Interest
Race Hakone With Initial D Rental Cars
posted on by Eric Stimson
The mountain town of Hakone, besides being the location of Neon Genesis Evangelion's Tokyo-3, is also the setting of the car racing anime Initial D: Fifth Stage. To sate Initial D fans' appetite for zooming madly around hairpin turns at high altitudes in sweet rides, fun2drive Owners' Club is introducing an Initial D car rental service in the Hakone area.
The available cars are a Panda Trueno AE86 (Takumi's car), an RX-7 FC3S and an RX-7 FD3S (the Takahashi brothers' cars). The tour, marketed as the "Initial D Sacred Pilgrimage Tour: Comparative Drive Pack, Hakone Edition," encompasses Nagao Pass (from Episode 4), Hakone Turnpike (from Episode 9), Shichimagari Pass (from Episode 7), and the Tsubaki Line (from the final race). The tour begins and ends in Sengokuhara.
The RX-7 FC3S
The Panda Trueno on Nagao Pass
The RX-7 FD3S navigates Shichimagari ("seven turns") Pass
The tour is scheduled from May to September and will be held once or twice a month. Tourists can sample each car and switch at certain spots in the tour. They can choose to follow a tour guide in a different car or drive with the guide seated next to them. Alternatively, they can just choose to cruise around the mountains in their favorite car for three hours. The cost is ¥14,980 ($146), with an additional ¥1,980 ($19) for each extra driver. The rental fees for the cars are ¥2,980 ($29) for the Trueno, ¥3,980 ($39) for the FC3S and ¥4,980 ($49) for the FD3S.
[Via SankeiBiz; Image from @Press News]
