Quote Originally Posted by rallyfiend View Post
You need to understand the Japanese culture... They don't just go an stand in the middle of a stage. That would be naughty. They go only to the designated spectator locations.

I was lucky enough to go one year to Obihiro, and I can assure you the whole city was right behind the event. One of the best ceremonial starts I've ever been to. Amazing crowds.

And don't forget, this time it will be on the main island, just a couple of hours from Tokyo...
Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit! IMHO, the move to Sapporo for the last two years was a disaster, crowd-wise - the rally shuffled off to the suburbs and nobody knew it was on. The new Rally Japan has different Organisers and strong backing from Toyota. It is not only a couple of hours from both Tokyo and Osaka by expressway, it is only 30 minutes from Nagoya (pop. 2.3 million) and centred in Toyota City (pop. half a million) so no shortage of rally fans. In fact, amongst the greater challenges the Organisers face will be controlling both spectator stage access and traffic congestion. I imagine the exclusive use of spectator buses will be implemented.