if you follow my instagram i mentioned 2 weeks ago today that i would be residing in japan over the next few months to come to somewhat of a conclusion if this is the country for me to live in full-time or not. with Australian residents we’re granted access to a working holiday visa which initially allows you 6 months in japan which can be renewed 3 times, totalling 1 and a half years. 

2 weeks later and i am somewhat grounded and straight back into my daily routines. the past 1.5 weeks have been spent up north in the tokyo region traveling and shooting as much as possible. this time of the year in japan is usually flourishing with car events and practice days at many circuits on the weekends along with week days too. i traveled as far north as fukushima to link circuit, utsunomiya for nikko circuit and sports land yamanashi in yamanashi prefecture which is located somewhat behind mt fuji. in-between events i have just been enjoying driving around with andrew date in his blue 180SX and this little S14 i picked up to drive for a few weeks to then be sold to a fellow Australian too moving over to japan late next month.

for now im awaiting a few more things to arrive from home and i’ll be able to get into some more editing and frequent blog posts (hopefully once a week). firstly will be my coverage and vision from D1GP last weekend in odaiba. casey xxx

the newest product to be added to the DRIVING FORCE range – full carbon bucket racing seats produced by SHIRTSTUCKEDIN. these are now available for pre-order and the first 25 sold will also receive a free SHIRTSTUCKEDIN full nylon, waterproof bomber jacket at your preferred size & a pair of side bolster cushions to protect your seat from wear. 3 different colors to choose from – black, blue and red all weighing in at at a very lightweight 5.1KG – 11.2LBS thanks to the carbon kevlar backing. all seats come with brand new hardware (allen key head bolts and washers) ready to bolted straight onto your desired side mount rail. to shop please visit the online store – www.store.shirtstuckedin.com

For more updates on car racing and other related subjects, visit GrandPrixTimes. They publish articles about updates on the Grand Prix and Formula One world.

PS: we are only a few short weeks away from our newest collection plus a large re-stock of inventory to be online and available for purchase very shortly – to follow more frequent updates feel free to follow our INSTAGRAM 

cool pair in ecopa, shizuoka – SR all stars meeting 2018 x

SHIRTSTUCKEDIN Driving Force full racing bucket seats available for pre-order. SUNDAY 17th 9PM PST / MONDAY 18th 2PM AEST. have fun along the way xxx

suzuka twin circuit hitomiGO practice day. enjoy 11 minutes of uncut raw footage. can’t wait to drive this car again x

shirtstuckedin meeting, daikoku parking area late 2018 x

三重県にカムカム旧車フェスタのトヨタ。フィルムで x

Following off my last blog post on the first day of driving the new S13 in Motorland Mikawa. Onwards from that Keisuke and myself were tossing up a few other circuits on the outer regions of Kansai to pick and drive. It was a decision between Bihoku Highland in Okayama Prefecture or Tokushima Kart Land in Tokushima Prefecture.

With stupid loud cars it was quickly decided to drive TKL over Bihoku due to their noise restrictions. Not to mention almost every single day of the week and year TKL is open for フリー走 which basically means free practice/running.

With another afternoon & almost all-nighter of preparation and over-looking on the cars we left Izumiotsu area super early after an hour or so of sleep and headed towards Tokushima. The showed route on google-maps said between 3-3.5 hours pending traffic which can easily make a simple-straight forward trip turn for the worst in Japan.

For the very few times I have been to Tokushima I have always thoroughly enjoyed for a few reasons. Wrapping around Osaka City, through Kobe and towards one of the longest and strongest suspension bridges in the world – Akashi-Kaikyo which links off the main island of Japan Honshu to Iwaya on the small, beautiful Awaji Island. Driving over it you receive panoramic views looking down towards Okayama on your right and Osaka on your left. The only thing that is a little depressing about this little stretch of road is the price you pay in tolls to go on the bridge however it’s an amazing experience in itself.

