It’s simple to develop into desensitised to lots of the occasions I get to go to right here in Japan, however now and again I catch myself being utterly blown away. That is a type 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 all the time see post-event protection and need 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 evening so I may try Dori Dore the next day.
I simply so occurred to verify into the identical lodge as a one of many automobiles coming 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 means out to the venue.
Arriving at Okuibuki proper because the gates opened at 8:00am allowed me to catch a few of the automobiles unloading and coming in. It was laborious to imagine a few of these automobiles can be drifting, as many had a show-like high quality to them. I may already inform it was going to be a day of aero equipment 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 primary 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 good 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 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 automobiles 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 images. 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 automobiles made their means over to the doorway of the monitor. That is the place the occasion began to vary from a typical drift day. Lots of of spectators started to flock to the monitor’s edge, cheering on the automobiles as made a symphony of principally SR, RB and JZ goodness. This half was way more harking back to bosozoku tradition, and I used to be all for it.
As it’s with many occasions, the foundations round media entry on monitor may be fairly lenient in Japan in comparison with different international locations. This was nothing in need of that, permitting us to arrange proper within the thick of it, within the centre of the monitor.
you’ve acquired a great spot to shoot when your 35mm lens has sufficient attain to get shut motion photographs of the automobiles.
I’ve shot Negi-san and Leina-san’s twin 180SXs previously at Nikko Circuit. It was nice to see them again out once more at Okuibuki.
Dori Dore is way more about placing on a present than the driving itself. Being in Nagoya, lots of the entrants will make their means from Tokyo or Osaka to affix and drive the occasion with buddies. The gang across the monitor didn’t subside in any respect all through the day, and I attempted to seize images that spotlight the environment 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 nearly no room for error, so I wasn’t certain what to anticipate from the drivers.
After all, I used to be not upset; there was no hesitation to throw the automobiles in at ten tenths. This did nevertheless finish in a couple of 4×4 adventures, chopping touge time brief. I’m glad I managed to get down there for the primary of the runs to seize these images.
For the rest of my time at Okuibuki, I planted myself again in the midst of the multipurpose course. The gang solely continued to develop in direction of the top of the day, and there was even an announcement that the venue had reached capability.
Dori Dore Okuibuki 2023 was by far the most effective occasion I’ve been to in Japan but. The mixture of surroundings, the gang and the automobiles make it a must-do for anybody that ever finds themselves in Nagoya round Wekfest time.
Alex Pender
Instagram: noplansco
