86 vs 86 with Mt. Haruna

86 vs 86. Mt. Haruna (榛名山) can be seen in the background.


(Photo credit: ＪＥＦの港 | ... target='_blank'>http://jef-minato.com/2012.11.12.akina.htm)


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Takumi vs Bunta

It's been implied that Bunta did a lot of racing during his earlier years. To the viewers, we are only given bits and pieces of hearsay but never being shown what it's like when Bunta actually race. So it's up to us... to let our imagination run wild about just how good Bunta is.

So when the author tried to give us more hints in Fourth Stage ACT.7, we were all hooked. Though it's only three minutes long, it was probably one of the most exciting scenes in the entire Fourth Stage. Seeing our protagonist Takumi in the 86 giving all he've got and still got left behind by Bunta's Impreza was quite satisfying.

Watch this scene now! » http://youtu.be/N7UX-qcvpKA

And now a question for all of you. Do you think Takumi would stand a chance if they switched cars? (As in Takumi in the Impreza and Bunta in the AE86, going all out down Mt. Akina.)

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D Fourth Stage ACT.7「嵐のハチゴーターボ」"Eight-Five’s Thunderous Turbo"


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History of Fujiwara Tofu Shop

We've done this topic several times in the past. Since we've gained some new fans recently, we thought it's a good time to revisit this topic. We've researched a bit more in-depth this time, so please have a read... even if you followed this page for a long time!

The story of the tofu shop started in the 1920s. It was originally called「藤野屋豆腐店」(Fujino Store Tofu Stop,) named after the 藤ノ木 (Fujinoki) family. Like the name suggests, the tofu shop is a family business that was pass on through generations. 藤ノ木五十吉 (Fujinoki Isokichi) has inherited the shop from his father and operated the business for past several decades.

Through the years, the Fujinoki's ran a successful business of hand-made fried tofu and lived a quiet lifestyle. According to Fujinoki, he would wake up at 3:00am every day and worked throughout the day 'til 7:00pm when he closes the store. It was hard work. The introduction of Initial D in 1995 depicts a Fujiwara Tofu Shop that we are all familiar with. The Fujiwara Tofu Shop shown in Initial D looks very similar to Fujinoki's store. Fans of the series nearby started to take notice of Fujinoki's tofu shop. It started to became popular among a small group of people.

In 2005, the Initial D Live Action film crew found Fujinoki's tofu shop and negotiate with him to have the sign changed into「藤原豆腐店」(Fujiwara Tofu Shop.) The crew only stayed there for five days to film the footage because they only had to film the outside of the shop. After the movie crew left, Mr. Fujinoki was free to change it back to the original signage. He decided against that and boy was that a smart move.

With the debut of Initial D Live Action, the popularity of Fujinoki-san's tofu shop shot up like a rocket. Fans of the series from all over Japan would visit his shop and did many photo sessions in front of the shop. It literally became the "holy place" for Initial D fans to go to, just like a pilgrimage.

Unfortunately, Mr. Fujinoki's health condition deteriorates rapidly after 2006. He fell ill and passed away in 2008. Fujinoki-san did not have any sons, so the family business was passed onto his wife 美津恵 (Mitsue) temporarily. It just wasn't the same with her husband not around. The shop would be closed most of the time. Mrs. Fujinoki finally decided to close the store for good by late 2009 after being informed that the city was planning to redevelop the area and the tofu shop was one of the targets for demolition.

The tofu shop was demolished by early 2010. Many fans were very disappointed when they found out the shop no longer exists. It was a difficult moment for many to accept. Even knowing the shop no longer exists, many fans still visited the place. It is just an empty land with patch of weeds and gravel.

Fujinoki's eldest daughter 吉野圭子 (Keiko Yoshino) always wanted to see her father's tofu shop restored somewhere else. On September 17th, 2012, with the help of the director of Toy, Doll & Car Museum and the owner of カーランド "Carland", they were able to restore the storefront of the Fujiwara Tofu Shop along with a fully-functional AE86 donated by 得知雅人 (Masahito Tokuchi,) the owner of Carland.

