Close Topic Options

[Initial D World]

Few days ago, one of the fans asked us where is the GS gas station in real life. It was a good question because no one seems to be able to pinpoint the exact location of the gas station. Knowing how most places in Initial D exists in real life, we were determined to find it.

So how should we go about finding a fictional gas station? We knew there is no "GS" gas station anywhere in real life. It is made up by the First Stage anime production team. In the manga, they actually uses "Esso" for the gas station. That was our first clue. We located every single Esso gas station around Mt. Haruna (Akina) and Shibukawa on a radius of three miles. Why three miles? Well, because Takumi and Itsuki could literally walk to the gas station after school. Three miles seems like a reasonable limit for walking to work.

And we got nothing. So we expanded our search to ANY gas station on a radius of three miles. Still, there was no gas station even remotely resemble the look of the GS gas station shown in First Stage. We were not about to give up yet. Next, we studied the surrounding structures of the gas station. There seems to be a highway overpass right next to the gas station. The road next to gas station goes under this overpass through a little road tunnel.

But even with all these clues, we still couldn't find that illusive gas station. So what did we do? We turned to Japanese message boards. An anonymous user said the GS gas station is not located in Shibukawa or Mt. Haruna. In fact, it is nowhere near Gunma Prefecture. It is actually located in Tokyo! And our search continues. After two excruciating days of searching, we found the mysterious GS gas station!! It is an Esso gas station located in 東京都練馬区 (Nerima-ku, Tokyo) near the intersection of 千川通り (Senkawa-dori) and 環七通り (Kannana-dori, also known as No.7 Ring Road)

Now now, don't you all show up there and challenge Takumi... (laugh) Be sure to check out the Street View link below!

| Address |
〒176-0011 東京都練馬区豊玉上２丁目５−９ TEL:03-3994-2709

| Google Maps |
» ペトロベスト 桜台Ｓ・Ｓ - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/atMkL
» Google Maps Street View | http://goo.gl/maps/DxGtT

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT 2, 5, 6 & 11.
» Initial D Gallery Stage | http://www.gallery.tsukaeru.jp/

Image size reduced, original size: 996 x 1556. Click here to view the image in its original dimension.

[keg11]

Nice!

Now here's another challenge: If you notice from third stage onwards, the scenery around the station was different (for one, no bridge behind the station) could this be real too and closer to a Gunma station?

I'm not expecting someone to find it/go to the trouble to. I'm just curious.