Akiba Autos

Tokyo's underground drift car scene doesn't happen in the light of day. It's not found on the glitz of the Magarigawa Club, a private racetrack that looks out onto Tokyo Bay. No. It takes place under the cloak of night, in some unmarked industrial estate out in the far peripheries of the city.

Drift is synonymous to Japanese car culture—the country's mountain roads creating the perfect playground to push the boundaries of home built cars.

Iconic drift models include Nissan's Silvia and S-Chassis, Toyota's Chaser and AE86 and the Mazda RX-7, each designed to achieve the perfect balance of sidewards control and guttural strength.

Working alongside the good people at Trippin, photographer James Edson documents the drivers during one of their nightly stakeouts. Woven into the scenes, pieces from the Akiba Autos Capsule collection for Spring/Summer 2025 quietly nod to Japan’s enduring relationship with uniforms and automotive culture.

Capturing scenes of frenzied velocity, alongside downtime moments with their friends and partners, Edson's series is a rare insight into the lifestyles of such an elusive community, shot with an intimacy only afforded by trust and friendship.