The museum opens to the public on a daily basis. Be sure to check out the link beow for direction. As a die-hard Initial D fans, I will definitely visit the museum when I visit Japan in the future. However, I will also visit that empty land that once stood the legendary Fujiwara Tofu Shop (or should I say Fujino Store Tofu Shop.) It's a holy land that gave birth to many young dreams. It must be a humble feeling to find the root of something that has influenced so many young people worldwide in the past two decades.

| Museum Address |
» 〒370-3606 群馬県北群馬郡吉岡町上野田2145
» TEL: 0279-55-5020
» Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/wG43w

| Original Tofu Shop Address |
» 群馬県渋川市渋川寄居町2167
» Coordinate: N 36°29'49.02" E 139°00'9.60"
» Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/ese1y
» Street View | http://goo.gl/maps/bZ4UZ

| Work Cited |
» 伊香保の博物館に「藤原とうふ店」を再現 | http://auto.hobidas.com/auto/carnews/article/133846.html
» 永远消失的「藤原豆腐店」| http://www.17utt.com/2012/0912/14173.html
»「頭文字Ｄ」のロケ地 | http://cass.jam.tc/taiwan/jayid1.html
» TOFU NO MORE: The real Initial D “Fujiwara Tofu Ten” location | http://noriyaro.com/?p=5461
» 館長のひとりごと : イニシャルD | http://blog.livedoor.jp/splendore_ikaho/ar...s/51674290.html
» 頭文字Ｄの旅（秋名編）| http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/651574...4066/photo.aspx
» 栃木エリアＤ峠ドライブツアー | http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/777shootingstar/17000/


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Shibukawa Station

渋川駅 (Shibukawa Station) is a very important landmark in Initial D. Takumi parted with Natsuki in this station. Itsuki held back his emotions and waved good-bye to Kazumi here. It is a symbol for... departure.

Like almost all locations depicted in Initial D, this train station also exists in real life. It is located in 群馬県渋川市 (Shibukawa, Gunma). Approximately 3,500 people use the station on a daily basis. Shibukawa Station is a JR East railway station, their railway lines primarily serve Kanto and Tohoku regions, along with adjacent areas in Koshin'etsu region and Shizuoka prefecture. The station has been operating since July 1, 1921, providing easy access to other major cities for local residents and businesses.

| Trivia |
At the end of Initial D Second Stage, when Kazumi waved at Itsuki as she leaves, the background shows 渋沢駅 (Shibusawa Station) It's unknown at this point whether or not that was a typo or intentional. One thing for sure is, there is no 渋沢駅 in the Gunma prefecture. However, there is a 渋沢駅 in Kanagawa prefecture.

| Address |
» 群馬県渋川市渋川辰巳町1651-4

| Google Maps |
» Shibukawa Station, Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/9cgzF
» Shibukawa Station Street View | http://goo.gl/maps/38PzX

| References |
» 渋川駅 | http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B8%8B%E5%B7%9D%E9%A7%85
» JR東日本：各駅情報(渋川駅) | http://www.jreast.co.jp/estation/station/i...x?StationCd=806


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What have you done, Takumi?!

Wait.. what happened to the Fujiwara Tofu Shop?! WAIT, what happened to the 86? TAKUMI!!!!


| Sources |
»... パンダトレノですから・・・ | http://green.ap.teacup.com/sw20type1/2.html


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Initial D GS Gas Station

Few days ago, one of the fans asked us where is the GS gas station in real life. It was a good question because no one seems to be able to pinpoint the exact location of the gas station. Knowing how most places in Initial D... exists in real life, we were determined to find it.

So how should we go about finding a fictional gas station? We knew there is no "GS" gas station anywhere in real life. It is made up by the First Stage anime production team. In the manga, they actually uses "Esso" for the gas station. That was our first clue. We located every single Esso gas station around Mt. Haruna (Akina) and Shibukawa on a radius of three miles. Why three miles? Well, because Takumi and Itsuki could literally walk to the gas station after school. Three miles seems like a reasonable limit for walking to work.

