Take a Real-World Drive Around GT5’s Tokyo R246 Circuit

Jordan Greer · · 89 Comments

With so many locations from around the world featured in Gran Turismo 5, many fans have produced excellent videos and amazing photo libraries to see just how well the game represents reality.

The video above, created by a Japanese YouTuber, follows this tradition, offering a complete tour of the actual roads which compose the GT5’s Tokyo R246 circuit. For added authenticity, he’s even driving with the same car (a white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution), in the same color, filming it all from the same roof-mounted camera position!

It all combines to make one of the best GT-vs.-reality comparison videos we’ve seen for some time now. Thanks to Mac K for the tip!

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Comments (89)

  2. JCH8r

    When I was in Tokyo in November 2010, I walked the streets of R246 and took video. The “circuit” surrounds a private park that is a palace of the Emperor of Japan. The HQ for Sony Gaming is the silver building on the outside of the track near the start-finish line on the main straight. The day I was there, I was able to attend a design conference at the building inside the circuit near turn two. Also, the baseball team that plays at the stadium was working out in the practice field. Tokyo in November is pretty mild, but it rained most of the days I was there. It was weird to walk the track, as I only thought of doing it when I noticed it on a street map of Tokyo on my phone. It isn’t too far from the Shinjuku, Shibuya districts where I was staying. Also, R246 features in a novel called 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Sometimes I look up at the sky to see if there are two moons.

    3. DuskTrooper

      @RB26 2jz

      Real street, real track. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that I never knew it was real.

      @TheEzekiel

      Actually I think it’s listed under “Original circuits”, not “World circuits”. Which usually “Original circuits” means tracks that PD fictionally created…

    4. DuskTrooper

      I wanted to add that It’s under the “City” category instead of the “Original circuits” category. My mistake.

  11. BWX

    Well the cleaned up, smoothed-out, sanitized, polished, widened, mirror-finished road surfaced GT5 version may be prettier, but I think the bumpier, narrower, grittier, real version would be more of a challenge and a lot more fun to scoot a car around on.

    I guess it wasn’t laser scanned huh? It just goes to show that people’s instincts about the roads being too smooth in GT5 (and all previous GTs) is completely true. I don’t ever want to hear an argument to the contrary again. Well, if they do want to argue, I’ll just direct them back here for proof.

    It would be cool if a higher res route 264 was made for GT6 (or 7 or whatever) that includes a lot more of the surface imperfections and bumps that the real course has. Same for all other tracks too, even though some are obviously better than others.

    Still a sweet video, but to me it points out how much simpler the road surface is in GT compared to reality. That’s something that could be improved on greatly without the next gen console too.

    1. ederss7

      so you’ve never raced at the circuit de la sarthe because it is just like in real life.every bump on the track surface.

    2. Pit Crew

      If you real enjoy world road characteristics BWX, you may have enjoyed the BGP (Baltimore Gran Prix).

      The course is very rigid down the back stretch and the Light Rail tracks were sending cars airborne on Fridays practice.

      Even the on course Chicane (limits speed down Pratt St stretch) bounced a few rides real good during the qualifying sessions. I think you may have enjoyed it.

  14. Tvensky

    I have to say!

    If I would go to Tokyo and then walk around it, I wouldn’t recognize Tokyo R246 if I would walk right pass it..

    Dont get me wrong, PD has done a very good job, but in real life other cars, every tree different, commercials all around, track differences in corners… It just isnt there in real life, but it is there in GT5.

  16. jacoja06

    Cool track… I visited Asakusa once and walked half of the track, which was pretty awesome. I can’t find the Starbucks coffee I visited on the main straight in the game though. :(

  19. lalaurentide

    The guy on the right clearly doesn’t move at 100-120 km/h, while in the game he does and the video isn’t slowed down. So either the claim that GT5 makes real circuit/location 1:1 is false or the speedometer is completely inaccurate, which might explain why in GT5, and most racing games, when you go at 100km/h you feel you ain’t moving and 200-240km/h on street circuit isn’t insanely fast. All this time I knew it, they “slowed” the car down compared to reality and multiplied the speedo to compensate. I knew it isn’t that easy to drive a production car at 200km/h in the streets of Monaco.

    2. mistersafeway

      Yes, you can see that it isn’t running at the true speed at the start of the video, there’s no way the Evo is that bouncy. You can also see it at the junctions, as the acceleration in a real unmodified Evo is much lower, and I get the feeling the owner wouldn’t get away with flooring an 800 BHP+ monster in the middle of a busy city.

  20. mikecustom

    the only similarities I see , the buildings (only a handful of them) and bumps, GT5’s looks horrible with all the 2D trackside objects, too wide, lightning and colors are bland and boring, I can understand PD ruining Nordschleife but this is supposed to be their homeland, still can’t make it right, once again, thanks PD

    3. MeanElf

      If those are the only similarities you see, then I think you are not actually looking. I agree that the 2D people do not do GT5 any favours, but they are the only ‘2D objects’ in the game – which other ones are you talking about?

    4. Foxiol

      Wow mike…Nürburgring is the best version in the entire market and you are saying that it was ruined? WTF?

      They use GPS/laser to scan the tracks so you have almost 1/1 versions of the real ones of course. Spa, Le Sarthe, Nürburgring, Susuka, Tsukuba, etc…Not sure about the upscaled ones from GT4 as Laguna Seca, Motegi and some more.

