Part one of two. The Top Gear trio set out on an epic race from a small beach on Japan's west coast to a monument to the Buddha of road safety located half-way up Mount Nokogiri, some 400 miles to the east. Pitted against Jeremy in his 193mph Nissan GT-R are Richard and James using the might of Japan's incredible public transport system and its fabled 200mph bullet train. Go to http://www.youtube.com/TopGear to see a full list of all high quality videos available on the Top Gear YouTube channel and don't forget to visit http://www.topgear.com for all the latest news and car reviews.