And we got nothing. So we expanded our search to ANY gas station on a radius of three miles. Still, there was no gas station even remotely resemble the look of the GS gas station shown in First Stage. We were not about to give up yet. Next, we studied the surrounding structures of the gas station. There seems to be a highway overpass right next to the gas station. The road next to gas station goes under this overpass through a little road tunnel.

But even with all these clues, we still couldn't find that illusive gas station. So what did we do? We turned to Japanese message boards. An anonymous user said the GS gas station is not located in Shibukawa or Mt. Haruna. In fact, it is nowhere near Gunma Prefecture. It is actually located in Tokyo! And our search continues. After two excruciating days of searching, we found the mysterious GS gas station!! It is an Esso gas station located in 東京都練馬区 (Nerima-ku, Tokyo) near the intersection of 千川通り (Senkawa-dori) and 環七通り (Kannana-dori, also known as No.7 Ring Road)

Now now, don't you all show up there and challenge Takumi... (laugh) Be sure to check out the Street View link below!

| Address |
〒176-0011 東京都練馬区豊玉上２丁目５−９ TEL:03-3994-2709

| Google Maps |
» ペトロベスト 桜台Ｓ・Ｓ - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/atMkL
» Google Maps Street View | http://goo.gl/maps/DxGtT

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT 2, 5, 6 & 11.
» Initial D Gallery Stage | http://www.gallery.tsukaeru.jp/


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AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D Report

The 14th AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D was a huge success. Hundreds of AE86 showed up for the event. Automotive enthusiasts and Initial D fans from all over Japan participated in this gathering. There were drift contests;... mini fans Q&A interview session with Takumi Fujiwara's voice actor Shinichiro Miki; circuit racing with other AE86 drivers; driving alongside with Miki-san in the Fujiwara Tofu Shop AE86; Initial D original art exhibition; parking lot AE86 gathering and much much more. Perhaps it's best to let our Google+ Page Admin, Nam Le, who had the opportunity to attend the event, brings us first-hand experience of what he sees while he was there.

So without further ado, click here to view the report: http://goo.gl/Uo6dGN There are also videos taken from the event. So head over there and have a look!

| Previous Posts |
» 14th Round: AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46285
» AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46187

| Sources |
» AE86 Festival 2013 in Okayama, Japan | http://lenam701.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/ae8...yama-japan.html
» 第14回 ＡＥ86フェスティバル 2013 with 頭文字D | http://okayama-international-circuit.jp/special/ae86-2013


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AE86 Festival Full Report Sneak Peek

We'll do a full report of the AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D tomorrow. Our Google+ Page Admin (Nam Le) had the opportunity to visit Japan last month and attended the festival on September 22nd. Here's a sneak peek of... what to expect. Thank you for your hard work, Nam-san!

| Previous Posts |
» 14th Round: AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46285
» AE86 Festival 2013 with Initial D | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46187

| Sources |
» 続・AE86フェスティバル 2013 with 頭文字D（パレードラン編） | http://goo.gl/yFoQde


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Gutter run is serious business

Taking gutter run to an all new level.


| Editor's Note |
This is a pretty good theft deterrent method. But needless to say, don't try it unless you know what you are doing. (laugh)

| Sources |
»... ありえない駐車 - 石垣島から… - Yahoo!ブログ | http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/masuto0403/5462244.html


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Mt. Fuji in Initial D Fifth Stage

Good day, Initial D fans! Hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. More real life Fifth Stage photos from Japanese fans are surfacing on the net. We chose this one to highlight the beauty of Mt. Fuji in real life. Check... out our previous post for details on how to get to the lodge shown in Fifth Stage.

| Address |
〒412-0023 静岡県御殿場市深沢2696-2 TEL:0550-82-7870.

| Google Maps |
» 乙女森林公園キャンプ場 第2キャンプ場 - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/MtKGo

| Previous Post |
» Project D Lodge in Kanagawa | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45992

| Sources |
» Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.4「因縁のリベンジバトル」"Revenge Battle of Fate"
» おすすめスポット PROJECT.D 高橋 啓介 Blog | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/387484/blog/31357205


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