Driving Lewis Hamilton’s Nissan Skyline GT-R through Japan

Japanese comic books can lay claim to many things, but arguably the greatest achievement was bringing the art and romance of street drifting to the masses.

Initial D is a comic-book series dating back to 1995, spawning multiple television series and movies, introducing the world to Japanese street drifting – driving in sustained oversteer on tight mountain roads. That, in turn, led to competitive drifting on race tracks.

It also created spin-offs – including Wangan Midnight – and the latest, MF Ghost, which details illegal street racing in the near future, and on a circuit which begins at the Hakone Pass. For the uninitiated, Hakone Pass is considered by many to be one of the greatest driving roads in the world. And it's real.

So I figured, when in Rome and all that, why not take Lewis Hamilton's Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R up Hakone Pass and through the MF Ghost circuit?

Okay, so it's not actually Lewis Hamilton's Skyline GT-R. But it is the exact car the Formula One champion used in a controversial video posted to Instagram in 2021, as reported by Drive, in which he speeds through Tokyo, does donuts, and of course, drifts.

While I've driven an R35 GT-R – albeit a 600-horsepower tarmac rally car – this was the first time I'd been behind the wheel of a proper JDM (Japanese domestic market) Skyline GT-R, originally made famous by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife winning the Bathurst 1000 race in 1991 and 1992 in an R32. And angering Australian Touring Car Championship fans at the time due to its sheer dominance. It was during that period the GT-R received its nickname, Godzilla, bestowed upon it by an Australian media who watched the GT-R destroy everything in its path on Aussie race tracks.

I can say with confidence, the Lewis Hamilton car isn't the one to drive if you want to experience the Skyline GT-R – arguably the JDM hero car – because it's completely and utterly shagged. Not that you can any more… but I'll get to that later.

From a distance, it still looks the business – white duco, an aggressive body-kit, and gold BBS alloy wheels with some chrome dish. But up close, there are scratches, cracking paint, kerbed wheels, and a fairly average repair job from what looks to be a significant rear-end smack. And that's just the cosmetics.

Pulling out of the Omoshiro Rent-a-Car, located a few hours north of Tokyo via three trains and a Toyota Crown Comfort taxi, the front CV joints begin clicking and the rear differential is crabbing. The gear shifter is a bit loose and worn and the interior is, ahem, 'used'. But most importantly, the 2.6-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine is still smooth and making boost.

I drive a few hours to Hakone Pass to meet up with my guide, Jarad from Iron Chef Imports – an Australian JDM car importer – and his off-sider Derek. Derek is making Japan his home, as the car import business is made easier with consistent personal relationships with locals, while Jarad comes over from Australia often for business and to take some time for himself.

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They're in a Subaru WRX STI with less than 10,000km, on loan from a local business associate who throws them the keys to his rarely-driven car when they're in town.

For Jarad, this isn't anything new or special – I'm one of thousands of car enthusiasts from all over the world who make the pilgrimage to Japan each year to immerse themselves in the vehicles and the driving culture. Despite this, he's happy to show me around and play host – often laughing at my sheer delight at the situation.

To me, this is driving Mecca – perhaps only second to the Nürburgring circuit in Germany or the alpine roads in Europe. Hakone Pass is a private toll road, rumoured to be without speed limits and no police. A fact a friend of mine, living in Yokohama, told me is entirely untrue. The cops do visit Hakone Pass, but you would have to be pretty unlucky to see them.

However, my time driving the Hakone Pass in the R34 GT-R was not an unbridled, high-speed affair. This was because the car was pretty much a giant pile of steaming turd and I had zero confidence in the axles – or any other parts I was relying on to keep me connected with the road – staying where they were meant to. Then there was the 360-degree dash cam, which invalidates your insurance if you crash the car by driving like an imbecile.

Despite this, it was driving bliss. Breathtaking, almost unbelievable beauty. Mountainside roads with stunning views, canopies of trees through a forest – a Skyline GT-R that made whooshing noises – and, finally, parking with a clear shot of Mount Fuji in the distance. A rarity, I was told.

MORE: The last road trip – Driving a Toyota Corolla through New Zealand

We continued driving the MF Ghost circuit, through little villages on the edge of lakes, occasionally getting caught behind tourist and school buses, and eventually hitting peak-hour traffic. Only once did the car cut out unexpectedly and for no good reason.

Peak-hour turned into hours once we made our way back on the toll roads pointing towards Tokyo, the sun dipping below the mountains to our left.

Despite there being no meet-up that night, I insisted on visiting the Daikoku car park – renowned for being the place to go on certain nights if you have a cool car. It's essentially a truck stop built on a man-made island, but with capacity for hundreds of cars, and surrounded by on-ramps and freeways that soar high into the sky. It's also the place Neela takes Sean for dinner in the Tokyo Drift film.

The guys then took me to the Tatsumi car park, known for being somewhere supercar owners visit to show off their rides. It's literally a small toilet stop built in the sky with a view of Tokyo. Even on that quiet weeknight, there were Toyota 86s, a couple of WRXs, a Porsche 996 GT3, and a Ferrari 328.

There are two ring roads that encircle Tokyo: the inner, and the outer. Being that the outer would have taken many hours to complete, we opted for a run of the inner, taking around 45 minutes with traffic easing. It's also the road the Tokyo Expressway circuit in the Gran Turismo game is loosely based on.

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After we said our goodbyes, I hit the motorway to the north-west of Tokyo – my window down, driving through the warm night air until I found a business hotel with a 24-hour check-in and off-street parking.

It was a small taste of Japan's automotive culture – a cheese platter of mountain roads, city freeways, lovely people, and some wonderful cars. Including 'my' ropey, mistreated GT-R.

As it turns out, I would be one of the last to experience that particular car. Legally, that is. Some weeks before this story was published, it was reported across the internet that the infamous white R34 GT-R with gold BBS wheels – the very car trashed by F1 great Lewis Hamilton – had been stolen. Vale, you tired old girl, and thanks for the memories.

What's your dream car and road combination? Let us know in the comments below.