Directly after you’ll reach a parking area on the left called Awaji Service Area which gives you some spectacular views looking back towards Honshu and Kobe City. We stopped here to stretch our legs and grab some horrid-tasting Japanese black coffee and a cigarette.

As expected there were a few cars that rolled in just after we pulled up so fired off a few shots of this beautiful R31 Skyline on Hayashi Streets and XR-4s.

I once again rented a truck to bring my car. With a drive of 3-4 hours it’s always nice peace of mind having a truck in the group just incase anything goes wrong. Keisuke however decided to once again drive his street registered S15 closely behind.

Awaji Service Area is definitely a large parking area that is always beyond busy. Huge ferris wheel and plenty of souvenir shops.

After a 20 minute break enjoying the view and grabbing breakfast it was time to keep pushing on the Kobe-Awaji Expressway towards Tokushima. I enjoy this photo of all the cars ready for a fun day of driving.

A couple hours of driving, merging into one-lane highways, getting lost and getting stuck behind old Kei-Car drivers constantly we made it to Tokushima Kart Land. This circuit along with many others in Japan is really in the middle of nowhere and has an extremely interesting, tight and technical entrance especially in a truck.

I remember many years ago before I really ever came to Japan or knew where certrain places were or circuits consisted of this course has always stuck in my mind as a place to not only shoot but to drive. The gallery corner view. Looking straight down onto the circuit with a wide hairpin and a tiny palm tree planted in the middle. This wasn’t the first time I had been to TKL but usually with seeing courses for the first time in Japan it’s always so much more dramatic to see how steep and or tight the landscape really is.

If I remember correctly this course has been year around 40-42 years. I had a brief conversation with the owner sitting in the office and believe he has been there since day dot so there is definitely some old buildings, stickers and memorabilia around if you keep your eyes peeled. This is the little drivers meeting / briefing office painted in a contrasting pink offsetting the green hills pasted in the background.

The few cars we saw at Awaji Service Area on the way just so happened to be driving this free practice day also. It was basically 4 other cars plus Keisuke and I and drive as you wish. 8am-5PM for 4,000¥. You also have the option to start drifting again from 6PM-10PM for an extra 2,500¥. I know plenty of cheap circuits to drive but I think TKL takes the win.

Just like Motorland Mikawa this day was unbelievably hot, around 38-40 degrees if I remember correctly so Keisuke and I were pretty cautious in terms of drive time. With only a very few pit-bays undercover we were taking terms each session to get the cars under cover, pop the bonnet and poor a few solid litres of water straight onto the radiator. As cold as this climate gets in Japan it does the same in reverse, extremely hot and humid and can easily see why a lot of the cars that drive in this country have water jet sprayers installed on their cars.

Escaping the extreme humidity we jumped inside the ice-chilled office / restaurant for some lunch and a look back through TKL’s past. All over the walls are photos from a long time ago with specific events and meets that had been held there. I don’t think I got any shots of the photos framed and hung on the walls so you’ll just have to go and look for yourself.

After a few more solid sessions after some lunch back to back Keisuke ended up giving me a little nudge in my perfectly aligned and straight rear end! 6 or so hours of driving on and off with minimal sleep and next to no car issues again. Watching temperatures and letting the car cool down when it needs to is definitely worth it.

Stopping in Kobe for a coffee on the way back to Osaka. Will never get sick of drift cars loaded onto trucks in Japan. Simple things.

Thank you to Rob-San for driving, as always (L)

Another circuit ticked off the list in Japan, there are definitely a lot of closer courses within Kansai I want to improve and consistently practice on however it’s nice to get out of the area and drive places you’ve been living through online photos and videos for years and years. Below is a few minute video I put together of driving TKL, enjoy. F: 235-40R17 TOYO R1R R:265-35R18 KENDA KR20. casey xxx

R30 perfection at kyusha expo event in maishima late twenty-sixteen x

in the night of DAIKOKU FUTO parking area. early 2015 x