Violent Running

also another post made by a “member” who would like a passed app to our forums. I felt like sharing.

Wangan (湾岸) in Japanese simply means “Bayshore”.

Tokyo’s infamous Bayshore Route 首都高速道路湾岸線, noted for street racing.

The Bayshore Route of Shuto Expressway 首都高速道路湾岸線, Shuto Kosokudoro Wangan-sen or simply Wangan-sen for short, is a stretch of toll highway in Greater Tokyo, 70 km, that runs from Yokohama city, Kanazawa ward, to Ichikawa city of Chiba Prefecture. It’s an important route that runs between artificial islands of Tokyo Bay by way of bridges and sub-sea tunnels, bypassing Tokyo entirely.

Shuto Expressway

Shuto Expressway 首都高速道路 Shuto Kōsoku Dōro. Metropolitan Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd. 首都高速道路株式会社 Shuto Kōsoku Dōro Kabushiki-gaisha.

Most routes consist of elevated roadway above other roads or over water, and have many sharp curves which require caution to drive safely. Tunnels are also used on routes near the waterfront and Haneda airport.

Speed limit is 60 km/h in most routes, but 80 km/h in Bayshore Route, and 50 km/h in Inner Circular Route.
All trips on the expressway require a toll be paid, but unlike most expressways in Japan, though similar to the Hanshin Expressway system in Osaka, the toll is the same regardless of distance travelled. As of 2008, the toll for a standard-size car is ¥700 on Tokyo routes (both circular and radial), ¥600 on Kanagawa routes and ¥400 yen on Saitama routes.

The Wangan

It runs from Yokohama through the Yokohama Bay Bridge and Tsurumi Tsubasa Bridge, the Kawasaki Subsea Tunnel, the Tama Subriver Tunnel, Haneda Airport North tunnel, Tokyo Bay Subsea Tunnel, which connects it to the popular tourist spot of Odaiba, and then on to Urayasu (near Tokyo Disneyland) in Chiba Prefecture. It is designated National Road 357 (国道357号). It facilitates road travel between Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.
The Wangan is infamous among street racers all over the globe, its notoriety rose in the mid Nineties when a number of American, British and European Jap Tuner magazines first started heading over to their shores… what came back was some of the most shocking images and articles to grace any automotive scene. Drivers clocking up speeds in excess of 180mph were common, as were blasting past police vehicles without care… the average engine power was up, as were the numbers competing on this amazing road.

One feature of the Wangan that has been some what of a fueling factor to the high speed mayhem is the commonly known fact that if a speeding car is traveling above a certain speed the police will not give chase, this although true is not the whole story, many of the Wangan ‘Racers’ are now running with their number plates taped up or on motorized mounts, “why?” I hear you ask… simple, a lot like our sneaky British counter parts, the Japanese authorities are now using technology more and more in keeping the speeds down with use of cameras, often doling out fines and points (a lot like here) as well as being able to immediately take away licenses.
The grass isn’t always greener… but this distinct breed of law-breaking racer plays the same whichever side of the globe they are on.

The Traffic

Much cargo from Narita International Airport in Chiba destined for southern areas travels by way of large diesel trucks on Wangan-sen. The opening of Chubu International Airport has helped ease heavy truck congestion somewhat. It’s notable as Tokyo’s first offshore highway, has spectacular urban views including Minato Mirai 21, Odaiba and Rainbow Bridge, downtown Yokohama, and Yokohama Bridge, and is frequented by street racing during late night hours, although heavily congested in the day.

Osaka Street Circuit

The Osaka street circuit, a lot like it’s brother, the Wangan is world renowned as a top drifting spot, it has been seen in countless videos and is rumored to be the inspiration for the Fast & Furious – Toyko Drift.
Although the local scene has a vast Tuning community locals are saying it is becoming harder and harder for drifters, it would appear they are having similar issues to us here in Britain. The Police. The Japanese police force although they may not ‘give chase’ to those speeding excessively on the Wangan, certainly do not hold the drifters in the same respect, large raids on the areas are often carried out with the punishment for this illegal behavior becoming more and more strict.

Rather than bore you… I’ve decided the best way to show you is by showing you where it is… you want to check it out, get a flight!

Osaka Street Circuit

Daiba District Wangan

So famous i’m not gonna tell you what the street’s called, you should be able to clock it, I did put a map in the link…

Ghosts on the Wangan

The Mid Night Club (ミッド ナイト クラブ Middo Naito Kurabu?) was a Japanese street racing gang that hosted illegal races on the Bayshore Route (known natively as the Wangan) of the Shuto Expressway between Tokyo to Yokohama. The gang became one of the most notorious and highly respected clubs of its type, which led to it being featured in over 200 editorial features in most of the leading Japanese auto magazines and even in foreign magazines such as the Danish Autoviz, the British Max Power and the American Turbo magazine. One of the earliest non-Japanese media referrals was in the first episode of Jeremy Clarkson’s Motorworld in January 1995, when the presenter Jeremy Clarkson, driving his Skyline GT-R around Japan, stated that his car “is more likely to be seen in the Mid Night Club”. That and because of its dangerously high racing speed, it gave street racing in Japan a worldwide notoriety, The club was regarded as one of the longest running street racing gangs.

To join the club, which was formed in 1985, was not as easy as the other clubs as it was governed by a series of rules and was better organised. Additionally, unlike in other groups, the hashiriya (street racer) car must be capable of going over 250 km/h (160 mph), as a racing speed of over 300 km/h (190 mph) was common. As new member are regarded as apprentices for one year, they are required to attend all the meetings. Only 10% of drivers would qualify for full membership and they would have to leave if they posed a danger to other motorists and to other members. Members would bear the trademark small rectangle Mid Night sticker on their bumpers, a larger sticker on the sun visor area, and sometimes a Mid Night Racing Team sticker on the side skirt. The high standard of the drivers made it difficult for the police to catch them.

On average, there were 30 members in the club, and they met in a gas station in Yokohama at midnight, as the name implies; races would take place on the Bayshore route and lead to another gas station in Tokyo.

(‘The’ only petrol station worth meeting at… now gets used for photo shoots for a number of well known Tuning House’s)

As full-fledged members’ cars were capable of performing over 320 km/h (200 mph), the cars were capable of reaching over 400–1000 bhp and one member was rumored to be spending over $2 million on rebuilding and modifications of his Porsche 911. The drivers’ professions were never revealed, as by club policy members were not allowed to ask how other members got the money for modifications. Only Max Power, in 1995, revealed the professions of two drivers: one, a RX-7 FD3S owner, was a property developer; the other, who drove a Skyline GT-R R32, ran his family car sales business.
The club was disbanded in 1999 when a group of Bōsōzoku were waiting for the club to “play” with them as they were racing down the expressway, culminating in an accident in which six bikers ended up in the hospital and one was killed. As was the club policy, such a happening would cause the club to be disbanded immediately and forever. Since then there have been numerous imitators, but with tighter traffic laws making things difficult, most of such groups have since been disbanded.

Despite being no longer in existence, many automotive medias still cite the gang as an inspiration to more irresponsible street racing gangs, such as the June 2008 issue of Max Power, when it ran an article about a street racer gang in London, who claim to race in town centers rather than in expressways.

This is unless you know the Wangan and a club member… then you will all ready know the ‘Club’ still run.

Fast.