Zach L

Great cars and photos! Thanks for sharing

Kuro Neko

Yes! There's a Mazda Carol with '917' above somewhere I think... a good pair.

Thanks, and while we didn't see too many interesting cars on a recent tour North, we did get to enjoy some glorious touge, and amazing seafood.


After clearing Tokyo traffic on a Saturday morning, the Joshin-Etsu Expressway cleared and we could open the Cayman up.



Running ahead of schedule to our overnight accommodation, when we saw the signs to R18 and the Usui Touge, we had to jump off and run one of our favorites.
We were joined by some L-gata, snarling their way up the hills...



An S660 flew past revving that little triple.



There's more pics above on the Usui Touge, as with over 180 corners, it's a great run.



As we were heading further North though, we only ran it in one direction, but were able to connect back to the expressway with some similarly great roads.



The famed Megane Bashi, and we keep promising ourselves we will come back and walk the old train line to the train museum.



More corners!



Joining the expressway again, the traffic was still light, and we continued to make good progress North.



This was our planned path, but with nice days on the road we would be sure to add more.
More photographs to come as I process...

Kuro Neko

Coming down one mountain pass, we stopped for a cool drink beside a lake, and watched the passing sport bikes.



The roads across high country Nagano-ken are well kept and great for the Cayman.







We stopped for lunch in the small town of Obuse, and enjoyed a quiet walk through the shady back streets.
Citroen and Peugeot are now selling more cars in Japan than ever... and it's not unusual to see French design popping up all over the place (and not just in the cities).




First-gen Corona (a 'Barikan', so called because of its resemblance to an electric razor), and a single digit, original plate Skyline.
Both the Barikan and and the Skyline with that great blue-tinted glass found on period JDM Deluxe models.



With much of Nagano-ken under snow through the winter months, snow removal equipment is everywhere.
This plow-equipped Unimog has seen better days, but would have to be one of the neatest options for clearing your driveway?



Off into the summer mists again...

Zach L

What is the distance and time to do this route?

Zach L

I just recently learned of Toyopet in the new video from Jason Cammisa, which is great watch on the 2000GT

Kuro Neko

@Zach L
Hey, the straight driving here is about 1400 km and 24 hours total time.
We added another 400 or more km, and spread the driving over the nine days.
The rest of the time was spent marveling at the views, walking about, taking photographs, and recovering from the huge ryokan meals...

Ha! I just watched the same, and not the first time Hagerty has had stuff on the 2000GT, as they used some of my pics for a piece I wrote a number of years ago on investing in Japanese classics.
The Cammisa piece on the Honda S800 is pretty good too...



Taking a 2000GT to Fuji-san for the 06:00 sunrise, to get that pic above was pretty neat.
I think there's more buried above somewhere too...

Zach L

Wow that's a MUCH longer distance than I expected. Sounds like an amazing trip.

A 2000GT just sold last week for $1.15 million USD (156 million JPY) on BaT.

SCMike

Wow - looks like a Hiroshige print into which a 2000GT was photoshopped. Nice!

Kuro Neko

More from the rest of the trip to follow as I remember when and where the pics were taken, and can add some slight commentary...
Like much in Japan, distance sometimes presents a conundrum:



Unlike Aus:



The Atlantis Green owner above, has two.
He also had my S800 for a while too - obviously a man of taste.

Here's some more 2000GT goodness, because we all like pretty pictures.
Note the difference between the smoother front end / driving lights in the first pic on the later kouki MF12 (single-cam), and the last pic of the more common MF10 (twin-cam) zenki version.
The interior is also different with safety door latches and different Yamaha piano wood dash (for those interested).






Thanks!
I like how someone has lifted one of the pics from the shoot and sells fake period metal signs:


Porsche service to be resumed soon...

Kuro Neko

Joining the coast at Joetsu-shi, our next destination was Toyama to the West.
We avoided the expressway, and took the road closest to the Sea of Japan.
The prominent public telephone is still in service, with its fax port too of course...



The roads were sparsely used, and presented a continual series of curves, safe passing opportunities, and great views.



We stopped frequently to explore some of the smaller fishing villages.



Well-kept, clean and tidy, the coast was obviously still making a strong living from the sea.



It was 35C by mid-morning, and we suspect most people were tucked up inside with some cold tea under the AC.
The roads were nearly empty, surprisingly for a Sunday.



Coastal shrine and torii (gate) are an auspicious fixture across Japan.



Most of the way, the expressway was inland or in tunnels, but for a short distance it ran along the edge of the water with us too.



Rock fall tunnels are common along the cliffs.



With the mountains coming down to the sea edge, the infrastructure includes the shinkansen, the expressway, and the slow roads.
No beach, just concrete in the Japanese tradition (over 50% of the coast line is supposedly concreted in some form).



Brief stop to enjoy the cooler sea breezes and the view.



These road works look like they have been slowly progressing for years.
With practically no traffic on this leg, it did not seem to matter...



We stopped on the outskirts of Toyama at a four-star rated kitchen, and had some gloriously fresh sashimi for lunch...

(Camera: Voigtlander Bessa R3a. Film: Kodak Portra 160.)

Kuro Neko

We arrived in Toyama-shi shortly after lunch, and our plan was to spend some time walking about and exploring...



Our hotel was a converted machiya (shop house), and it opened directly onto the canal used by fishing boats for catch delivery and mooring.

That's it, on the left, with the front lamp on and little Corten sign on the step.
I've said it before I know, but staying in these types of buildings when touring Japan is much more rewarding than conventional hotels.

