RtG Japan Daily Dispatch - day00 - Flipbook - Page 35
Day 17: Shimoda to Lake Hamana, 5 October 2025
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Nick and Serita Sleep, 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL
Ales and Jana Koci, 1972 BMW 3.0 CSi
Ivan and Tisa Pusnik, 1939 Ford Coupe
Hernan and Nathalie Levy, 1976 Mercedes-Benz 280 C
Along with legions of Sunday super bike riders, we
enjoyed a quick, but cloud-covered, photo opportunity
at the Fuji viewpoint, before taking on the Hakone Pass
and subsequent Shorty Regularity. Fujikawa Services was
our lunch and Time Control venue, offering a chance for
the crews to rebuild their steering racks and replace their
brake shoes. Another cloud-covered glimpse of Mount Fuji
was on the menu, along with a RtG packed lunch and some
contemporary Japanese roadside fare.
Fully sated, the rally then took the expressway once
again and soon afterwards tackled the Yahashira Shrine
Regularity, high in the hills around Mount Takayama. This
was slippery and many of the cars struggled for grip both
on the way up and on the way back down. Potholes and
loose rocks meant that picking the right line was essential.
Unfortunately, two crews misjudged it ever so slightly.
Hernan and Nathalie Levy’s Mercedes and Tricia Field and
Susan Godfrey’s Bentley Special needed to be pulled from
low roadside culverts before they could enjoy a memorable
cup of tea.
The Regularity brought the day’s competition to an end,
but there was still some fun to be had at the afternoon’s Time
Control, set in the Fôret Tea Centre in Kawane-honcho town.
Samples of their award-winning brew were laid on for the
rally to enjoy in both traditional and contemporary settings.
The night halt was to be found in the Grand Mercure on
Lake Hamana. Busy as they were, the sweeps still found
time to host a car park party, managing to secure a good
supply of Asahi beer, despite an ever more urgent national
shortage following a cyber-attack.
www.rallytheglobe.com
