Sunday Morning at Royu Driveway

If you’re a car enthusiast living in the Keihanshin area, you’re probably well acquainted with the Royu Driveway. Every Sunday morning around 8 a.m., the lookout point fills up with sports cars and supercars, where everyone enjoys chatting about cars, taking turns driving each other’s vehicles, and spending quality time together. Incidentally, our home is just a 15-minute drive from Royu Driveway, so my husband often heads there for a drive (even on weeknights), and he frequently visits on Saturday and Sunday mornings as well.

As for me… I’ve lived around here for six years but had only attended the Sunday morning meet once before. Just recently, I joined for the second time, partly to practice driving our Boxster (manual transmission).

A Gathering of Supercars

That day, my husband’s friends planned to meet at the Royu lookout at 11 a.m. Since we wanted to get some practice in with the Boxster, we arrived early at 9:30 a.m., only to find everyone already gathered except for one car.

Car lovers sure start their mornings early.

The cars gathered included first the Ferrari California.

The owner recently bought this California used, and it turns out it was once owned by Yasushi Akimoto, the producer of AKB48. Amazing!

Next up was the beautifully shaped Ferrari 488 Spider.

And then the Lamborghini Huracán.

The Huracán’s owner mentioned he’s planning to switch to a Ferrari soon, so this was his last run on Royu. Hearing stories like this at the lookout made me feel a bit embarrassed for showing up dressed head to toe in Uniqlo… even though Uniqlo is super reliable! (^-^;)

Finally, there was our own Porsche Boxster GTS.

Test Driving a Ferrari

Later, the group decided, “Let’s drive each other’s cars until the last one arrives.” My husband got to drive the Ferrari California, and I was lucky enough to join him in the passenger seat.

The bright red interior was striking. Still, with supercars, it’s hard to instantly know where all the buttons are, so I figured I’d be a bit flustered until I got used to it. We pulled out from the parking lot and headed to the mountain roads.

Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw the Ferrari 488 Spider following us.

What a luxurious sight.

What really surprised me about the Ferrari California was its sound. The exhaust had been replaced with an aftermarket one, and the roar was so loud I was startled the entire time. My husband kept muttering, “Oh, I see,” “Definitely different from a Porsche,” as he drove.

After about 10 minutes, we returned to the lookout, where everyone who knew I write this blog immediately asked, “How was it, ma’am!?” Caught off guard by the loud noise, I blurted out:

…Oh,

…the sound was incredible!

…It was like the sound of a cow giving birth! (ﾟＡﾟ)!

…….

…….

…….(Silence)

Everyone was very gentlemanly and said, “Well, we’ve never actually heard a cow giving birth, but… now that you mention it, maybe it does sound like that…” Still, the atmosphere was a bit awkward for a while (^-^;)

I really apologize for comparing someone’s beloved car engine sound to a cow in labor… I wonder what a real cow sounds like during birth (I’ve actually never heard it).

The Long-Awaited GT3 Arrives

While all this was happening, the last car finally arrived at the lookout: my husband’s most anticipated car, the Porsche GT3 (991.1)!

My husband immediately got behind the wheel, and I joined him in the passenger seat. From the moment he pressed the accelerator, his excitement was off the charts. He kept exclaiming, “Amazing!” over and over. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him that thrilled. I’ll share his GT3 test drive review in a future blog post.

Afterwards, we all headed to Rokko Garden Terrace for lunch and continued our car talks. Everyone’s outlook on life, work, and cars was different, but at the core, we all shared the belief that “this kind of mindset and attitude is essential for living a rich and fulfilling life.” It was truly a valuable lesson.

When our daughters are a bit older, I hope to introduce them to everyone so they can learn from these wonderful people. It was genuinely a rich and rewarding time.

By the way… at the previous Royu meet, I met a university student with incredible photography skills and a deep love for cars, Aitan. Coincidentally, he was at the Royu lookout this time too and kindly sent me some fantastic photos afterward. Thank you so much!

The photos are stunning. His sense of style is really impressive. If you want your car photographed, why not reach out to Aitan on Twitter? (Just kidding!)

I definitely want to join the third Royu gathering as well.