How Far Can I Drive From Tokyo in a Day?

Why It Matters

The trip offers a real-world test of EV range and usability that can influence consumer perceptions and adoption, showing how advertised ranges translate into typical driving conditions. It also serves as lightweight marketing validation for Nissan during a period of rising interest in electric vehicles.

Summary

A presenter and a skeptical taxi driver set out from Tokyo in a brand-new Nissan Leaf to see how far they could travel north along the coast in a single day on one charge. Nissan lent the EV, which claimed a 528 km range, and the crew tested real-world performance—using highway assisted driving and eco modes—reporting about 150 km traveled with roughly 73% battery remaining at their first stop in Ibaraki. The trip mixes practical range checks with cultural stops and light competition between the optimistic host and the petrol-loyal driver. The video frames the Leaf as a futuristic, capable alternative to combustion cars while probing everyday usability and driver attitudes toward EVs.

Original Description

Natsuki and I hit the road to see how far we can escape Tokyo in a day.

🌟 Special thanks to Nissan for lending us the car: https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/EVENTS/NISSAN_LEAF_2025/

Starring Natsuki

Camera: Paul Ballard

Producer: Ian Rudd

Supervising Editor: Marcus Canning

VE Post Team

Edited by Ross Hodgson, Harrison Keast and Miyu Matsuzuki

3D Animations by Enrico Ciccu

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0:00 Why I’m Escaping Tokyo

03:59 Driving out the city

07:30 Shrines, Lunch and Sabotage

13:49 A Dramatic Change of Scenery

16:50 Into the Night

19:14 Japan’s Greatest View

23:04 BBQ in the Darkness

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