Racing Down a Secret Mountain

painted bonnets and nets in the windows. These are to obscure the view to stop the police seeing who's driving. An older man who owns the garage approaches and explains to us that this is the base of Across Racing. As a look a bit closer, I notice all the civics have the Across logo emblazoned over their back windows. Across is a ragtag street racing crew that hits the

Canjo loop with their distinctive carts. Many of them here have decorated their paintwork with Marlborough cigarette packet designs, not to promote smoking, but the design on a car is just very cool, I'll be honest. One of the civics that really stands out belongs to the only woman on the team. Her name is Menma and a civic is bright turquoise blue with white bordered decals and shiny stickers making out the word across on the back. Underground street

racing in Japan is a male dominated world. I go as far to say that it's ninety nine percent men that are involved. Memo is an anomaly in this scene. She's small, with huge, bright eyes and dyed blonde hair poking out of about a claver. She wears high top

night dunks in the same white and turquoise colors of her cat. It is a very cool look. She's shy, but she agrees to talk a little. It's usually there's not many women in the racing scene here.

surveillance checks. I'm guessing this has something to do with the smashed up civic we saw on the way in. Young lad in a white Balaklava who uses the name Hero, explains to me that that is his car. He's just eighteen and he was in a police chase recently. Now, in Japan, a police chase isn't quite what you might think. Japan active pursuit is far more restricted than in most Western countries. There's a much bigger emphasis on public safety

over immediate apprehension. The National Police Agency guidelines state that officers must prioritize avoiding accidents, especially in densely populated areas. Perfect if you're a cando fugitive in hot pursuit, the getaway is strongly in your favor. Japanese police are trained to weigh the risk of a chase against the seriousness of the perceived offense. Pursuits are generally only allowed when the suspect is believed to have committed a serious crime,

which dangerous driving comes under. In Japan, street racers are on their radar. The police are instructed to consider factors like traffic density, weather, road conditions, and pedestrian presence before engaging in the chase. If the pursuit is likely to endanger the public, officers are required to back down by law. Speed limits still technically apply to police vehicles, but they can be exceeded if lights and sirens are used, and

the pursuit is officially justified. Just like any other country. That said, official justification is narrowly defined, and supervisors on

the radio are often involved in the decision to continue or call off a chase. Legally, if a chase results in injury or to a third party, and the pursuit is deemed unnecessary or reckless, the officers and the department can face civil liability and in some cases, even criminal charges. The cautious approach stems from Japan's broader policing philosophy crime

prevention and measured response over higher risk enforcement. As a result, genuine Hollywood style high speed pursuits are very rare in Japan, and when they do happen, they are usually in rural areas with lighter traffic and clearer visibility. To avoid dangerous high speed chases, Japan relies heavily on alternative methods. These include setting up roadblocks using spike strips, or deploying unmarked ghost cars to shadow suspects until a safer arrest is possible.

In urban areas, surveillance cameras and licensed plate recognition systems often allowed police to track a suspect later without an idiot confrontation. This is what happened to hero He was racing around the loop when police pulled him behind him,

he took off. They put the foot on the gas, but ultimately Heroes driving skills and the public traffic helped him get away, not before the cops caught his license plate, though for whatever reason, he didn't have the plate flipped up on its hinges, and the police found out his.

police cars during late night runs. When police attempt to intervene in a multi car race, the drivers sometimes coordinate to trap the patrol car between the multiple vehicles. Two or more cars will position themselves in front, beside, and behind police, slowing or blocking its movement while the rest of the crew scatters. This isn't just a getaway method. It's also a deliberate act of mockery. There are several videos out there showing this tactic on the Handchin Expressway

with goofy music and mocking captions. It's pretty funny, honestly. Drivers will also sometimes weave aggressively in front of the patrol car, break check it, or rev loudly forcing their officers into a frustrating standoff. Police are constrained by the aforementioned strict shoot rules. They're hamstrung. They can't really respond with the same aggression without risking disciplinary action.

different kind of race. One lad is very excited about this. He pops the bonnet of his car, which is painted purple and white in the Marlborough design, and points laughing at the paint on the inside. It's Japan's imperial flag oh i say, commonly known as the Rising Sun flag. It features a red sum with sixteen rays extending outwards.

