When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
360Y to the dollar...NOW you are dating yourself (and me!). It was at that peg for decades..... Any ASIJ connection?
Yep, went to St. Mary's International in Tokyo for my 7th grade. Love it! The bus ride from my military housing area was 2 hours on a good day, some days 3 to 4!
@TMc993 My 356, 911S, and S800 were all manual, and though dropping back into second, with a double-clutching into a fast corner was fun, flicking the paddle similarly for the down shift, and full throttle up-shifts are similarly just as much fun.
Especially in a tunnel.
@MitchelRun Well, if you can persuade your traveling companions to avoid the tourist self-sticks, and want some real Japan to enjoy, feel free to ask!
@sasilverbullet My similar excursions were to Akihabara, back when it was little alleys and tiny shops, not the massive arcades it is now.
@SCMike ASIJ alumni continue to pop up... my time only goes back to about 100円! I cannot imagine 360円, but did live through 75円 (that was fun, from this end)...
@Kuro Neko I've been fortunate enough to own a 356 Super 90, a 912, and a 993, all manual, and have to say that well executed double-clutch downshifts at speed were almost better than sex (Almost), but there's something about PDK shifts, both up and down that always make me grin.
@Kuro Neko I've been fortunate enough to own a 356 Super 90, a 912, and a 993, all manual, and have to say that well executed double-clutch downshifts at speed were almost better than sex (Almost), but there's something about PDK shifts, both up and down that always make me grin.
Ditto! Either the shift lever or paddles, each is different and equally enjoyable as a single clutch.
Especially as I only ever drive the PDK manually...
The up-shift from second to third on full-throttle in a 356 is pretty good too!
Nothing ever happens in isolation, so thanks here to the two or three who have asked me in the past about Japanese license plates, as such was a trigger for a piece in the latest edition of Classic. Retro. Modern. magazine.
With a recent weekend, dawning clear and dry, we decided to do some train spotting, with nothing else on the agenda.
Except maybe a nice lunch at a country-style restaurant...
We drive past this minka regularly, and not sure we've ever seen any activity.
It's old twin-tub is now in the garden, and with new gas bottles, we are eagerly waiting to see if it gets a nice make over.
Or, perhaps based on the number plate and wheels, hopefully not a two meter high fence to assist them discretely getting the bodies out of the trunk of their yak-mobile.
Though, we suppose even bag-men need a place to relax on weekends...
Another disused gas-stand for the collection.
One day, a coffee table book of large format, glossy photographs of such might make an interesting project.
One of our stops, included a Taisho-era station and its accompanying restaurant.
With just a single track, and one train an hour the line is still used regularly including lots of tourists who enjoy its slow meander through the rice fields.
I wondered if they thought their Kominato Line timetable was still going to be updated, and dated, 100 years later in the same format?
Omiyage, soft serve, takenoko, cold soba, and fresh vegetable stands make a nice stop.
Nearby, I had to stop and photograph an old Skyline from a few years ago.
I must compare the dates and decline, but I think there's a pic of the same car buried above somewhere too...
Another of the original station buildings built when the line was steam.
Time table, and un-manned gates.
Here, we waited for the nearly full car to arrive.
Though a one-man configuration, at least on weekends the diesel gets a driver and conductor.
Ticket vending machine, and indicator.
A bit further down the line, we stopped to inconvenience the local kei for a photo op...
Stopping to take a pic of crossing one of the many lakes in Boso Hanto.
A re-purposed Taisho-era shop, now as an art gallery, and suitably Japanese inu.
Honda Beat, out for a top down cruise.
We stopped by a school gymnasium, and waited for the train shot.
The hourly train came past within a few minutes.
Well maintain kura, with special namako (lower wall tiled weather-proofing).
The details of the namako and the casement windows suggest this was a very well-off house when built.
Some roads though, bordered on too difficult for the Cayman.
Along one of the lines through Boso Hanto, a live art installation is a glass public toilet.