      We have the most accurate versions in the genre but we don´t have the best hardware to put it super ultra HD textures and 3D trees everywhere.
      Lighting is one of the best in the entire market too combined with and excellent colour palette which can be better but all combined gives the realistic look what we need.

      Look at pCARS they don´t use not GPS/Laser and not Laser (iRacing Method) and tracks looks good because of textures and stuff but at the same time the layouts are inaccurate and all combined looks over-saturated and unrealistic.
      Compare Spa versions of GT5 with pCARS and you´ll see what i mean.

      Too much textures but everything simplified.

      Here at Tokyo Route you can see that the width of the road is accurate but they added the protections and the other stuff to mark the “track”…but overall all looks in the place that it should be.

      Not sure if we have to wait till GT6 or GT7 depending in what platform (PS3 or PS4) we are going to see more high detailed textures and possibly 3D trees to give an overall better look. With PS4 we´ll have tessellation and more features and hopefully true 1080p resolution.

      The best example of amazing tracks are not those that we have in real life…take a look at Route X and tell me that it doesn´t look realistic. It just need more field of view so we won´t see the texture “pop ups” (lines) appearing in front of us.

      All have to do with performance. We need more quality on every aspects, but also we need better AI, more cars on tracks…with 24 ( a la F1) is enough for example, better realistic engine sounds and no more polygons just because tessellation will do the job with current premium cars. Still that need more power in the CPU and GPU.

      Hell, even Hideo Kojima is going to release MGS Ground Zeroes (a prologue to MGS5) and at the demo he said that we can see some polygons because of the current gen hardware but the game is going to look great despite those details. Also he is working in other title (MGS5 which is going to be for PS4) and he said that with Fox Engine they have already tessellation that they can include in the nex-gen consoles and upcoming games (he almost leaked that, lol) because Fox Engine was made for PC´s and next-gen consoles, so we are going to see a new game but “downgraded” a la Gran Turismo 5 next year…which still looks great despite the flaws. (Fox Engine looks great and it is very well optimized, amazing)

      Just because what Hideo said i believe that GT6 is going to wait for a PS4 release. If they want to keep performance (60FPS) with better quality…i mean you can´t go back once you reach a level of detail like we saw with Premium cars. Differences between GT5 cars on track against photomode are very noticeable, now imagine that quality on track with some tessellation and post processing effects.
      Graphics are not all but of course we can expect more with some more. Just progress.

      TL DR lmao Sorry.

    5. mistersafeway

      You made some good points Foxiol, but you said something that confused me: “(a prologue to MGS5)”. Where are you getting this information from? I’ve been keeping up with the news about MGS, so I’m wondering if your source is accurate… I’m sorry if I’m coming across as rude, for all I know you were at a special event or something, I just really like MGS and am very interested to know for sure what’s happening with it.

  21. HuskyGT

    I remember another one. I don’t kow it the guy was driving a Super Seven, but there certainly is an older vid. This was absolutely incredible, though.

  23. COLOSAL TOSSLE

    yeh,great job..
    pmsl at “fail-part 2” at 15:25,fan smacks lady in the face,so funny,she was trying to be a bit sexy for her boyfriend/hubby…wheres mark hamil

  24. Whodoyouthink

    Couldn’t they of done a different track? I can’t say I absolutely loathe Tokyo, but I suck at it so bad that I really don’t enjoy it that much.

    Not surprised at how real to life it is though. PD can really produce some amazing cars and tracks.

    1. MeanElf

      It was a Japanese gamer (or YouTuber as said in the article) what did you expect them to do, go to London, or Monaco? ;)

  25. Nato_777

    It is an extremely good comparison. I was surprised by the lack of traffic actually – I thought it’d be way busier.

    2. Pit Crew

      ^ Agreed tpark, and though things are quite on the GT5 updates, & GT6 intel, Jordan does his best to find any GT news he can to keep the conversation going. Kudos again Jordan and staff.

  27. SkierPS3

    Wow, I never knew that Tokyo R246’s roads were actually real. I always figured most of the roads weren’t real.

  32. Amac500

    Tokyo is my favorite street circuit in GT5 by far. It’s the only one I feel like is a proper street circuit for actual real world racing. When I say “proper” I’m talking like your typical street layout that cars like Indycar and alms run on. I really wish GT5 had another track like this, maybe an American one since they don’t have any American street circuits in GT5 :) Long Beach is a pretty historic street circuit, hint hint, lol, but literally any course like Tokyo would be awesome in the game.

  33. Youngun

    Seen a couple comparision vids but this is Good. Looks like fresh road markings in places…
    I’d prefer the real street curcuit. No barriers or rubble strips just curbs and wall where you race on the streets (have the closed off version aswell but an option to switch) same with london.

  34. tpark103

    I was the first person every, ever, ever to see this. Oh I saw this in 1982. Well I was in the car when he filmed it. Good for all of you guys, first time for myself and I like it. Thanks for the post Jordan for those of us who weren’t fortunate enough to enjoy this guys work.

    1. Sirius

      http://goo.gl/maps/X7RAr

      The link should take you to Akasaka in Tokyo. The start/finish line is on Aoyama Dorii (or 246, hence the name), then the track heads into the 414 to the right for about half of the whole track, then leading into the 405 and back to 246.

  40. Blank_Redge

    …to all of you “zomg this video is soooooo old!!1one!” people: keep it to yourselves. Not everyone has seen everything on the Internet twice. =p

    Nice find, Jordan; thanks! =)

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