It's obviously different from the national flag which is the simple red circle on a white field rising sun design has ancient roots in Japanese mythology and Shinto beliefs, where the sun goddess amit Arasu is central. The flag was officially adopted as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army in eighteen seventy, and later used by the Imperial Navy as well across East and Southeast Asia, especially in Korea and China. It's viewed as a symbol of Japanese

militarism and imperial aggression during World War Two. Its resemblance to a military insignia tied to occupation, war crimes and colonialism makes it deeply controversial in those regions. So many Japanese people though the flag is just a traditional symbol of good fort, dune power and national pride. It's still used today by the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, even it continues to appear at sporting events, festivals, and by

nationalist groups. The flag's meaning is heavily context dependent, seen by some as cultural heritage and by others as a painful reminder of wartime atrocities. For these lot racing one of them explains to me that It's just seen as a good luck charm of sorts, nothing politically loaded about it. So with the Kanjo loop off the cards, the crew tells us that were taking the civics up to a mountain road to grip round corners at extreme high speed.

I agreed to go with them, somewhat reluctantly, but at the same time excited to see what they do. Because line up in a convoy at the front of the garage a row of souped up, multi colored Civics, all with custom designs, lowered frames, and sparkly across iconography pasted across the windows. The drivers get into their cars and they all rev in unison. I can feel the vibration of the engines raw in my chest. I hop into

one of the cars. Inside, every side panel has been ripped off so you can see the full inner workings.

At one point we pass a police car going the other way on the side of the road. We're traveling at least forty miles per hour above speed limit, all in a convoy of half a dozen very distinctive cars. There is no denying that these are for street racing. My driver is wearing a ski mask and half of his window is obscured with netting. Look, he laughs in English Japanese police. He puts his foot on the pedal and we peel off so fast. I don't even know

if the cops switched on the lights and sirens. They're fast gone.

or at least I think it's a mountain. It looks a bit like one to me, and that's what everyone's calling it for shorthand, so we'll go with the mountain. We're all parked at a yellow gate with the engines ticking over right now. This mountain road is closed for the night. No one can drive through. It's restricted somehow, though one of the cross members manages to get the gate open. It swings out the way and we all roar up the mountain. The roads I notice are perfect.

It strikes me that to try this back home in England would be even more deadly, seen as our roads look like they've been hit with several meteor showers. Now allow me to tell you about British roads. British roads, especially in recent years, are a fucking disaster. Mostly to blame is, of course, the government, especially local governments, who spend their budgets on just about anything else but the tarmac. Potholes are absolutely everywhere. It's so common they've basically become

a running joke. Repair work is slow, patchy, and often poorly executed. Councils claim they lack funding, but central government investment in road maintenance has consistently lagged behind what's needed. Instead of tackling long term resurfacing, authorities often opt for cheap, temporary fixes that crumble after a few months, leading to the same stretch being repaired over and over again. I've genuinely seen similarly damaged roads in the combas in East Ukraine,

and they're at war. Britain is not. Our road network is crumbling under the strain of heavy use, bad weather, and minimal upkeep. With that, serious, well funded intervention is only going to get much worse. Japan, however, is of course the total opposite. They are exceptionally good at building roads, especially through mountainous terrain like where we're at right now.

This skill has been built out of necessity. As around seventy percent of the country is mountainous, engineers have had to master creating safe, durable routes in places where the landscape is anything but forgiving. Japanese mountain pass roads like these are often feats of precision, blending advanced civil engineering with a careful sense of safety and efficiency. You'll find winding togay routes with perfect cambers for corners, cautiously designed

drainage systems to handle heads, and retaining walls built to withstand both landslides and earthquakes. Many roads use tunnels and elevated sections to reduce sharp gradients, making them easier to drive and less prone to weather closures. In winter heavy regions, road heating systems and snow shelters keep mountain passes open when they'd be impassable elsewhere. It's incredible. The asphalt quality is also usually top notch, with smooth surfaces and clearly

marked lanes, even in remote areas. Barriers and signs are well maintained, and reflective paint is common for night driving. While of the countries might treat mountain roads as secondary, Japan treats them as lifelines. Essential for connecting rural communities. We could do with some of that in England. The result here is some of the most reliable and well crafted mountain pass roads in the world and seeing utility

with a scenic driving pleasure. As you can imagine, this also makes them absolutely perfect for a legal nighttime a toge racing. After about five minutes driving up the mountain, we pull up to a scene of bright haired lights, full dark tints and incredible livery on each and every car. There's about a dozen here right now. It's a well known road for the underground racing, and tonight we've got lucky racers from all different generations have come to put

the tire to the tarmac. We get out the cars and the across team explains to the are the races what we're here for? They laugh and ask if we really plan to go down the road with them with the passenger. All right, nods, feeling like I don't quite know what I'm in for. Whilst my work is quite hectic and often dangerous, I am most definitely not an

adrenaline junkie. I think my favorite hobby outside of the boxing gym, is chilling out and doing fuck all it is not a life goal of mine to risk death going god knows how fast down a mountain pass in a Honda Civic.