When first built it lacked the curtain, but you can of course use - curtained or not - as you like.
Following ramen, public toilets in Japan are already the latest fad and we had to fight a bus load of Singaporeans for access.
The real beauty though, is in the slow train as it meanders through the rice fields.
I'll have to sneak more toilets into my photographs then... I blame Wim Wenders...
Originally Posted by BWJones
I would love to take one of those slow trains!
The way the cars thrum as they accelerate briefly, then the driver drops the throttle and they rock slowly across the tracks, rolling forward is pretty neat.
Year round, the views vary from sakura, momiji, rice fields in green, rapeseed, and more, with the bridges and valleys all adding to the fun.
Its a great day trip from Tokyo, and here's a good summary of the combined Isumi- and Kominato-sen:
Now I'm feeling so clueless. I googled "Toyko Toilets" and "Wim Wenders" and rented Perfect Days for my girlfriend and I to watch tonight. She laughed and said that she had seen it in the theatre and had been trying to get me to watch it for some time. I thought it was quite lovely (and also loved the soundtrack). She thought that it was potentially an appropriation of what foreigners think that the Japanese are like. **** if I know. I did like the aesthetic. I also liked the mentaiko pasta that she made tonight.
Sorry for not posting the promised 987.2/California photos. To be honest, I kinda ****ed up and haven't been driving the Cayman as much as I'd like. Since I've lived in California, I generally don't feel that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) rigorously enforces the speeding limit. A lot of that came from me riding my BMW R1100GS all around the state at reasonably high (but not legal) speeds. I also felt that during and after COVID, the CHP just wasn't interested in enforcing speed limits. Hah. I was wrong and got clocked doing 95 mph in a 65 mph zone on I680. I wasn't even close to being the fastest guy, but... "Porsche tax". I took a brief break from driving to get my head back together and behave. Cheers.
Now I'm feeling so clueless. I googled "Toyko Toilets" and "Wim Wenders" and rented Perfect Days for my girlfriend and I to watch tonight. She laughed and said that she had seen it in the theatre and had been trying to get me to watch it for some time. I thought it was quite lovely (and also loved the soundtrack). She thought that it was potentially an appropriation of what foreigners think that the Japanese are like. **** if I know. I did like the aesthetic. I also liked the mentaiko pasta that she made tonight.
Sorry for not posting the promised 987.2/California photos. To be honest, I kinda ****ed up and haven't been driving the Cayman as much as I'd like. Since I've lived in California, I generally don't feel that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) rigorously enforces the speeding limit. A lot of that came from me riding my BMW R1100GS all around the state at reasonably high (but not legal) speeds. I also felt that during and after COVID, the CHP just wasn't interested in enforcing speed limits. Hah. I was wrong and got clocked doing 95 mph in a 65 mph zone on I680. I wasn't even close to being the fastest guy, but... "Porsche tax". I took a brief break from driving to get my head back together and behave. Cheers.
Ha!
Here I was too, not even knowing the film was available...
I took should check it out, as though the foreigner view of Japan often grates (Lost in Translation), it can still be entertaining!
Pity on the speeding fine; I've not been pinged yet, and my last was a 'speed-over' on my 50cc Joker (40km, in a 50 zone, but not supposed to exceed 35km on a 50cc dammit).
Week started with a quiet drive...
Vintage kei truck - a rare sight these days.
Cayman, setting the navi for a quick blast through the mountains....
Via the nice warm skies, and some koi-no-bori.
Long closed shop in Boso Hanto.
Destination, the Magarigawa Club, and for those interested here's a brief vid:
After the launch party, this is off to Magarigawa with a few sisters today.
The details are just glorious - everything from the luminosity of the heckblende to every little screw and fitting.
It is difficult to describe the beauty and details, without needlessly exaggerating like a cable TV news presenter.
While the DLS-T was nice, it was the plain Jane (if a Singer is ever that) Turbo that I could not stop looking at.
