would reach
04:15speeds up to 300 kilometers an hour, long before most countries even imagined that was possible.
04:22This road is famous. It's called the Wangan Line. Back in the 90s, there was a club called the Midnight
04:27Club
04:27and they used to test all kind of paths like trubos, everything imaginable to obtain the highest speed.
04:34It was on this road because as you can see, it's just straight lines and tunnels so you can enjoy
04:39the sound of human journey and everything. What does this community mean for you?
04:42It's like a big family, you know, people that share the same passion and I'm glad to be part of
04:47it.
04:47Does the police ever bother you? Do you break any laws?
04:50Are you an undercover cop or like what are you? What kind of questions are these stuff on?
04:55I don't know.
04:57This place like Oku is the mecca of the comets in the world. Everybody knows about this place.
05:07We have arrived at the car meet here. We are in the celebrity car. People are pretty fascinated by
05:13our arrival here. It says a lot about how mythical your car is, Samir.
05:21We are almost just filming you. We are like hanging out with Cristiano Ronaldo right now.
05:27I wish.
05:48This is one of the more famous car meet areas. It's basically this big open parking lot where some of
05:54the
05:54owners of the more epic cars around Tokyo come to show off their cars, meet other car owners,
06:00give, I guess, car fans an opportunity to like check it out. Typically we can stay here for a bit
06:06and then cops usually show up probably in about an hour or so to shut it down.
06:10There's a lot of people taking a picture of, I'm still calling it the orange car, but it,
06:15the name is? Skyliner 34.
06:18Skyliner 34.
06:18Yeah, it's Skyliner 34.
06:26After getting our first close-up look at some of these supercars, it was time to see what they
06:31could do. So Samir invited us to join him and some of his friends from the car meet to head
06:36out onto the
06:36iconic highway to get our first real taste of the Tokyo driving scene. We are hitting the iconic Tokyo
06:44highways. Many people come here from around the world to experience this. Yeah, some people come to Japan just for
06:49this.
07:02It is a theme song of the world to experience this.
07:06First, I think I can take my turn off of this video.
07:08This is the theme song for the time of the country.
07:11Why don't you see this song?
07:15The movie is the song.
07:17What was this song?
07:18If it happened to me first time,
07:20that is going to die.
07:38Now that we've been introduced to Japan's car culture, it was time to head out of the
07:41city and into the mountains where the drifting was born.
07:51Drifting has become popular all over the world, but how did it start in Japan?
07:55Well, its origins lie with one rebellious teenager flying down the mountain passes outside
08:00of Tokyo in a banged-up economy car.
08:03While other racers would slow down on these mountain bends to avoid their car spitting
08:07out, this driver did the opposite.
08:11Sending his car into a controlled slide, a move that would have been disastrous for most,
08:16but when mastered, allowed him to maintain speed as he glided around every corner.
08:21His name was Keiichi Tsushiya, today known as the Drifting.
08:32Tsushiya managed to make it into the professional racing scene in 1977 and soon became a racing
08:38legend.
08:38Not only for taking podiums, but for outmaneuvering his opponents around corners with his unique
08:44driving style.
08:45Despite going pro, he was still drifting custom-tuned cars down mountain passes and filming them.
08:51Videos of his runs quickly spread, inspiring a generation of drifters and tuners to go out
08:56and do it themselves.
09:01It was Tsushiya's marriage of street and track racing that brought drifting into the zeitgeist
09:07with force.
09:08His driving inspired manga, anime, video games and movies.
09:12Here he is acting as a fisherman in Tokyo Drift.
09:14And this is him driving as a stunt double.
09:26And this is him driving as a stunt double.
09:35So, we are meeting up with our local contact here.
09:40He's gonna be taking us to the mountain location where tonight's activity will take place.
09:46We've almost had like a last minute cancellation because some hesitations with letting us in.
09:53So, we're gonna have to manage our axis here carefully and respectfully.
09:59And then see how much we can actually do.
10:01I was hesitant, full on hesitant in the beginning.
10:04Like, can we tell a story like this?
10:05Is it possible?
10:06Is it too extreme?
10:08Hi guys.
10:13All right.
10:15How are we feeling?
10:16Good?
10:16It's gonna be fun.
10:17Okay.
10:18All right.
10:18I'm a little bit more nervous, I think.
10:21If there's something you shouldn't do, it's like to jump into like a land and you drive to the mountain.
10:26Yeah, definitely do not do this at home if you're watching this.
10:30Yeah.
10:30As we headed out of the city, we didn't know what to expect.
