The D1 Grand Prix , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Daijiro Inada, founder of Option magazine and Tokyo Auto Salon, and drifting legend, Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting contest in 1999 and 2000 to feed on the ever increasing skills of drifting drivers who were dominating drifting contests in various parts of Japan. In October 2000, they reformed the contest as a five-round series. In the following year for the following round, the introduction of the two car tsuiou battle, run in a single-elimination tournament format, a common tradition for tōge races which became popular with car enthusiasts.
Yoshinori Koguchi drifting the Koguchi Power 180SX at D1GP Fuji Speedway 2007
A Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 adorning an official D1GP sunvisor during a practice run
Masato Kawabata's, Nissan Silvia S15
Ryuji Miki's, Nissan Silvia S15
Odaiba (お台場) is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built for defensive purposes in the 1850s. The land was dramatically expanded during the late 20th century as a seaport district, and was redeveloped in the 1990s into a major commercial, residential and leisure area. Odaiba, along with Minato Mirai 21 in Yokohama, is one of the few manmade seashores in Tokyo Bay where the waterfront is accessible and not blocked by industry and harbor areas.
Odaiba as seen from the Rainbow Bridge in 2014
View of Odaiba from the north, with Fuji TV building in the center, Daikanransha Ferris wheel to the left, shopping malls in the front, and Nikko hotel to the right
Edo-era Dai-Roku Daiba (第六台場, No. 6 Battery), viewed from the Rainbow Bridge. Background: the developed area of Odaiba.
A cannon from Odaiba, now at the Yasukuni Shrine. 80-pound bronze, bore: 250 mm (9.84 in), length: 3,830 mm (150.79 in).