Their team name came from Simon Temple, the character in the British TV series The Saint, chosen by the team's early leader. You really like that show. Like all Kanjo crews, Temple Racing operated within a system of unwritten rules. Every team had its own turf on the Kanjo loop, and stepping onto another cruise territory without respect could cause conflict. Temple Racing was one of those crews you did not

want to mess around with. Their cars were synonymous with the stripped out Honda Civic hatchbacks, the EF nine's, the EG six's, and the e K fours. Temple decorated their cars with racing inspired liveries modeled after Group A touring cars. Temple's cars were built for performance and anonymity, gutted interiors, functional arrow mismatched wheels, rough paint jobs, and distinctive camouflage

patterns to make them harder to identify at speed. Drivers often wore masks or covered their faces to protect their identities, and cars would sometimes carry false number plates. Despite the police crackdown and the withering of the Kanjo scene, clearly Temple Racing is still around. To some degree, Temple Racing is more than just a name. The guys tell me that this fella here is the best downhill grip racer around.

Temple embodies the scene's loyalty to one's crew, respect for the roads, and the refusal to let the culture fade into history. If Kando Zoku is a living history of Japan's outlaw street racers, Temple Racing is one of its most important chapters. They live through the Golden era and are still racing around. These guys believe still that the roads belong to the brave, and it turns out this

guy will be racing alongside us. After about thirty minutes of discussion, sending off younger lookouts to check the roads and examining each other's cars, is decided that the race is on. Eight cars all line up in order. The roads are far too narrow to overtake at high speed, so I'm not too sure how one wins the race. Each person I ask is a different explanation, but I think it works like this. The cars zoom down the steep mountain road in single file, high speed controlled turning.

Then when they get to the bottom, where there's a wider area to maneuver, they all quickly swerve back around, trying to get their car up the hill in a better position than when they came down it. I think that's how it works anyway. Honestly, the thrill of the chase is more what they're after right now, rather than a coherent race system. With street racing clamped down on so hard by the cops, they all have to just take what they can. I'm feeling nervous if one of

these drivers makes a mistake. We're looking at certain death if the car mounts the small fence at the side of the road. It's not great either way. I hop into one of the curs of the across lads and await patiently as the engine's rev in anticipation for the go signal. I strap myself in with the X shaped four point seat belt.

we're taking The first corner breaks a pumped the wheel stick, and we grip around the bend with total precision. To my left is a blurred, jagged rock face. To the right a darkness below over the fence line that the speed we're going, we tear right through it. In front and behind us, the headlights of the other cars shake and sliders. We speed down the course. Driver man handles the steering wheel as if he's fighting for his life.

The car jolts from side to side as we pick up speed, tear through sharp.

even tell it. We're in a better position than before, but I can see the Temple racing car spin off even faster than we are. My driver eases off the throttle for a heartbeat. As we take another corner, the car slides, he stamps back on it. The rear tires lose grip for a moment, sliding across the tarmac in a controlled sweep. The limited slip differential keeps both wheels

spinning together, feeding talk evenly. As the car takes the strain, The suspension dips under the sudden weight shift, then rises as the car set into the grip. Tires hissed and squeal, faint smoke trailing out the exhaust in front. The steering wheel moves violently in the driver's hands. The steering wheel moves violently in the driver's hands, with heavy but precise adjustments to keep the nose aimed just ahead of the slide.

Every system is working near its limit. Engine, gearbox, suspension, tires. In the midst of the high speed chaos, the civic moves in a careful balance. There's a constant connection between driver and machine. The corner unwinds, grip returns, and the car straightens. The engine's still holding its own. As we pull up to the top of the hill. I tell the driver I'm getting the fuck out. I survived the run. He can do the rest on his own. He laughs, pats my back, and then stop so I can get out.

Him and the rest of the cars quickly screech off back down the track. They'll run this road a dozen times before the end of the night. There and back was enough for me. My heart's racing is ringing, palm sweaty. The racing k is not for me, but I can now completely feel the appeal of it. Next week is the final part of the Away Days podcast. You've been listening to the Away Days podcast. To watch independent Away Days documentaries, subscribe to our channel at YouTube dot com

slash at away Days TV. The a Wait Days Podcast is a production of H eleven Studio for Cool Zone Media. Reporting, producing, writing, editing and research by me Jake Hanrahan, co producing by Sophie Lichtman, Music by Sam Black, sound mixed by Splicing Block. Photography by Johnny Pickock and Louis Hollis. Graphic design by Laura Adamson and Casey Highfield.