Chris AshtonDriving holidays are one of the greatest ways to get to the heart of a destination, especially when you’re driving a classic car that hums, purrs and roars in all the right places.
That’s exactly what featured in The Peninsula Tokyo Rally Nippon 2017.
The epic, four-day rally – sponsored by The Peninsula Tokyo to celebrate its 10th anniversary – invited vintage car enthusiasts from around the globe to discover the historic sites, villages, and highways of Japan in classic style. Basically, it was the ultimate Japanese driving tour.
From the 21st to 25th October, 160 drivers and passengers in 80 classic cars weaved their way through some of Japan’s most stunning cities and landscapes, including the Hakusan Shirakawa-go White Road, Kirigamine Venus Line, and the famous Izu Sky Line.
Covering a distance of more than 1,000km from Kyoto to Tokyo, the group also made stops at numerous villages and heritage sites along the way, including Taga-taisha Shinto shrine, the picture-perfect village of Narai-juku, and the majestic Sengen Taisha Shrine.
Finishing at The Peninsula Tokyo, the rally was as a reminder of The Peninsula’s association with classic cars. Some of the luxury hotel’s Rolls Royce Phantom II even took part in the rally. If I was to tackle a Japanese driving holiday, this is the way I would want to do it!
