Demon Dave

BTW - glad my directions were of use, but sorry you weren't able to see the collection of cars at the musuem. But, there is always the Nagano branch (which is more modern and has a nice collection of cars...) From Tokyo I guess it would be around 2, maybe 3, hours drive depending on how heavy the traffic (and your right foot) is

Nah, I went to the other (and better ) one in Nagano - they have (well, had) two branches - one in Ibaraki and another in Nagano, just north of Suwa (what a name) city Bit of a bugger, cause I just yesterday recommended one of my students to check out the musuem in Mitsukaido when he passes through Ibaraki today! I wonder what happened to the R33 LM GTR they had there...

It definitely looks like a GTT. Aside from the badging, it also has the side vent on the front bumper for the tiny intercooler , and looking closely at the dash, it appears to have the three centre guages that you only get on the GTT... But, bayside blue wasn't an option on the R34's until AFTER the GT-V (my car) came out in MY2000 - so if that car is older than that, it is likely a respray. Quick look at the VIN plate for color code TV2 will sort that out.... for reference, my car, R34 GT-V (RB25DE) Note absence of vent on bumper. Dave

Not really...stores like Autobacs & Yellow Hat tend to have logo stickers for the main tuners, such as Nismo and TRD, but not for the smaller tuning houses.

most kei car plates are yellow with black text - but I've seen a few cars with black plates and yellow text - no idea what they are all about though....

Troy/Justin: I know what you mean, from Osaka to Tokyo is a long haul, especially if you're trying to get to Tokyo by mid morning - so how's about arranging to be in Tokyo the day/night before...perfect opporunity to go drinking and it'll mean getting to the Messe the next morning (if you're sober ) shouldn't take too long....

Troy/Justin - sorry guys that weekend is already fully booked for me - got to visit in-laws/relatives down in Totsuka (near Kamakura) then it's onto Hakejima Sea Paradise for the kids straight after that I'll be heading back to sunny Ol' England...so for me it looks like the meet will probably have to wait until September On the bright side, it'll be cooler by then!

hehe...never under estimate the power of the Kei

Speaking of caravans....in over 5 years I've never, ever seen a car towing one. If I head down to the five lakes area near Fuji you'll see a couple of cars towing boats, but in general most people don't have tow bars and don't often tow anything...

we finally got our superautobacs in Yamanashi earlier this year, so I'm now able to spend hours wondering about the store...but even so, as DaiOni said, you can order just about anything anyways... the only downside to moving from one place to another after a year, is the money you'll waste on things like deposits and key money for apartments...

Rural life gets my vote

I don't know how prices compare with Oz (since I'm a Brit ) but regarding drinking in the streets, AFAIK there is no law against it. Indeed, during March/April when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom it seems as if the entire nation is outside sat under the trees eating and consuming vast amounts of alcohol.

Tattoos are generally frowned upon since they were traditionally a sign of being a member of the Yakuza (Japanese mafia / organized crime groups)...

It says "deibito sensei" , or in English: "David Teacher" I find going to supermarkets entertainment in itself The only downside, the bill when you get to the checkout! Food in Japan is expensive, especially fresh fruit.... and cereal. Can't recall the last time I ate cereal for breakfast!

all of my neighbours are senior citizens...indeed, I and my family are the youngest group in my immediate area. When we first moved in we got a bit of a cold reception...not unfriendly, but not exactly "a welcome to the neighbourhood" kinda deal either. I think we were the first group of gaijins to move into the area. Starting up a school, promoting it and pitching it as a "benefit to the local community" seemed to help... With time, most of them have warmed up...and now they're quite a friendly bunch. We're always invited to local events (which isn't always such a good thing since many of them involve "community work"! ) and my eldest son often hangs out with the neighbours in their garden. Being one of very few gaijins in my area, and working at just about every yochien there is, has meant that over time I and my family have become somewhat well known. Now it's almost impossible for me to go out without bumping into someone whom I know, or more commonly knows me. It can be fun, but tiring at times...now I've gotten to the point whereupon walking into the local supermarket I've started counting the seconds before I hear "ディビット先生!!" shouted out by some kid My 2 yens worth.

Yeah, you get used to the staring...besides, it does kinda make you feel like a celbrity Fortunately for me, my area is being rapidly developed...and what was once a very rural town with absolutely nothing in the way of things to do/entertainment, is now becoming a busy city. In September, my town and 2 neighbouring ones will merge to become a BIG city (relatively speaking, it'll be around 1/50th the size of Yokohama or something like that) but big for Yamanashi. So I expect it won't be long before I have to endure traffic lights spaced at 50m intervals!

There's talk on the gtr.co.uk site of going to TAS 2005...I expect a fair few Brits will be making the trip over again, so it'd be good to organize a meeting point for all the members. Does anyone know how to get hold of press passes - going on the Friday, before the mega crowds would be ideal...

I have no idea why...but some of the pics, the red evo and the red/yellow fits have no started showing...

I've never heard of them either. Justin is right, the disadvantage of such an agency is that you never know where you'll be based... having said that, countryside gets my vote.

OT: Just curious, what's with the yellow railings above the white lines...people over in Osaka have trouble maneuvering cars into parking bays or somthing?

I'd like to, and if I'm not working I surely will. But at the moment work is real hectic for me - had to miss the Hankone meeting because of it, and the Daikoku runs too

Action would be an understatement. They've just completed a run in an Top Secret prepared R34 GTR, reaching a speed of 335 km/h, and the car was still pulling... Going to be a must-have DVD for any enthusiast.

It is well worth the trip out to Daikoku. There is always something going on, and this month there is a big GTR meet being organized. See the thread on the GTROC UK here Here's a rough idea of the dates/places: 12th July 5am - 10am (Finish time is approximate) - filming at Hakkone as discussed in the thread. 16th July 9.30pm we will do some filming at night, meeting at Daikoku Futo parking area. Primarily filming will be static at Daikoku Futo, perhaps doing a few runs past the crowds, reving engines, etc... then rigging cameras inside cars and on chase cars, to film top speed runs. May do these in the Aqua line express tunnel, which is well lit (14km of traffic free, speed camera free straight!!) 17th July 11.00 pm at the Rainbow Bridge Parking area - for those who want to join in, C1 highway chase sequences. Need to know the roads to do this well, or try to keep up with my RX-7... although if necessary we can just drive slower, as this will still show well on the video anyway... As long as we're in a chase group and travelling significantly faster than normal traffic, it will make good footage.. although we'll want to record the sound coming off cars at full bore through those tunnels I guess if we go too fast, we'll end up losing people as the slower cars get left behind, which isn't the point of making the video of chase sequences. Practice runs on the C1: If anyone is interested in doing some practice runs on the C1 say saturday 19th June, let me know. I know these roads well and can teach you the places where speed cameras are, etc.

Superb pics, thanks for sharing

4150 - sorry to hear about your car mate. Hope it's all fixed up as good as new. :)Our Nissan cube has been hit several drives by drivers who should be paying more attention, the last time was by someone without insurance. She offered to pay for repairs by cash, but stuff that since half the time people refuse to pay so we got the police involved. They turned up and she later changed her story - she was covered by insurance, she just didn't want to use it...I wonder why Cutting it front of me and tailgating are 2 things that really piss me off about driving here