Today, we’re going to take a fast and furious ride through the Tokyo Drift filming locations. That movie, directed by Justin Lin, presented Han’s character for the first time, and it was a standalone sequel that didn’t include Dom Toretto and Paul Walker.
It is a fast-paced one-and-a-half-hour movie that takes us between California and Japan. The movie tells the story of Sean Boswell, a dude who wrecks a car after a high-speed street race, gets in trouble for crashing it, and must flee the United States to Japan to live with his dad, who’s stationed there; it is there that he discovers that in the streets of Tokyo, they are also racing, and he embarks on a high-octane perilous journey.
Fast And Furious Tokyo Drift Filming Locations
Filmed between California and Tokyo, Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift’s filming locations were iconic places all over the Japanese capital, as well as other locations in the United States.
But here’s a fun fact: In Tokyo, the local authorities wouldn’t allow any filming permits, so Justin Lin and his crew went and filmed the scenes there without any permits, in a very expedited way.
Stage 29 Universal Studios, Los Angeles, California
Located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Los Angeles, the very versatile and almost endless capabilities studio was home to many indoor scenes and stunts.
Long Beach, California
Sean Boswell is a California brat with a knack for street racing with his buddy clay; he hits on girls his age on the streets of Long Beach, an iconic location for many movies as well as a cultural landmark that’s symbolic of the spirit of California.
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Victorville, California
The one scene where Sean goes on a racing rampage across a bunch of houses being built, and that concludes with him totaling a bunch of cars, setting things up for him to go away to Japan to escape justice, was shot in Victorville, California. Fun fact: Over 100 cars were destroyed in the making of this movie.
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, Japan
The famous movie “Tokyo Drift” showed a lot of the Shibuya Crossing, which is a beautiful symbol of Tokyo’s urban energy and movement. This world-famous pedestrian scramble takes place in the busy Shibuya district and is a show of chaos that is perfectly timed.
As the movie’s characters race through the streets of Tokyo in high-speed drifting races, the Shibuya Crossing makes a beautiful backdrop, showing how high-speed racing and the city’s busy everyday life are in contrast with each other. Fun fact: Toyo Tires donated 4,000 tires for this movie, and roughly half of them were actually used.
Takeshita-don, Harajuku, Tokyo
Takeshita-don is a retro shopping street in Harajuku, Tokyo. This interesting street has everything from vintage clothing shops to unique modern products and souvenirs. It’s also home to some of the most colorful fashion icons in Japan, such as Lolita fashion and Gyaru style.
The Harajuku district is known for its eccentric styles and Takeshita and served as a backdrop to tell how Sean was getting to know everybody and the who’s who in the racing scene in that country as he was adjusting to the life there and finding out that there’s indeed another shot for him behind the wheel with all that adrenaline.
Was Tokyo Drift Good?
Now that we know where Justin Lin chose to shoot this third Fast and Furious movie, the action starts with a heated debate that divides the public that follows the Fast and Furious franchise, whether or not this movie is any good.
By the time it dropped, it wasn’t as well appreciated, but that movie, as stated earlier, did showcase the debut of Han, a character that became central to the Dom Toretto family in the next three movies. In any case, the legacy of Tokyo Drift is there; it gave a different vibe to the traditional quarter-mile racing that we saw in the first two, With pro drivers drifting in the movie.
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