WEC Fuji 2016 - First time traveler help!

[colt513]

Hey guys!

I am thinking about going to Fuji for only my second WEC race (the first was 2014 Le Mans with the Danish crew!) I am coming from the United States and was wondering if anyone here is going to be at the race? Also, is there any advice for someone who has never been there before?

What are the best places to stay/camp? I am definitely down to camp like at Le Mans if that is possible.

I'm sure you guys will have advice for questions I didn't even know that I had.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Colt

[Octane]

Hi Colt,

I went for the first time in 2014, and am going again this year.

The circuit is sort-of in the middle of nowhere, up in the mountains. Public transport isn't great (only local busses) and there aren't any hotels nearby.
I also don't believe there are any on-site camping facilities, and all of the accomodation near the track will be booked out already.

In 2014, I stayed at a guesthouse by Lake Yamanaka, which was about 30 minutes drive via mountain passes north-west of the circuit. It was a nice place, but super quiet. There's literally no nightlife there.
The place I stayed is here: https://goo.gl/maps/fhnmiWmSxqF2
The owner was awesome. Really helpful. You won't get fed or anything though, so it's pretty basic.

The other options are to stay in Gotemba city (where most of the teams stay) and get the bus to the circuit each day, or to stay in Hakone, which is an onsen (hot spring) village and rent a car, which is what I'll be doing this year.

I got a paddock pass for 2014, which I'll probably do again. It gives you access to the back of the pits and the support race paddocks. You'll be able to see the drivers and trucks etc at the back of the pits, but you won't be able to see inside the garages themselves, or get onto pit lane.

I'd highly recommend renting a pocket wifi device which you can pre-book and pickup from the airport, and bringing a spare battery powerbar so you can stream radiolemans and the live video from the WEC app while you're trackside.
I usually hire them from these guys. http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html They provide a prepaid envelope so you can just drop the device in a post box when you're finished with it.
I have a Japanese sim card now so I don't need a pocket wifi anymore.

Are you planning on visiting any other parts of Japan? Or just fly in to see the race then fly out?

I'm still waiting to see if I have another friend joining me for that part of my trip, if not I'm happy to car pool with you to/from the circuit etc.
I lived in Japan all of last year and can speak a bit of Japanese etc.

[colt513]

Hey Octane!

Thanks for the quick and informative reply! I was having a hard time figuring out where the best places to stay are, all of that is super helpful!

The plan right now is to fly in on the Wednesday before the race to Tokyo and then fly back out of Tokyo two weeks later. I want to spend at least four or five days in Tokyo and then I honestly have not planned any further. There was a good deal on flights this weekend, so I am trying to book them/convince other friends to join me.

I honestly know zero Japanese and will be very lost while I am there, but definitely up for the adventure!

How long are you going to be in Japan for?

Cheers!
Colt

[Octane]

No problems. I found it a bit daunting the first time I booked accomodation too.
Another options is AirBNB. There may be a few share houses in Gotemba city where you can rent a room etc.

This will be my 4th visit to Japan.
I'm flying into Tokyo on the 4th Oct then straight on down to Matsuyama (on Shikoku Island, and where I lived all of last year) for 1 week, then a few days in Hiroshima and Kyoto before heading to the race on the Saturday morning.
Following the race I'm heading to Sapporo for a couple of days, then back to Tokyo for a few days before flying back to Sydney.

Depending on how much travelling you intend to do, I'd recommend getting a JR pass which gives you unlimited travel on the JR rail network (incl bullet trains) all over Japan.
I'd also recommend getting an international driving permit in case you decide to rent a car. (Toyota Rentals have an international call centre with english speakers https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/)

I'll be using the JR pass for getting around everywhere except for a rental car for the race weekend to get out to the circuit from Hakone.

If you have an extra couple of weeks, I'd highly suggest spending time in Hiroshima (peace park, Miyajima Island, and some awesome bars), and Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe (only 30mins apart on the bullet train, so you can stay in one or the other then day/trip to the other places)
A few days in an onsen resort, experiencing Japanese volcanic hot spring baths and tradition food/hospitality is a cool experience too, but it's usually pricey ($300+/night p/p)
The first time I went, rather than booking mid-tier business hotels, I split my time between super cheap hostels, and the occasional onsen resort to spoil myself.
Now I usually use AirBNB instead of hostels/hotels though.

Language won't be an issue. Most people can understand very basic english. It would be courteous of you to at least learn the basic though. Things like yes/no, please/thanks, left/right, greetings, how much?, what is? etc etc. That way you're not putting all of the pressure on the locals to try to speak your language.

Feel free to hit me up in this thread or via PM if you have any further questions.

[ATLFalconsFAN]

Can I ask you guys a favor? If you could, please continue your discussion on this thread rather than by PM. I find these types of threads very interesting. Who knows, maybe your discussion could help someone else take the trip to Fuji someday as well?

[Coach Ep]

Agreed.

And any other trip for that matter.