On our way through the dark, the Toyota people prepared me for my room’s view. ”It’s Close to Mount Fuji,” they said. ”And your room is facing the mountain.” I got up at the first hint of light, walked to the window and realized I was at the very foot of Mount Fuji. The rising sun turned the snow at the summit a sparkling pink. A pair of huge Bonzai styled trees outside the window had clearly been posed with thought against the background. It was December 2003 and I was set to drive the Lexus prototype hybrid SUV.
Two years earlier, Toyota bought the Mount Fuji International Speedway to test their Formula 1 platforms. My hosts were taking me to the track to put the new 400h through its paces on what was fast becoming hallowed ground. Once we’d passed through the gate into the main reception, I was sternly instructed to leave my camera behind, sign various papers and promise to keep everything I learned top secret. I checked all the right boxes, made all the right noises and did my damndest to hide my growing excitement behind an unsuitably Western veil of eagerness.
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