Initial D - Loading! Irohazaka IRL

If you ever played the racing game Initial D, you're familiar with Irohazaka - a 1-way switchback mountain road in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. If you ever played the game, you probably know about the 48 hairpin turns along the dizzying ride down, but did you know that each curve is identified by one letter of the old Japanese alphabet? I say old because, while many of the characters are still-familiar hiragana, there are a couple characters that might leave you going "RU~uungh?" and scrambling for the input on your DS.

If you're up visiting the Nikko Toshogu shrine - the shrine at which the bones of Shogun Founder Tokugawa Ieyasu are interred - or the ancient pilgrimage destination of Bhuddist monks, Lake Chuzenji (which now has duck-shaped paddle boat rentals...oh, the hubris...), or kegon waterfall, make sure to keep a look-out on your way down for these funky not-quite-recognizable characters.

My best friend Adryn and her husband Darren, who live in Tochigi, created this awesome Initial-D themed video of their ride down the Irohazaka. Obviously, the video is sped-up. They weren't really going this fast!

START!