SODO Moto is spending more time in Japan in 2025. We’ll share more on our Garage Hakone project when the time is right, but the question, ‘what to do in Japan’ comes up somewhat regularly. Here are some auto and motorcycle related resources that may help you plan a Japan trip beyond the regular Tokyo / Osaka / Kyoto circuit.
While trains can get you out of the normal tourist destination, it’s easy to rent a car and it’ll open options for more unique travel experience. Drive the roads north of Gunma. Explore rural Saitama. Make a lap of Mt. Fuji. Get out to Fukushima or beyond. Spend a couple days on the Izu Peninsula on the Skyline roads and taking in the sights, beaches, onsen and etc.
Japan has a lot to offer the auto enthusiast and motorcyclists. Please take a look at the info below and let me know if you find this helpful.
Tokyo / Kansai – Auto Lifestyle
- Le Garage – “…full of a variety of items that’ll make your car more fun than ever. From genuine racing goods used in the car racing, GRIOT’S GARAGE’s quality car-wash items, tools, car accessories and antiques from Europe, the shop is sure to satisfy car enthusiasts”.
- Crank Tokyo – “…car and lifestyle shop that CRANK offers carefully selected car goods, drivers’ goods, furniture and lighting that fits your garage from around the world.”
- PIT Autobacs – Maybe there is something here for you – downtown Tokyo near Tokyo Bay
- The Momentum by Porsche – restaurant / cafe – Minato, Tokyo
- Hypercar / Exotics
- Bingo Sports – small showroom with exceptional vehicles – Akasaka, Tokyo.
- Cornes Motors Ltd – flagship store – Shinagawa, Tokyo.
- etc. – lots of options I don’t really pursue.
Car Meet Up (Tokyo area)
- Meiji Jinju Gaien – Sundays – but some specific events like Toyota Classic Car Festival the year
- T-site Daikanyama / Tsutaya Books Daikanyama – themed events every second Sunday of the month – Jalopnik article
- Daikoku PA – yes, it’s a thing
Museums
- Toyota Museums
- Fuji Motorsports Museum – Gotemba, Shizuoka
- Toyota Automobile Museum – Aichi
- Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology – Aichi
- Toyota Classic Car Festival – April 20, 2025
- Mobility Resort Motegi – much more than just a museum. Rent a car and go Motegi, Tochigi
- Honda Collection Hall – spectacular collection of cars and bikes at the famous Twin Rings Motegi circuit.
- Motegi – other activities.
- Ikaho Toy, Doll, and Car Museum – really fun museum in Gunma. Not far from Mt. Haruna from Initial-D fame. Rent a car and enjoy Gunma.
- Nissan Heritage Collection – Zama, Kanagawa
- Nissan Engine Museum – Yokohama, Kanagawa
- Isuzu Plaza – (get reservations) Fujisawa, Kanagawa
- Hino Auto Plaza – Hachioji City, Tokyo
- Shikoku Automobile Museum – Kochi, Shikoku
- Motorcar Museum of Japan – Ishikawa
- Mazda Museum – Hiroshima
Car Rentals – bring your AAA International Driving Permit
- Omoren – couple locations that take effort to reach, but nice cross-section of enthusiast cars for rent and the effort may make sense for multi-day rental.
- Porsche Drive / Rental – have not personally rented but looks like 6-hours to 10 days and pricing in the ¥60k range/day. Reach out to them!
- Fun2Drive – car tours and rentals in Hakone / Fuji
- Toyota Rent a Car
- Car Share – Times Car Rental is good for short trips from station to end destination.
- Japan Experience – Driving in Japan
Racing / Track Experience
- Race Tracks in Japan
- Fuji Speedway – Shizuoka
- Fuji Speedway Event Calendar
- Fuji Experience Driving – note, road-car rentals (Omoren) may be restricted
- Fuji Motorsports Museum
- Tsukuba – not far from Tokyo. Variety of automobile & motorcycle events – Gymkhana / DE / Motorcycle championship / etc.
- Twin Ring Motegi
- Home to Honda Collection Hall
- Moto GP Japan – Motegi
- Suzuka F1 2025 – Suzuka
- Suzuka Circuit offers lots of events through the year.
- Porsche Experience Center Tokyo – Kisarazu, Chiba
- Magarigawa Club – Boso Penninsula, Chiba – Exclusive race track and associated facilities for members. Hosts special events for auto mfg. and clubs throughout the year. Check out Bososai 2025
Skyline roads / Turnpike
- Hakone Turnpike – connecting Odawara and Yugawara with the Izu Skyline roads.
- Hakone Skyline – good clean fun. Don’t drive too fast and watch for boar & deer.
- Ashinoko Skyline – another great road. Take your time and stop and the road-side rest-stops for a coffee and treat.
- Izu Skyline – excellent way to get out and see the Izu Peninsula with great roads and sightseeing in every direction. More info *Izu_S_here* and *Izu_S_here* and *Izu_S_here*.
- Nishiizu Skyline – nice road, but access takes some effort and limited amenities.
- Norikura Skyline Road – highest Skyline road in Japan.
Touge / Mountain Roads – in the vicinity of Fuji / Hakone / Izu
- Japan Route 300 – nice road conencting East Fuji with lakes district
- Mikuni Pass – Yamanakako to Oyama (near Fuji Speedway). Watch out for hikers.
- Ashigara touge / Route 78 – Ashigara pass connecting Gotemba and Odawara – popular with drifting. Nice view of Fuji.