10:34Only that Louis, our local fixer, had found a way into this underground drifting community.
10:39Louis was introduced to us by my friend Simon Preche, who is a great French
10:43YouTube creator and journalist who has done his own incredible story here.
10:46But now, he was bringing us with him.
10:49How did you as a French man end up having like the deepest contacts in this underground world?
10:55I met a few of those guys on like a track event first.
10:59I just like asked them to do like a video project first.
11:03They wanted to show to the world what they were doing and stuff.
11:06That's how it all started.
11:08Still feel like unreal again.
11:10And I feel so glad that they, you know, trust us and trust me because it's a really, really close
11:16world.
11:16They also want to show their skills and what they can do behind the wheel.
11:22As you can hear, Tokyo's drift scene isn't something just anyone stumble into.
11:26These guys, they meet at secret spots.
11:28They drive on the mountains roads when nobody's watching and they keep their entire culture hidden.
11:34And just like these drifters keeps their scene underground, Surfshark keeps your internet
11:38activity hidden.
11:39It encrypts everything.
11:41Your internet provider, the Wi-Fi network, and even the websites can't see what you're doing.
11:46You can also change your virtual location.
11:48I connect to a Swedish server.
11:50So even if I'm far across on the other side of the world, I can watch my favorite Swedish TV
11:54program.
11:54Plus we compare flight and hotel prices from different countries, which has saved us quite
12:00some money.
12:01So go to surfshark.com slash YesTiri or use the code YesTiri at checkout or scan this QR code
12:07and you'll get four months extra on your Surfshark plan.
12:10Now let's go back to the video and see what happens in the mountains of Tokyo at night.
12:18You've got to check first and see like if there's some guys that just really
12:21don't even want to be filmed even if we blur their faces.
12:26Okay, I think we got a green light.
12:29I'm just having nervous laughs, but I'll keep it together.
12:36Thomas, nice to meet you guys.
12:39Thank you so much for having us.
12:40Maybe today around four or five cars coming.
12:43Okay, perfect.
12:44Man, we're so grateful that we're allowed to take a peek through your world.
12:49It's the first time watching drifting.
12:52Yes, first time, yeah.
13:02He's our boss, he owns this garage.
13:06Oh, I see.
13:12How did you even start drifting?
13:14I was riding the motorbike and went to the drift spot.
13:18But at that time, I didn't know it was a drift spot.
13:21And a few cars were drifting in the street.
13:23And then, oh, I have to do this like that.
13:27Oh, wow.
13:28Because Japan is maybe a bit strict usually.
13:32Yes, so it's illegal.
13:33So we need to find a place that there is no houses around there.
13:37Yeah.
13:38And the police don't come.
13:39How worried are you about the police?
13:41I'm not much.
13:43Almost there.
13:44Yeah, that's right.
13:4490% the police don't come.
13:47Okay.
13:47Yeah.
13:48But if you want to drift in the, like, Tokyo,
13:50police come in 15 minutes.
13:52Oh, really?
13:53Yeah, we need to, like, escape from them.
13:55Have you had to do that many times?
13:57Yeah, many times.
13:58So one time, like, eight police cars chased me.
14:00So I need to, like, go, like, 240 kilos and, like, go away.
14:06Oh, okay.
14:08Now I'm a child.
14:10I have a, like, main job.
14:12Okay.
14:12I work for the office.
14:13So, like, I almost stopped drifting in the dump area.
14:17Yeah.
14:18That's, like, too risky for me.
14:19Too risky.
14:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:21We painted this stuff by ourselves.
14:25Everything is custom?
14:26Yes, yes.
14:27Like, every little piece, huh?
14:28Yeah, engine, the computer, the suspension, the wheel.
14:31Like, most of the people, the drifters, they just put it to the shop, like, our shop.
14:39Yeah.
14:39So they pay money and the shop do this stuff.
14:42Yeah.
14:42But we don't have money, so we need to do it yourself.
14:46Yeah.
14:52Yeah.
14:53I think we're into our one.
14:54Yeah, this is so far from anything I've ever experienced in my life.
15:12What happened here?
15:13He just crashed.
15:14Oh, just crashed.
15:16Just crashed.
15:16Yeah.
15:17I think it's yours.
15:18Okay.
15:19This is normal.
15:20Well.
15:21I mean, everybody tried to crash.
15:24Everyone has crashed?
15:25Yeah.
15:25Is it common?
15:26Is it normal?
15:27It is common, it is.
15:28Really?
15:28Yeah.
15:30The more we got to learn about these drivers, the clearer it became how legally risky and
15:34how physically dangerous this hobby actually was.