The simplicity and purity of design of their rebuilt intent is present everywhere; the instruments, the door pocket lids, the shifter snick, the steering wheel, just everything in this car delights the eyes and fingers.
Details perhaps missed in gushing overview snaps, like the concertina bellows re-design.
The heckblende is totally new.
Static DLS-T engine display.
Nothing but care taken on everything.
Unlike other Porsche, where the rear quarter vents are for induction, the DLS-T has them for axial fan supplemental intake.
Induction boxes at the rear, and are those coil packs the same as on my Cayman?
DLS-T on the streets of Shibuya.
Safely tucked away, and off to the track - keep an eye on your feeds for what I am sure will be some great vid on the launch of Singer in Japan...
Though frowned upon, the occasional car-to-car use of FRS PTT radios in Japan was unlikely to bring attention... unless specifically on ski fields, where their use was heavily policed (due to cross-over with rescue frequencies).
With more tourists coming to Japan, authorities are focused on stopping the illegal use of radio frequencies everywhere.
We had some friends in town, and some serious touge hunting planned, so moving to Japan Personal Radio Service frequencies (422MHz) seemed a good idea.
This would allow more than the occasional 'let's stop here', and more detailed on-air time for instructions for non-Japanese drivers...
I reprogrammed the Boafeng to the JPRS freqs, replaced their whip antenna with stubs, and purchased a set of JPRS sets accordingly.
10mW is significantly down on previous 8W capability, but car-to-car they work fine...
Off into the hills we go.
Down the coast for a chicken tonkatsu sando (and chips).
Great to hear a cup-piped C4 through the tunnels.
Beach road, up the east coast, and home.
Boso Hanto's Green Line and Momiji Road offer a great mid-week blast....
I think this is the hotel we used to vacation to: 259-1 Toi, Izu, Shizuoka 410-3302, Japan
Not 100% sure, the pics look like what I remember. I remember it was up on a hill, in 1969 it was a traditional hotel. My dad knew the owners and I have pictures of us with them. It was an amazing hotel, the food was fantastic!
If you ever take a trip to Toi, please stop by and talk to the owners and see if they remember us. PM me and I'll give you my familys name.
I think this is the hotel we used to vacation to: 259-1 Toi, Izu, Shizuoka 410-3302, Japan
Neat!
There's some great roads in Izu, and always looking for diversions, so thanks...
Here, we started in Shibuya, with Okutama-ko, a new friend, and a car meet on the agenda...
Not sure how well this Corolla (?), on original plates, will survive.
This Okinawan restaurant, though in Shibuya, looks like it might be on Okinawa.
Early Sunday morning traffic out to Okutama-ko.
Tunnels and Carnewal mufflers!
Yeah!
Not too many pics, as I spent most of the time powering out of second gear corners...
Arriving at Okutama-ko around 09:00, we found the car park at near capacity already and had to park on one of the access roads.
Original plated Skyline GT-B.
Note auxiliary 99L tank filler.
GT-B and GT-kai Skyline in the background.
Though configured like a GT-R, it was only L-gata equipped (being a lookalike).
The accompanying saloon though, being the first GT-R from the now merged Nissan and Prince, was the real deal with a proper S20 twin cam.
'A' and 'B', from the famed 'ABC' kei sports cars.
Perhaps 30 Beat in attendance on this day.
Being an impromptu meeting location, with the typical smattering of kyusha you often get one group deciding to meet at the location in bulk.
The first gen Mazda Carol was one of the most popular, high-end kei of the era.
Supposedly, fitted with one of the smallest capacity four-cylinder engines ever made.
Fairladys, including some reimported USDM models.
Non-kei Beat (possibly turbo modded and chipped, for more than the allowed power).
Boxster S lurks in the background.
It was a nice day for top down cruising.
Zenki C2.
Beat with color-coded chin spoiler.
Kombi and Alpine, giving a good show of the variety of machines often present at Okutama-ko...
04-28-2024, 10:55 PM
