OVER and over again in recent months I have heard travel industry veterans opine that the future of travel, and particularly the luxury sector, is not so much about the accommodations, (though let’s face it a nice soft bed and being waited on hand and foot certainly has its place) but more about the experience.
And though initially sceptical, I’ve come to the conclusion they were right.
I recently got the opportunity to experience drift racing with Team Orange in Tokyo and, I must admit, it’s probably the part of my trip I have spoken most about since I got back.
Drifting, for the uninitiated, is described by Wikipedia as ‘a driving technique and a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (eg car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors’.
Got that? It basically means doing everything in a car you’re not supposed to do and doing it on a race track, surrounded by other cars all doing the same thing, at high speed and in very, very close proximity!
If you’ve seen the 2006 film The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, take it from me, watching was scary but actually being in one of those cars hurtling round the track at a seemingly suicidal pace, even if I was being driven by women’s world drifting champion Sumika Kubokawa (pictured with me), was absolutely terrifying.
So why did I do it?
Well, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or at least that’s what I told myself over and over as I emitted small whimpers and squeezed my eyes tightly shut as we hurtled towards those corners, and how often do you get the chance to not only meet and be taught by the guy who actually did the driving in The Fast and The Furious – another former world champion Nobushige Kumakubo – but to actually have a go yourself?
As a woman with teenage nephews, the bragging rights are priceless!
But how does one even find out this sort of thing is on offer?
I was treated to this wonderful experience by Private Concierge, a company set up by two young Tokyo women who got so much interest when they organised parties and special events for their friends that they decided to go into business together.
Five years later and Ayako Inaba and Ayumi Takada offer all manner of services, trips and events – from learning fish cuisine with a Michelin-starred sushi chef to the intricacies of a Japanese tea ceremony – for individuals and businesses whether living in Japan or just visiting.
Without them, Tokyo Drift would have remained just the name of an almost forgotten film so, although such services may not come cheap, if the experts are to be believed, and I’ve already become convinced, then they are certainly something we will see more of as the luxury travel trade strives to provide not just the accommodation but the experience.
And, as with air conditioning and en-suite facilities, where the luxury sector goes the rest will surely follow – as one of my drifting compatriots in Tokyo said ‘it’s what supermarket car parks are for!’.
By Liz O’Reilly