Youtube Video From This Event: https://youtu.be/eN8RyqzScO8?si=BpVNiLteLssZeVe6
Tokyo Supercars & Circuits In Japan
While our business at Tokyo Supercars is primarily focused on hosting supercar tours in the Tokyo area, we occasionally get out of the city and onto the circuit. There are actually quite a few options for track days here in Japan. You have the current F1 track Suzuka Circuit, the former F1 track, Fuji Speedway and many others of varying sizes and difficulty across the country. It is actually quite amazing the number of tracks this relatively small country is able to accommodate, especially considering the tough mountain terrain that covers most of Japan. But, there is nothing quite like what we got to see today! Today we went to the recently opened Magarigawa Circuit, which is more than just a circuit. It's a luxury country club with a five star feel.
We started our journey by hopping in the Ferrari Scuderia and heading out of downtown Tokyo towards Chiba via the aqua line which is the fourth longest underwater tunnel in the world! Before arriving at the circuit, we stopped for a quick round of Golf in Chiba with some friends.
They then accompanied us to Magarigawa in a Classic 993 Turbo Porsche and a Nismo R35 GTR. We actually just added this GTR to our platform and have been really enjoying it lately.
Arriving at The Magarigawa Club
As we arrived 15 minutes late to our pre-track seminar, we drove through the big gates and headed up toward the clubhouse at the top of the mountain. We actually got a chance to have a tour of Magarigawa during construction but getting to see it today in all of its glory was a real treat! Cruising up the driveway of this $200 million facility we passed a helicopter pad, a private petrol station and a storage facility that is able to hold 300+ cars here at the track! Magarigawa’s vehicle storage is climate-controlled, safe and comes complete with periodical maintenance checks. They have a team of professionals on sight to make sure your car is ready to hit the track whenever you are. This takes a lot of stress and hassle out of track days for those that can afford this option.
The Facilities at Magarigawa
It is quite a drive to get all the way up to the clubhouse. As we started to approach the clubhouse, we had our first glimpse at some of the steeper inclines on the track as well as the private gym. The membership at Magarigawa comes with full access to a beautiful gym with state of the art modern equipment. It has views of the highest point of the circuit and the steep decline afterwards. It even has live feeds in the gym itself, so you don't miss what's going on at the track while you are breaking a sweat.
Pulling into the parking lot in front of the clubhouse, we spotted a Tesla charging at an EV station but the real cars were hiding inside of the massive indoor circuit pit lane! The Pit lane kind of sums it all up here at Magarigawa. It's more like a private lounge or even a five star hotel lobby where you can park your car, hang out, take a few laps and then chill out again. Compared to other circuits, especially at Fuji Speedway, where it's loud, dirty and pure adrenaline, the feeling here is different. It’s sophisticated and relaxed because it's a private club. You kind of feel like you know the people there. It's a community and it just feels very safe.
Following a stroll around the pit lane where we got to see cars like the Lamborghini STO and several other supercars, we walked over to check out some of the other facilities Magarigawa has to offer. The first being the beautiful Infinity pool overlooking both the mountains and the ocean! After a day driving at the circuit, you need a place to relax so Magarigawa has built this pool along with indoor and outdoor hot springs for you to take a rest. They are also a great treat for your family to use if you have a hard time dragging them to the track.There is even a dedicated kids area as well as some really nice restaurants here to get a bite to eat when you are hungry. What a place!
On-Site Properties
Here at Magarigawa, there is accommodation on site in the form of 8 to 10 villas that have been built and pre-sold. They all have amazing views of the circuit, as well as an outdoor terrace attached to each of the properties. The interior of each of the villas is fairly spacious. There's a living room, dining room, bedrooms, as well as indoor parking available. As I mentioned, these have been pre-sold, they are then rented out on a sharing basis. So if you're a member and you come and stay here, you can actually rent out the rooms and stay on site. Apparently, they may be building more villas in the future as well.
Business Strategy
There are three major official Ferrari dealers in Japan, Cornes, Rosso Scuderia and Nicole Competizione. Cornes is actually the group that built Magarigawa which is a very interesting strategy. Obviously there is brand loyalty and a customer base for each of these different dealers and now Cornes is the only one with this luxury country club circuit. So whoever is joining the circuit membership who is a customer of their competitors, could potentially make a shift to Cornes as a customer in the future.
Of course, the lifetime value of these customers is massive. They're buying one car a year or even one car every few years or more. Cornes has an opportunity to take a lot of market share from their competitors. Overall, it's a very smart move strategically to have this facility in Japan. It is going to give Cornes and Magarigawa a tremendous reach to customers not only in Japan, but in Asia and the rest of the world who want to come and experience this type of membership.
Conclusion
I am not going to make any emotional decisions about joining this membership club now. I set myself a clear goal for the company to join in 2024 once we make a bit more solid profit. I just want to join now! Overall, we had an amazing day here at Magarigawa with some really good people and can’t wait to come back. I had some fun in the Scuderia and will continue to push my skills at the circuit to become a better driver!
Here is a link to our Youtube video from this day! :https://youtu.be/eN8RyqzScO8?si=BpVNiLteLssZeVe6