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Just wanted to say Hi! Glad to have found another Japan person, I’ve just left Tokyo for a small detour in Okinawa for a few years but should be back there soon. Sodegaura is awesome, but I spent most of my time at Sportsland Yamanashi! Cheers!
Neat!
Say hello to my old S800, which lives on Okinawa these days.
You may even see it on base...
With a few things to do in Tokyo, I took a ride into town in a friend's C4.
Preparing for the post-Covid world, with a day or two in the office in Shinjuku necessary.
Mitsubishi Jeep unloads.
These were licensed for production in Japan; first as TKD then locally produced.
We have both Delivery Wagon (デリバリワゴン) and the SWB versions, with the Wagon being more popular.
They were made in this form until at least 2000 I think...
Showa-era architecture at its finest.
Curiously, Mitsubishi Jeep number two on the same day.
This one had been restomodded with new bits, and we assume a modern engine of some sort...
Shinjuku station, looking much like it did in the 1960s, and surely not long before it is redeveloped (like Shibuya).
Local koban (police box).
Typical Tokyo scene - Type H Citroen and 911 Cabriolet.
Hit the Shuto-ko for the run home.
Relatively clear roads to enjoy the sound of that great air-cooled six.
I am transported by you photography and commentary. That you’re shooting on film adds so much. I see the dignity of the people who live in these away from the metro areas; although much of what you capture does have a tinge of sadness and time having moved forward, leaving these locations and presumably the people there behind. Maybe that’s just how you’ve framed it for us? Thanks very much for sharing and investing your time and materials.
I am transported by you photography and commentary. That you’re shooting on film adds so much. I see the dignity of the people who live in these away from the metro areas; although much of what you capture does have a tinge of sadness and time having moved forward, leaving these locations and presumably the people there behind. Maybe that’s just how you’ve framed it for us? Thanks very much for sharing and investing your time and materials.
Thanks, and I guess it is a bit of both.
Unlike some other countries, where the past is sometimes shunned and progress tries to be uniform and consistently applied, Japan has Edo coexisting with Reiwa. Showa with Meiji, and similar.
The contradictions of Japan - away from the tourist cliches - are where it is for me.
I have been able to pay for my coffee with my mobile phone for 20 years, but I still have to fax in an application for government services.
Over one million people take a 300km/h shinkansen a day, but one-man car trains still rattle through rice fields taking kids to school.
New JPN hybrid taxi, with ozone and Covid-19 filtering AC and air-quality monitoring drop passengers off outside houses with hand-pump wells.
People in their 20s happily go out to dinner, or on a date, in traditional dress.
Unlike many places globally too, Japan accepts these contradictions - sometimes by necessity, sometimes by design, and simply sometimes because it is better that way.
I tour about in my PDK-equipped car, listening to Black HoneyMP3s from my keitai connected to my Bluetooth navi, taking photographs with a manual camera on film...
How are the roads, and yards etc. so clean over there? There is stuff that looks run down and aged but its still clean. Not sure if its something to applaud or feel sorry for them. Is there a penalty for not having your area clean over there? I say this as a neat freak and a run from germs kinda guy lol but wow its just kinda creepy lol Maybe its just there culture which is great .. just curious.
love this thread .. stunning photos you have taken. Huge thank you for sharing.
How are the roads, and yards etc. so clean over there? There is stuff that looks run down and aged but its still clean. Not sure if its something to applaud or feel sorry for them. Is there a penalty for not having your area clean over there? I say this as a neat freak and a run from germs kinda guy lol but wow its just kinda creepy lol Maybe its just there culture which is great .. just curious.
love this thread .. stunning photos you have taken. Huge thank you for sharing.
The penalty for being dirty, littering, etc, is social shame.
Here in Japan, trash is taken very seriously.
After purchasing our property, a year or so later the previous owner visited us to inquire if we were having problems mowing a disused rice field, and should he do it for us?
We immediately - and have since - kept it mowed and the straggly trees trimmed.
Jokes are made about the complexity of garbage management, and this is the details needed for pick-ups alone (I will spare you the 37-page instruction booklet that comes with it):
Unlike some other countries too, graffiti and mindless tagging isn't seen as 'cool'.
So, an abandoned school stays clean and though it may slowly fall apart, the windows remain un-smashed, the yard clean, and the buildings un-tagged...
Our friends' Taisho Roman villa.
So called because the traditional Japanese building from the Taisho-era of design, has been appended with a Western-style sitting room (now a work-from-home office).
Much like Satsuki and Mei's house if you're into anime.
After a few touge in the area, our destination was a craft brewery for some porter and IPA.
Early bands of the typhoon coming in.
We had stopped to look at a house some Tokyo friends are looking at buying, as with many firms now supporting work-from-home in Japan, a lot of people are looking at flipping their weekends and office work weeks.
Two days in the office, and the rest of the week at a quieter location...
We made sure we were home in time to put out the typhoon shutters...
Love your pictures and narration of your travels. We have a 12 Base PDK an love it too. Japan is a very interesting country. Would like to visit some day. Are you close to Suzuka? The Japanese fans are definitely avid fans. Would be great to drive that track with the Cayman.
Love your pictures and narration of your travels. We have a 12 Base PDK an love it too. Japan is a very interesting country. Would like to visit some day. Are you close to Suzuka? The Japanese fans are definitely avid fans. Would be great to drive that track with the Cayman.
Thanks!
Suzuka is about 400km South of Tokyo, so not really close.
But I did visit for a GP a few years ago... and met a fellow Honda S driver.
I used to track my 356 and 911S, but never had the desire to get the Cayman out for some reason!
I've got an offer for a local circuit - Sodegaura - but always seem to find an excuse to not go...
Button would be great to meet. Seems like a genuine nice guy. We got to meet a bunch of the Champ Car and CART drivers back in the day when we were working the track at Portland International Raceway. Had the only car we ever got to order new when we got a 924. It was a a fun car that we put 150K on, but not the same as the Cayman.
Button would be great to meet. Seems like a genuine nice guy. We got to meet a bunch of the Champ Car and CART drivers back in the day when we were working the track at Portland International Raceway. Had the only car we ever got to order new when we got a 924. It was a a fun car that we put 150K on, but not the same as the Cayman.
When did you work at PIR? I used to compete in ICSSC races at PIR, SIR, and Westwood in the mid- to late-80's.
We first worked there as flat tow at the first Champ car race in 84 until building a new house in 94 took all our time. Always spectated on the “hill” at the Rose Cups before that. Was there when Monte Shelton blew the back of his 911 off on the main straight. It must have flown close to 100’ in the air. The wife’s best day was when she escorted Danny Sullivan into the pits the year he broke his wrist at Indy. Those were the days.
09-19-2022, 11:54 PM
