THE MINOŌ LEGEND
A Minoō mountain road section, about the crossroads with the Katsuoji bridge, was better known at the time as 'The Osaka Touge', one of the most hard and famous night hangouts for
Osaka and neighboring prefectures drift enthusiasts in the early '00s. There are even some footage taken from an amateur documentary, which show the exploits of some clandestine drifters like
Masahiro and Takashi
became legends (but arrested because clandestine on legal roads) after its release.
Clips from this footage, ended up on the web, have been making generations of street drifters dream for more of 20 years.
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THE SHOBUGAOKA LEGEND
Equally famous at the time, but less advertised, it was the 'The Arashiyama Touge' in the Ukyo Ward in Kyoto Prefecture.
Legend has it that many enthusiasts meet in the sunset in the parking of the fishing club, ready to challenge the legendary 360-degree corner all in drift for hours, till the sun disappear behind the mountains.
It is said that after a satisfying session some dude would go to thanks at the Shobugaoka Daigongen-sha Shrine located just above the arrival parking.
This little shine then was known as 'The Drift Shrine' and promoted to protect the carguys who ventured into those hills to challenge the touges.
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THE MT. AKINA LEGEND
The 'Mt. Akina' is the fictional name given to Mount Aruna in the Shuichi Shigeno's Initial D manga.
This manga offers a detailed glimpse into the Japanese clandestine street drift subculture of the time.
The plot features a number of cars become iconic such as the AE86 called 'Panda Trueno' used by the main character Takumi to deliver tofu.
It also introduces and show the readers of the most famous Japanese mountain passes used for this kind of clandestine meetings such as the Usui, Akagi, Myogi, Shomaru and others.
All this amazing work has helped to spread the passion for this subculture throughout the world and generations.
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