In the final part of our series of A day in Nikko Circuit, we will concentrate on Alexi Smith. Alexi Smith is a pretty well known guy from Australia and runs a blog about his adventures in Japan called Nori Yaro . He speaks fluent Japanese, and has also guest blogged for SpeedHunters. You may have seen him in the JR goes drifting in Japan series, or you may have seen some of his work in Hot Version. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the man during my stay in Tokyo, Japan.

This is Alexi. This is his Mark 2. Say hi.

Alexi picked me up at 5:30am in Shinjuku because he wanted to be at Nikko Circuit early cause it was pouring down rain, and he wanted to make sure he could get a covered area to work in. We got there early, but not early enough.

We didn't get a covered spot, but it was wet everywhere anyways.

We were stuck outside in the middle of a Typhoon. Everything that was packed inside had to come out. Tools, clothes, wheels and tires, everything had to be put out in the rain. That part kinda sucked. I had my camera gear on my back, umbrella in one hand, and either a DSLR or camcorder in the other.

I really wished I had a better, more proper video camera.

Wheeeeeee! Rain saves tires!

Alexi drifts a JZX100 Mark2, an awesome sedan that apparently has a large following in Japan. Alexi had picked up this car just a few months ago after getting rid of his old R32 GTS-T.

Alexi's old R32 causing a commotion.

A cool car with a cool guy. Cool picture.

Besides giving me a ride in his Mark2, Alexi also showed me what kind of stuff to eat in Japan. We had stopped by a connivence store just outside of the track, and he showed me a few suggestions of onigiri (sp?) that I would like. Sure enough, they were delicious, and I’m still eating them today!

Onigiri: good gaijin food. Thanks Alexi!

As I said, Alexi gave me a few rides on the track, and I must say, I could see why this was his most favorite track besides Ebisu. Here’s a vid I made:

Nikko Circuit: Pt 3 from MayDay DavidD on Vimeo.

At the end of the video, you’ll see that Alexi had accidentally hit his titanium exhaust and knocked it loose. This put us in a pickle as this was the last run, and everyone is supposed to be off the track by 4:30pm. They clean off the track right after.

Afterwards, the guys that run the event have a post drivers meeting where they hand out gifts and giveaways so long as you can beat a few people at a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (i know, i know). I played a handful of times, and I won a Nikko Circuit Shirt! Alexi tells me that this is a shirt that cannot be bought, only given, and to his knowledge, only one other guy in the States has this shirt! Lucky is me! But it was not much compared to Alexi winning all sorts of stuff, including a pair of brand new 18″ tires! Too bad his car has 17′s though. There’s always someone willing to buy tires, so I think he’ll be fine!

The best thing i've gotten in Japan thus far: A Nikko Circuit Shirt!

Alexi played a fierce battle of RPS to land this set of tires!

The last thing I did before we left the track was place a 786 Motoring sticker where all of the other drift team stickers were, the concession stand. If you look closely, it’s right above the BHworld sticker! 786 from across the globe! I also gave Alexi a few 786Motoring stickers as well as a couple of MaydayGarage stickers in hopes that he will sport them one day!

A Houston, TX sticker in Japan.

So this ends my trip in Nikko Circuit. I’m sad to go, but one day i’ll be back, and hopefully the weather will be great. I’d like to thank Ameen Rizvi for making the connection for me to hook up with Alexi, and of course, Alexi Smith. I can honestly see why so many people look up to him and follow him on his blog everyday. I hope that one day, MayDay will be just that large. If any of you are traveling to Japan, and somehow see Alexi there at a drift event, please say Hi and let him know what you think!

Sideways Action!

–David–