Heading to Fuji Speedway with the 911 and Cayenne

The other day, my husband took part in the RECARO Presents 10th 911DAYS Track Day held at Fuji Speedway, and our family went to watch him run on the circuit.

This track day is so popular that the 911DAYS slots filled up before the schedule was even publicly released, putting many on the waiting list. We join every year thanks to an invitation from President Suga of WRP, who sells air-cooled Porsches like the 911 (964), one of the co-hosting shops. It’s clearly a very sought-after event.

My husband has participated before in a Boxster GTS (981) and a 911 Cabriolet (992), but this time he took the wheel of the 911 Carrera 4 GTS he bought last year.

As usual, I followed along with our three kids (8, 5, and 1 years old) in the Cayenne.

It had been a while since I last drove the Cayenne, but its ride quality is refined and luxurious, the interior spacious, with plenty of room for luggage, and of course it drives like a true Porsche. The E-Hybrid’s acceleration is especially quick and exhilarating.

The kids love the Cayenne (they absolutely refuse to ride in Dad’s 911… haha), and the driver can enjoy the drive, so I’m reminded once again that it’s a car that makes the whole family happy.

As for the weather… although the forecast had promised sunshine, rain started falling as we arrived, and the mountain pass from Gotemba to Lake Yamanaka was so foggy you couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead.

…but thankfully the rain stopped on the day itself! (Though it began again by the time the track day ended.)

My husband will write about his impressions of driving the 911 Carrera 4 GTS on the circuit in a separate article, so I’d like to share some tips and thoughts about attending a track day with kids.

Tips for Attending a Track Day with Kids

Bring items to keep the kids entertained

If you’re attending with children, bringing things to keep them occupied is essential. For example, if the track day includes two 30-minute sessions, there can be several hours of downtime between runs.

While my husband is on track, we can watch together, but outside of that, the kids often find the waiting time boring and tough.

If your kids love cars, just watching the sports cars zoom by might be enough to keep them happy, but in our case, my 8- and 5-year-old daughters have no interest in cars at all.

So we usually bring coloring books and origami, but this time we also brought a Nintendo Switch.

As soon as we arrived, the two girls started playing Mario Kart, and honestly, they barely glanced at Dad’s second run, happily snacking and racing each other instead (laughs).

Always bring your own lunch

Depending on the venue and event, if the track day spans lunchtime, it’s best to bring onigiri, sandwiches, or other food with you.

At Fuji Speedway, restaurants may be open sometimes, but there are often long lines or they may be closed unless there’s a major event, so it’s safer to bring your own food.

When we first attended a track day at Fuji Speedway, we completely forgot to bring lunch and the restaurants were packed, so we ended up surviving on snacks instead. (That was fun in its own way, though!)

There are vending machines scattered around for drinks like tea and coffee, so no worries there, but definitely bring food with you.

Choose a compact, maneuverable stroller

If you bring a stroller, it’s best to have a small, easy-to-maneuver one. Many circuits don’t have elevators (at Fuji this time, there was only a freight elevator—maybe there was a passenger one somewhere, but we couldn’t find it), so you’ll often have to carry the stroller up and down stairs. A compact stroller that’s easy to carry is much more convenient.

We’ve been using a stroller we bought for about 5,000 yen at Nishimatsuya since our eldest daughter was born, and it’s been incredibly handy in situations like this.

This time, our youngest son was fussy a lot, so we switched to carrying him in a baby carrier partway through. He weighs about 12 kg now, so it was heavy, but the carrier made it easier to move around and he quickly fell asleep, which was a big help.

Dress for cold weather, even in spring

The 911DAYS track day at Fuji Speedway is held every year in late March, and I’m known as a “storm and heavy rain lady,” so the weather is often snowy, rainy, or quite chilly.

This time, when the sun was out, it was warm enough to work up a sweat, but as soon as it disappeared and the wind picked up, it got very cold—there were big temperature swings.

Fuji Speedway sits at about 550 meters elevation, so the weather can change quickly.

For that reason, I recommend preparing a slightly thicker jacket or layers assuming it will get cold. On the other hand, summer there must be very sunny and strong.

Next time, maybe take the Shinkansen?

After we got home, my husband and I talked about this:

If we participate again next year, it might be better for me and the kids to take the Shinkansen and rent a car from the station. The kids love trains more than cars, so they’d be happy, and the travel time would be shorter.

Driving from our home to Gotemba, where Fuji Speedway is located, takes about seven hours including breaks.

While we adults are used to it, it’s a long trip for the kids and a bit tough on them.

In fact, on the way home this time, our youngest son vomited several times in the car. The next day, the doctor diagnosed him with a stomach virus, which then spread to our younger daughter, husband, and eldest daughter—making the week after quite difficult (I miraculously stayed symptom-free). So I’m thinking about switching to Shinkansen travel next time.

We might not have to go to such lengths, but since the kids still want to come along, I hope we can continue enjoying our family car life together while we can.