Osaka
Osaka City occupies a unique position in Japanese motorsport history as home to "Kanjozoku" (Loop Tribe), a rebellious street racing culture staged on the 10.3km Hanshin Expressway Loop Route (Kanjo Loop). Illegal racing on the "clockwise one-way high-speed loop" continuing since the late 1970s—legends of removing license plates, netting windows, wearing masks for anonymity, and chase scenes with police—still "continue underground" as of 2024. The loop chosen by Osaka's working-class youth as "rebellion against life on rails" embodies a philosophy of "driving is everything," the polar opposite of Tokyo's exhibition culture.
Kanjozoku vehicles center on thoroughly lightened Honda Civics (EG6/EK9)—interior removal, bucket seats, roll cages, NA B16B engine tuning create "street-legal circuit machines." The harsh environment of Hanshin Expressway's narrow lanes, sharp curves, and elevated bridge joints became a dojo for honing "tight corner exit acceleration" technique. Teams asserted identity through stickers, slogans, and color schemes; some had connections to yakuza criminal organizations. Many left due to Osaka Police crackdown intensification (vehicle confiscation, arrests), but remaining groups "preserving tradition" still conduct late-night runs 1-2 times monthly—former rival teams united, building solidarity to "not let Kanjozoku history be erased."
Osaka's motorsport culture comprises three elements: "anti-authority," "working-class rebellion," and "rivalry against Tokyo." If Tokyo is a "rich people's exhibition," Osaka is a "commoner's battleground"—Kanjozoku's entry point starting from ¥300,000 used Civics is intentionally designed to exclude the wealthy. Access to Suzuka Circuit (90 minutes by Kintetsu Limited Express, 100km by car) is overwhelmingly better than from Tokyo, yet a class exists choosing the loop for economic reasons: "circuits cost too much." Illegal time attacks completing the 10.3km loop in 2-minute range were "poor people's circuits" for youth unable to afford Suzuka's ¥20,000 daily track fees.
Kanjozoku culture emphasizes "aesthetics of anonymity." Thoroughness of "revealing neither face nor identity" through no license plates, VIN deletion, window nets, mask wearing—ingenuity making vehicle tracking difficult even after arrest enabled a half-century cat-and-mouse game. The loop through Osaka's Chuo, Kita, Naniwa, and Nishi wards targets the 2-5 AM time window when "general traffic nearly disappears." Today, surveillance cameras and automatic license plate readers are deployed, making "weekly runs like the old days impossible," yet the fact it hasn't completely disappeared tells Osaka's rebellious spirit.
Regarding relationship with Suzuka Circuit, Osaka holds a contradiction of being the major city closest to "legal circuits" while refusing to abandon "illegal streets." The convenience of Kintetsu Limited Express "Shimakaze" to Shiroko Station in 90 minutes for ¥3,000 one-way—comparable to Tokyo's Fuji commute (¥2,000 + 90 minutes). However, economic disparity of "Suzuka is ¥20,000/day plus accommodation, loop is just fuel cost and risk" creates class division. Middle-class and above go to Suzuka, working class stays on the loop—this segregation clarifies Osaka motorsport's hierarchical structure. Many Kanjozoku hold dreams of "running Suzuka someday" while in reality ending their lives on the loop. This pathos and rebellious spirit forms the soul of Osaka street racing.