Japan is well known for its mountains, and these road links in the mountains were built with various S-bends to help Japan traverse its high terrain. Instead of traversing open land, touge winds through mountainous terrains. The only difference between the touge and the British back road is the adrenaline rush and huge altitude variables that the touge offers. To understand touge better, it can be compared to the British B-road, a very British thing to do, exploring the countryside and open lands on less populated roads. These mountain passes have now become a part of the Japanese automotive culture, where these are used for drifting, racing, and roadside car meetups. The driving community has developed a significant interest in routes initially designed to make it easier for commuters (or tofu delivery drivers) and commercial vehicles to move about the country. As you’ll probably already know, the touge is popular for drifting and street races – think real-world Tokyo Drift.

With that covered, let’s dive into the fun part. While others may pronounce it as “tooj”, or any similar variable, this is incorrect. The easy way to remember is by breaking down the word into two, pronouncing it as “to:ge” (or, if you want to be blunt – “tow-gay”!) When pronouncing touge, just like many people who are unaware of Japanese terminologies, I struggle endlessly with the pronunciation. Common to Japanese car enthusiasts, Tōge, also spelled as touge, is a Japanese word that translates into “pass,” referring to a mountain pass, which is a navigable path through mountains with tight twists and turns, making the entire idea of this Japanese touge racing and drifting more exciting.

Drift streets japan tuning