- Gotemba Hakone Line – route 401 – connecting Gotemba and Hakone Skyline – popular with drifting crown. South end of this road has a great view of Fuji at Nagao pass
- Gotemba Hakone line – Prefectural Route 736 – small road connecting Sengokuhara with Hakone Skyline nice view but single-lane in many places and hikers and bicyclists – not for high-speed driving!
- Prefectural Route 337 – rough road single-lane in places connecting Hakone Skyline (and Sengokuhara) w/ Susano, Shizuoka
- Togue Tours
- JDM4 all – driving roads
- Detecht – Best Motorcycling Roads Shizuoka
Car Tours / Driving Events (price low to high)
- Fun2Drive – car tours & rentals in Hakone / Fuji
- Round Cat Rally 2025
- Japan Driving Experience 2025
Motorcycles
- Bikers Paradise – north of Izu Skyline
- Bikers Paradise motorcycle rentals
- Rental819 – rentals
- Eagle Rider – rentals
- Japan Bike Rentals – Motorcycle rentals and guided tours
Karting (this is just a small selection)
- City Circuit – Tokyo Bay
- F Dream – Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
- Japan Car Lovers – 5 must visit karting tracks
More info
- Japan Car Lovers
- Speed Hunters – global, however interesting Japan coverage
- Dmarge – best-roads-in-japan
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Here are some resources for finding parts that will be helpful. Also worth checking out crankshaftculture: how-to-find-parts-for-jdm-vehicles/. If you still have questions, please drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do.
MegaZip
- http://megazip.net/
- helpful online parts-book
- some delay for internal-Japan order consolidation
- shipping more costly than average
Oh Kei Garage
- PNW JDM parts and information resource / Sambar specialist. Check out the tutorials and YouTube.
- https://ohkeigarage.com/
Coombs Country Auto
- General parts supplier with particularly good selection for Mitsubishi DELICA
- http://www.ccautos.ca/
Delica USA
-
Good Mitsubishi Delica info and some parts
Jesse Streeter Corporation
- JDM Tuner Parts / Yahoo buying service
- https://jessestreeter.com/
Right Drive Parts
- Large supplier but many parts not in stock / shipping delays from Japan
- http://www.rightdriveparts.com/
eBay (Sambar example)
Buyee – Japan
- https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction
- access to auctions.Yahoo.co.jp auctions and more
- good option if you plan to buy from Japan regularly.
JP-CarParts
- http://JP-CarParts.com
- helpful online parts-book
Yokohama Motors
- http://yokohamamotors.net/
- quality OEM parts
- price somewhat higher than other options
- fast shipping if in-stock – otherwise delay for inner-Japan order
JDM Windshields
- JustJapaneseGlass
- Marty in Richmond, BC is a great resource. Especially for Delica owners.
Toyota Parts Cross-reference
Kei Truck Parts – USA
Proline Part LLC
Minitruck Garage
Minitrucks USA
Rocky Mountain Imports
- We’ve used them and can recommend
- quick delivery to USA
- http://www.rockymountainimports.net/
FG Procurements
- kei truck parts
- http://fgpstore.com/
Buckeye Minitrucks
- kai truck parts / manuals
- http://buckeyeminitrucks.com/
Japan Mini Truck Parts
- we’ve use them and can recommend
- Quick delivery to USA
- ebay user minitruckdotca
- http://minitruck.ca/
- http://www.japanminitruckparts.com/
- https://minitrucktalk.com/threads/need-a-part-for-your-subaru-sambar.6780/
Minitruck Talk tread on parts
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Many of our vehicles come with factory owner’s manuals in Japanese and there are many great resources online. For starters, use the live-camera option within the translate.google.com application for real-time translation.
Forums
Parts Books
Megazip.net OEM Parts Catalogue
Service Manuals
Suzuki Carry – service manual
Honda – factory manuals FREE (Japanese) ex. 1992 Acty
– Honda Car (choose_your_model)
– Honda Motorcycle (choose_your_model)
SuperMinitrucks Service Manuals
English Service Manuals for most mini-trucks by James Danko. Buy it.
Mitsubishi Minicab (Mighty Mits)
Yes, our vehicles are imported under the Federal rules that exempt vehicles over 25 years permitting free entry into the USA. There are similar EPA exemptions for vehicles over 21 years old. Most states place no restrictions on these older vehicles and our vehicles are licensed and street-legal in Washington state.
Some states have restricted mini-trucks due to the legal importation of speed-restricted Kei trucks having been imported as off-road vehicles. In order to minimize the discrepancy between Federal rules for these <25 year old vehicles and their own state laws, they have restricted licensing for mini-trucks,
If out-of-state, please contact your local DOL regarding any legal restrictions. Here is a good write-up on Grey Market import licensing from Illinois Secretary of State.
It will seem strange for the first few minutes, but you’ll get used to it quickly :]
The turn-signal and windshield wiper stalks are reversed – so you may find yourself activating the wipers for a right-hand turn until you’re used to it.
The only downside we found is that it tends to attract a lot of attention. Be prepared to field a lot of questions from passersby :]
That and parking garages with ticket-booths.
Because our cars are 25 years or older, they don’t have to be tested for emissions in Washington and most other states. If you’re from out-of-state, be sure to check with your local DOL.
We have found that most insurance companies will insure these vehicles but it’s generalyl best to reach out to a local agent or call in and as for an underwriter to help with the quote.
Collector car and pleasure use rates at Hagerty are very reasonable and have the benefit of being for an agreed-value. If you store in a garage, check out their competitive rates.
While we don’t offer in-house financing, many customers finance through their credit union or Lightstream.com . We are happy to supply information required to make the financing process quick and simple.