We were perhaps concerned though the early morning boat activity would wake us up, but with the bedrooms at the rear of the machiya, we awoke to find the boats had departed silently in the night.



On a 35C day, walking the canals with a cool sea breeze, and the sun going down was very pleasant.
Chatting to the locals about their gardens and the weather, and just meandering with no intent was a great way to relax.



Some of the buildings date back to the 1800s.
Here, a shrine has stood on this spot for much longer.



This grocery store had closed for the day.



Local streets, with the rusty water from the road heater pipes staining the bitumen (enhanced a bit by golden hour and the long shadows).



We chose dinner - Hiroshima style okonomiyaki - from this little restaurant a short distance from the hotel.
They had a little Covid-19 door, a friendly proprietor, and we walked dinner back to the machiya for a few accompanying chuhai and black beer from the konbini.
Sitting in the front room of the machiya, watching the passing river traffic for dinner was lovely.



The sun goes down over Hojozumachi.



The next day, we packed up the Cayman, and visited a few local sights.



With so much brown about, it was no surprise to see a Nissan Pao in terracotta.
Perhaps one of the rarer Pao colors, it looked right at home parked in its machiya.



Although many of the local stations are still using their period buildings, the rolling stock we saw was all new.



On our way out of Toyama-ken, we took a small detour to visit a fellow Porsche driver - @Peteinjp - his C2, and a recently acquired 914/6.
It was a pity we had to be further North at the end of the day, as otherwise a drive chasing the C2 through the local hills would have been a great idea...

Here's an excellent video summary of the roads in the area:

Peteinjp

Haha! That glassmaker at the end of the video is cool!

Just joking. That’s my old studio. The 86 series always has local interest section spliced in and they asked us to be involved. Didn’t get to drive the 86 but did talk good roads in the area.

In all seriousness if I didn’t have such awesome local roads I probably wouldn’t have these cars. Its really a blessing to hop out early in the morning for a little blast on a beautiful mountain road or a breezy seaside cruise.

Thanks for coming by and I’m sure we’ll have the chance to hit the road together in the not too distant future!

Kuro Neko

Ha!
The glassmaker was indeed cool, and thanks too for showing us your workshop and home.
Pretty neat, and a great example of re-purposed traditional buildings.
Is there a 914 story to read somewhere yet?

Buried above are a few Hachi-Roku rentals, and though not as capable as a Cayman, we'd happily rent them again anytime as they're a great machine.
One of our diversions is if we cannot take the Cayman, fly, rent an 86 and drive a few of the Toyota documented touge.
We've done this from Okinawa to Hokkaido, and with this last trip to Noto Hanto, can cross off just over 60 (I think) from the Toyota touge catalog.



Toyama-shi is a great city, with trams, great food, and friendly locals, so we can see how livable it is.
Not sure about the snow, but we like driving in it, so perhaps the Cayman would just live in the garage in winter, and we'd drive a 4WD the snowy months.
Like a local glassmaker does...



The breezy seaside coast roads in summer though are a serious attraction, and we spent the next day exploring the slow roads around the coast, into each little bay, inlet, and fishing village.



Each corner, bringing a new view and something interesting.



The coast views are pretty neat.



We avoided the inland roads, except when there was no coast road.



Both of these last shots, look a lot like where we live in Chiba-ken too...

Kuro Neko

The coast road continues North, through many little inlets and fishing villages.
Here, the road is also the dock for fishing boats.



This coastal town was nestled between the cedars and the sea.




Stopping to explore some of the coastal towns.



Tanking up.



An ornate kura, with a floating roof.



This is the entrance to our hotel for the night, suitably named '100 Ways to Relax'.



Our room looked out over one of the inlets on Tsukumo Bay.



This was the view from our breakfast table, where we were invited by the staff to feed the umineko (seagulls) and fugu (puffer fish), with the table scraps out the window.
An interesting experience to say the least...

Kuro Neko

With the next day dawning overcast, hot, and humid, we continued North on the coast road - and into the sea mists.
The hot wet air from the forests, hitting the cold water, created clouds of mist coming in off the sea.
It was pretty neat, and smelled just great.



The roads were deserted, and with a clear view, so you could open it up a bit on some of the corners.



Stopping occasionally, to admire the views.



Little fishing villages all the way up the coast.



One scenic location - Mitsukejima - we were told, resembles a ship at sea.
Sort of.
Not sure they give ships bad haircuts though?

The access causeway was closed, as a decent earthquake a few days earlier had dislodged a large amount of rock off one side, and there were still concerns about more falls.
In Japan, 'closed' is affected by one or two safety pylons and a little A4-sized sign that says 'Closed', which of course no one would dream of walking past (even though you could skirt them, as here in this photograph).



The most Northerly tip of Noto Hanto is marked with a lighthouse and a Post Office.
This is the parking for the Post Office (the building on the right).
Not a high traffic tourist destination obviously.



We did however stop at a roadside station, a little down the Western coast, and marveled at this BMW - sometimes I forget they used to employ actual car designers, and used to make genuinely good-looking cars and wagons.
Hofmeister-Knick, on a wagon? Yeah!
E9 coupe? Dreamy...

The direct opposite of the superficial click-baity stuff they slap together these days, with needlessly convoluted bodies, fake vents, and beaver-toothed grilles.



One of my favorite photo ops; the lesser used gasu sutando.



One of the great views and accompanying road.
We may have run this section a number of times...



On the way to a local lunch...