Drive an hour south of Fukuoka and take a right at the city of Hita and you¡¯ll find yourself skirting the edge of Lake Bairin.
Mountains rise up from the water¡¯s edge, the slopes crowded with cedars, and the road alternates between dense forest and sweeping panoramas of the lake. If you know where to look, you may notice a moss-stained sign that reads ¡°Autopolis International Racing Course.¡±
The sign seems to be a relic, and for that matter, entirely out of place. Here, buried in the mountains on the rural border of Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, it would be madness to build such a grand racing circuit. Mad ideas, however, are sometimes entertained.
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