Despite the rain, fun times were had by all (even the dude that rolled his Cresta)

And like that, another Ebisu Drift Matsuri is in the books. It was a full 5 years since I had been in Japan and the itch to go back was becoming unbearable. If you ever have the chance to make it to a drift matsuri at Ebisu Circuit, you should definitely take it. It’s the most chill environment with the some of the craziest drifting and the nicest people around.

I realize this post seems super late considering we’re already halfway through 2018. The truth is this trip was meant to scratch my Japan itch, catch up with old friends from when I lived there and to immerse myself in Japanese drifting for a few days. Of course, I took a lot of photos and the itch I was trying to scratch morphed into me wanting to move back one day, but that’s to be expected. Below is a brief overview of the drift matsuri part of my Japan trip along with a handful of photos.

After a full day of sleepless flying before landing in Tokyo, I immediately gave an interview about drifting to the “Why did you come to Japan?” show in the airport terminal. I took a day to acclimate myself to the 13 hour time change before finally making my way to Ebisu Circuit located outside of Nihonmatsu. Once in Nihonmatsu, I started things off on the right foot by scaring a local woman when I asked, in Japanese, about the bus that runs to the track. The weather was surprisingly nice and overcast, so I ditched the bus idea and decided to walk the 6 miles through Japan’s amazing countryside to the track, much like I had in 2012.

I hitched a ride after 5 miles or so of walking and found myself standing once again in front of one of my favorite places on Earth: Tohaku Safari Park, also known as Ebisu Circuit. I was so happy to be back that I did what most would and walked across the street, laid out a mat and fell asleep on the floor of the free lodging building for the rest of the evening and night. I had arrived a day early.

There’s really not a lot to say about the rest of the weekend that wasn’t what one would expect from drifting at Ebisu Circuit. Despite almost constant rainfall, hardly anyone was holding back. There were plenty of drift missiles but, due to the recent crack down on structurally unsafe cars, only a few resembled the crushed cans on wheels that we associate with a drift matsuri at Ebisu.

A lot of familiar faces were in attendance such as Daigo Saito, Naoto Suenega and Alexi from Nori Yaro. It was dominated mostly by Japanese drivers, as one would expect, but there were a decent amount of foreigners as well.

Looking back, I don’t think I met another American while I was there. When I say American I’m not using that term the way people from the U.S. typically use it. I mean the Americas as in the continent. Most of the non-Japanese people I encountered were from Australia, New Zealand and England with a few here and there from France and other parts of western Europe.

Overall, this drift matsuri was exactly what one expects: drifting, lots of JDM cars rolling around that we don’t see in the States and more drifting.

I have to give a huge thanks to a new friend I met from Yokohama who saved my legs from several more miles of walking around Ebisu. Koura was driving his very clean, four door R33 Skyline which he had perfectly set up for learning how to slide. He was able to practice his English while I practiced my Japanese and he let me tag along as he went from track to track while I was able to give him some pointers when it came to drifting. When the weekend was over he even gave me a ride back to Nihonmatsu while The Bee Gees drifted from the R33 into the Japanese countryside. (Check back soon for a write up about his Skyline and how he has it set up perfectly as a first drift car)

Koura’s friendliness was an example of something I really like about the environment at Ebisu. Before meeting him, I hitched rides with four or five other people to go from one track to another. With all but one of those, it was the other person who approached me asking if I wanted a ride to the part of the track to which they were heading. I’ve only been to Ebisu Circuit twice, but the impression I’m left with is if you attend a drift matsuri there and leave not having made at least one new friend, you’ve done it wrong.

Now on to some photos: