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Wow that road!
There’s no doubt that whoever designed that had sports cars on their mind.
Many touge across Japan, give me that same idea!
Here's the map:
R120 is one-way up, and one-way down.
The down run is the North segment, and is part of the pic above.
R122 further South (the bridge shot in the SH piece) is also good, but really only one car wide, and the locals use a spotter to effectively close the road for the illegal drift comps they hold.
R120 though has plenty of passing spots on both segments, and you can really get into it...
Touge Hunting in the Land of the Long White Cloud...
Wow!
If ever there was a place for Porsche it is New Zealand - the roads are just amazing, the views are stellar, and the people even nicer than Canadians.
Pity the Cayman was back home in Tokyo, and we just had a Toyota rental, as the roads are usually sparsely populated, well-made, and there's plenty of them...
Here's a sample of two-weeks' driving:
On a remote coastal road, we stopped to look at some wetland birds nesting, and this curious mail box was roadside.
The owner came to clear their mail while we were there, and graciously invited us to view his garage.
Our overnight accommodation one night.
Open roads in some places reminded us of Canada.
In other places of high altitude Japan.
Wellington is a great city, and it felt a bit like San Fran and Melbourne smooshed together.
Marlene Dietrich's V16 Cadillac and a few other notables are in a local museum.
With a lot of rough and unmade roads too, most locals seem to drive 4WDs.
We saw hardly any sport cars despite the tempting roads, but we suspect - like the 356s - they are tucked away in garages for weekend enjoyment.
If we moved to NZ, I suspect a 964 Carrera 4 would be the ideal car...
Those roads look awesome! I'm guessing you can go flat out in some areas without any fear of cops, although one should always obey all posted speed limits.
Just put the Cayman on a ferry to NZ. You can change the oil on the way.
It's amazing how varied NZ is. I lived there for 5 years, drove a lot--from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South, and didn't recognise one place in your photos!
Those roads look awesome! I'm guessing you can go flat out in some areas without any fear of cops, although one should always obey all posted speed limits.
Just put the Cayman on a ferry to NZ. You can change the oil on the way.
The roads are great!
Out for drives over the holiday period, I notice the roads in Japan are built with very little camber in the corners.
A lot of the roads in NZ are built with quite a large corner camber for some reason, which must be great in a Porsche...
While I did not see any speed-traps, the police visibly patrol the expressways, and other urban roads.
We did not see too many outside of these areas though...
Not sure there's a ferry that runs from Tokyo to NZ, and it would be a long journey too!
Originally Posted by GregWormald
It's amazing how varied NZ is. I lived there for 5 years, drove a lot--from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South, and didn't recognise one place in your photos!
Indeed!
We made the same observation; where you can drive from differing coastal areas (wetlands and estuary), through rain forest, pastoral lands, Jurassic era tree ferns, conifer forests, high country scrub, and volcanic scree all in one day.
Inspired by this thread. First few shots from my Bronica S2a with Portra 400. This is our local car club after the run up Haleakala, a dormant volcano here on Maui. It's about 10,000 ft elevation.
Inspired by this thread. First few shots from my Bronica S2a with Portra 400. This is our local car club after the run up Haleakala, a dormant volcano here on Maui. It's about 10,000 ft elevation.
I'm having a lot of fun shooting film again.
That's pretty neat in many ways!
Not least the misty view...
Great stuff...
Assume you know too, you can get $1000 digital camera lens equivalents for the S2 for $100 or less.
Last day of the year, quiet roads presented a great chance to get out for a traditional soba lunch and a touge or two:
Expressway entrance.
I met this guy a bit further down the Chuo, and he said he was off to do a full lap of Fuji-san, via the five or six touge that circle the mountain.
Instead of Fuji-san, I went out Chichibu and Okutama, and drove some new roads.
Though most places were closed, a few restaurants were open on the way back, so a soba it was.
The guy in the Copen drove off roof down.
Passing Spyder, roof down on a 5C day.
Hardy.
Baby monkey, separated from her troop, and very nearly squashed by a Michelin.
After a panic stop from both of us, she just sat there crying...
While Speedhunters covered the general stuff, here's a Porsche summary (and a few others) from New Year weekend at Daikoku Futo:
Around past the Oi shinkansen sleeping yard, exiting the Yamate Tunnel.
I'd been dicing through the tunnel with this TR, and he passed me on the inside at a high rate of speed, many times what I expected.
Fuji-san off in the distance approaching Yokohama.
Always an auspicious sight.
Love the sound of a rotary at high rpm on a cold morning.
I liked these two together.
I've never seen a 996 with a 964 body kit before.
After getting over the initial shock, the proportions were not that bad?
Another first for me, injection on an S20.
Why you would want to replace the well-proven Webers is interesting, but suppose it may help.
Sounded good regardless, and maybe that's enough reason?
TVRs also sound damn good, right up there with Lambo, Honda S800, and a 2.0L S.
From BMW's greatest hits.
Coming home to Shibuya, this Speedster may be a recreation.
Neko-san - What a great thread! Beautiful cars, amazing photography! I'm only part way through, but I will take my time to enjoy as best I can.
I've only been to Japan one time. I did not have a chance to visit or tour far outside from Yokohama and the Nissan facilities where I was working. You have captured a world I had no idea existed.
Neko-san - What a great thread! Beautiful cars, amazing photography! I'm only part way through, but I will take my time to enjoy as best I can.
I've only been to Japan one time. I did not have a chance to visit or tour far outside from Yokohama and the Nissan facilities where I was working. You have captured a world I had no idea existed.
Arigato!
Enjoy with thanks, as I try to show something other than social media cliche...
I've a friend who works at Nissan in Yokohama and used this as my icon for a while too:
Setsubun is coming up, so we spent time on the weekend building the dondo-yaki:
Here it is being completed as the men from the village put on the finishing touches.
More details of the build here if you're interested.
Being in the next valley, an early morning drive was necessary on the open roads, resulting in the above vaguely interesting photograph as we worked away...
See ya!
12-23-2019, 11:43 PM