15:37But as the guys finished tuning up their cars, we knew we had to get our nerves in check,
15:41as the night was only just beginning.
15:43From here to the mountain, we've decided that you're going to go in one of the cars, so.
15:47And what about you?
15:49I will be right behind you.
15:57Okay.
15:57It's happening.
15:58Okay.
15:59Okay, Arigatou.
16:00Okay.
16:01Thanks, man.
16:02Thanks.
16:02Thanks.
16:03Arigatou, thank you.
16:20Okay, ladies and gentlemen, let the show begin.
16:49There is someone who, like, stopped the cars here, I don't know if it's, like, the police
16:56or who it is.
16:57Mound stand, change.
17:37we are essentially on like an abandoned mountain road here i just lost phone service and we have
17:44not seen a car in a long time and there are no street lights on this street
17:56we are inside a very hated world up here in the mountains we're basically on an abandoned mountain
18:02road we've already had to pivot locations once and at any moment like the police can come and
18:10end the party feels like being inside like the tokyo drift fast and furious movie and all these
18:15guys are inspired by those original drifters that inspired that movie you know and this is now like
18:21the younger generation guys are out doing it every drifter here is between 25 and 35 like that's an
18:28age range but they've all been doing it for 10 15 years it's not a hobby it's like their life
18:34yeah
18:34like they see it as like this is what they do and if like they can't do it they're like
18:39i don't know
18:39what else i would do like this is this is more than a passion for them what's cooking cooking what's
18:57what's what's what's happening steering shaft is something wrong something wrong
19:01yeah this is normal that something breaks and then you fix it oh yeah that's normal so even we
19:09crashed we fixed at the moment we need to go back home right so with everything here i see i
19:17see
19:17ah it's his car yeah yeah oh it's owners that's the one i was sitting in it was our our
19:22car
19:23okay it's my car always broken i hope it was not my big bum
19:28yeah yeah yeah yeah he will recover all this trouble of his technique he will he will solve
19:35the problem yeah by doing a specific technique yeah that's right um
19:44yeah the drifting has begun they're gonna take a few warm-up runs without us in the cars
19:49and then if they trust us they'll take us in the cars with them
19:55and out of nowhere having heard that there was some drifting going on another drifting team nobody
19:59knew rolled in what was meant to be a standard practice night turned into a standoff and i think
20:05it might have set everyone off
20:24this is insane
20:46this guy's trying to kill me he's like no you can stay down this side no it's totally fine
20:50never felt this kind of adrenaline like in real life before
21:00after half an hour of drifting we were finally invited to join them even though our adrenaline
21:05was already through the roof just watching the action we knew that there was no turning back now
21:10okay it's our turnout this is insane yeah i don't know how we were allowed to be here here we
21:17go bro
21:27uh ladies and gentlemen a final present reminder
21:33oh
21:34oh
21:34um
21:36Oh
22:12Fire!
22:14No tire!
22:15Oh!
22:15F***!
22:16Stop on the floor in the front.
22:17He's completely ripped through his tire.
22:19His no tire lap is in it.
22:22Straight up on the brake driver.
22:25Yeah.
22:27Yeah.
22:27Yeah.
22:28Yeah.
22:29Yeah.
22:30Yeah.
22:34Yeah.
22:36Yeah.
23:01That was insane.
23:06Well, I am ready to get out of this car.
23:09I actually need to sit down.
23:11I'm actually feeling a little unwell after that.
23:18We sat with our ears still ringing and our hearts racing,
23:22trying to take in everything we had just experienced.
23:25We had stepped into a world where passion borders on obsession.
23:28And these drivers spend every free hour and every spare dollar chasing a feeling they can't describe.
23:34Only live.
23:38What we found in Tokyo's drifting scene wasn't just danger for the sake of danger.
23:43It was a strong community bond.
23:45A group of people who came together over a shared passion that they could never get enough of.
23:50And sitting in that passenger seat, holding on to our seatbelts for our dear life, we were reminded why we
23:56travel in the first place.
23:57To meet people who care about something so deeply forces us to question what we care about.
24:03To say yes to moments that scare us a little, because those are the ones that make us feel most
24:08alive.
24:09Naturally, this was done with highly experienced professionals.
24:12And you should not try to replicate anything that you have seen in this video, as risks are not to
24:17be underestimated.
24:18But if there's something that you've been holding off on, a passion, a curiosity, a ridiculous dream you've been procrastinating,
24:25take this as your sign to go find your version of that mountain pass.
24:29Go chase the thing that makes you feel alive.