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Edited by: Declan Murphy Recommended: Suggested Itineraries Favorite Shiga moments... Best ways to get there Shiga Photogallery Newsgroups: fj.rec.travel.japan, Alt-FAQ Bulletin Boards: Fun/Clubs/Nightlife Accommodation/Discounts Practise your Kanji?

My day started at 6am being woken by explosions! My suburb is called Jinba, literally "battlefield". Fireworks were being detonated all over Okazaki, as I walked to the local station it truly sounded like a battlefield. With recent events in Afghanistan it was a very surreal experience. I met my friend Chieko in Nagoya at Kintetsu station, a private railway company that has a line that runs close to the Suzuka Circuit.

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The station was jammed with people carrying all the paraphernalia you would expect - flags, portable chairs, Eskies (an Australian word meaning a cooler box), and of course cameras. There were also extra staff and lots of signs to help people make there way to Suzuka. Unfortunately if you didn't speak Japanese it would have been a bit hard to make your way there.

At Shiroko station we followed the crowd to the buses. Thousands of people lined the bus station but we only waited a short time for a bus and amazingly we got seats. At the circuit we saw the huge ferris wheel in the distance; a disappointingly long way away.

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There were many people who had camped in the circuit car park overnight. Some people had slept in their cars and covered the car windows with newspaper. Some had brought tents and others built temporary tents from the ubiquitous blue plastic tarpaulins. The sight of tents, picnic tables gas burners and even a table and sink combo, in an urban environment seemed quite incongruous.

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Getting into the circuit itself was straightforward - follow the crowds; and we didn't have to wait at all at the ticket gates. Just inside the gates were all the concession stalls you'd expect at a Grand Prix - various sponsors such as Kenwood and the car makers themselves, selling merchandise.

Of course, you could also get all the food we've come to love at the local matsuri (festival) - "takoyaki" (fried octopus balls), "ikayaki" (fried squid), "yakiniku" (fried beef), and my personal favourite mochi balls ("dango" - glutenous rice) in sweet soy sauce.....

....as well as all the beer you could drink.

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Before the main event there were two other races. Formula Dream and Formula Metz. Metz is the name of a small car made by Toyota Motor Company and the racing is close and surprisingly exciting. Formula Dream cars are more like Formula 1 cars and also quite exciting. Of course nothing compares to the Formula 1 cars. If you haven't been to a race before, the noise is unbelievable. The Formula 1 cars are small and their acceleration is amazing. Being on a slow corner gives you better chance to see the cars as they travel so fast on the straights it is impossible to see them clearly. We managed to meet several friends and had a fairly large area to ourselves just near one of the hairpin turns.

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Getting away from the race was a nightmare but we managed to scam our way onto a hotel bus. My friend simply asked the driver of a coach bound for Yokkaichi how to get to Yokkaichi. He let us on for free and we got to relax, or more accurately sleep, in big comfortable seats. I finally made it home by around 10:30pm.

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Buying tickets for most events in Japan is usually quite simple. We (or more accurately my friend Chieko) bought our tickets at Circle K convenience stores. The cheapest reserved seating was 32,000 yen per person for three days that covered the practice days and the actual race itself. Neither of us had been to Suzuka circuit before so we were quite concerned about the amount of money we would have to spend for something we had never seen. So we chose the much cheaper 9,000 yen unreserved seating tickets. Tickets were available on the day and if there is availability you can upgrade to reserved seats.

Everyone I spoke to had a good time but we think the GT Racing is probably better. GT Races are held every month (except winter), the racing is more competitive and you can afford good seats on the main straights as the maximum ticket price is only 5000 yen.

How to get there:

From Nagoya station catch a train to Shiroko station (Kintestu line - 800 Yen) and then take a race day bus to the circuit (380 Yen).

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Tours - Japan Discovery visits the Suzuka Racing Circuit.
Click here for more information regarding when Discovery visits this destination.

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