Japan! Proudly Brought To You By Beer Baron

[blk180]

Holy crap its gone the G-saurus site that is dam them i didnt get my R32 GTR wing.

nevermind just a name change used to be a G-saurus now at

http://www.saurus2000.co.jp/index_b.html

Brad

[Shell]

Hi Shell, glad you like the pics. well as for why people get into the cos play I really dont know. I think it's a way to get attention. Makes them feel good I guess so why not? It's certainly out there! with the hanging out at harajuku well it's just a popular place to meet for the cos-play-zoku I dont know how it started though it is a very trendy area in tokyo and bit like darlinghurst or acutally more like newtown here. so it's a natural kind of place for people on the fringe to hang out.

ah ok I get it now... i thought it might be something to do with performing, like street actors or something

oh, and shell, yes I do have a pressie for you actually.

:PBJ:

[TokyoTaxi]

oo, I forgot to mention 1 other thing.

The day I went to fuji I was lying in bed awake at around 3am when all of a sudden the room started shaking, and shit fell off the table. As I was right on the edge of the bed I even had to put one arm on the floor to steady myself. yep, my first decent japanese earthquake! 5.7!!! It was a fair way out of tokyo, but being on the 12th floor (and a brand new building with soft suspension) meant the thing shook like you wouldn't believe. It was quite scary, and exciting at the same time. got to love japan.

I can sympathise with you on this one ! It really is scary when everything starts to shimmy ! I lived on the north-west coast of america for 5 years and quakes are the norm ( like Japan ) but still scares the $hit outta ya when they're over the 5 mark !! Been in SFO for an 7.6 ( epicenter was 120 miles away ) and it was like the ground was sitting on a layer of Jello.

BTW, Love the pics !! ( especially the random ones ) and I have to say I admire the way you capture a good slice of "everything". Every time I was in Japan I just walked around without taking any pics ( always have so much fun I totally forget to even grab the camera ) lol.

So making me wish I could go back again

[Beer Baron]

yeah, actually this time there were a lot of days I didn't take the camera out with me. even though it's fairly small for a DSLR it's still a big camera and a pain to carry.

glad you like the pics mate. and yeah, 5.7 and being 12 floors up in a building built on rubber suspension is nuts. my main though was what bloody good is the emergencey stair on the balcony when I have to climb 12 stories! and the second was I hope I dont die naked. 7.6 would be hardcore, even at 120 miles away.

Shell, nah they are just kids from the subburbs surrounding tokyo that feel maginalised or lonely or something. It is kind of hard to understand I have to admit I don't fully get it myself. I can only really relate it to goths and punks that we have in aus. same kind of motovation to be different than everyone else I guess, but of course they end up looking just like all the other cos-play-zoku... lol

well, you have spurred me to go and get out some more pics so if I end up having a quiet night tonight I will do some uploading. promise

[sewid]

I was in Shinjuku ordering Taiwanese food for my first earthquake. It was 6.5 or something and it scared the shit out of me. The epicenter was off the coast I think. It's been 2 years i cant remember the details but i remember the feeling of thinking im gonna get squashed like a bug when this building collapses very well.

Im going to be in Tokyo on the 10th of Feb but im not taking my DSLR it's just too big for lots of travelling. I'll take my gf's Canon IXY 500 or whatever its called.

[Beer Baron]

good man. yeah i'm using a 400D now and with 2 lenses, tri-pod, 4 batteries, charger, cf cards it certainly is a pain in the ass to carry everywhere.

on a side note, how good are canon cameras? I love em. the ixy's give great pictures for a compact camera. I think I'm going to buy another one as my old canon S50 got smashed in japan last november (night club locker accident... )

[GoldZilla]

Richard, I just bought a Ricoh Caplio R4 for $389 and I'm really happy with it! If you can find one (apparently it's just become a run-out model), snap it up! It's got a 7.1x Optical zoom, 6MP and 10mm Macro... The replacement has the same zoom, 7MP, but is apparently inferior for value. I wanted a small camera, and can't afford a DSLR anyway, as much as I would like to buy one and learn how to use it correctly.

Oh, and I've found 1Gb SanDisk SD cards for $20, and 2Gb SanDisk cards for $35...

(And yeah, that's a Canon 300D or 350D - I can't remember exactly - in the left foreground of that shot...)

[Beer Baron]

mmm, that could be a winner. I'm pretty loyal to the canon stuff though. they are very good. but 7.1X zoom and 6mp is pretty hard to ignore for that money. I will keep an eye out.

[d0p3y]

Ricoh.. *shudder*

Canon FTW. My trusty little IXUS500 has been going strong for years as a happy snap camera.. 400D will be purchased soon for heavy duties

[Beer Baron]

yes, that is my plan. since I already have the 400D and a couple of lenses now I thought a small IXY would be the go for the time I can't be fudged taking the DSLR.

[GoldZilla]

Oh, I also bought a Joby "GorillaPod" tripod the other day, which is great. You can pretty much put it anywhere you want your camera to be - wrap it around wires, sign posts, etc.

http://www.joby.com/

[Beer Baron]

ok, while I get my shit together and upload some more pics here are a few from 2005 that a lot of you may not have seen.

Border Racing R33 GTR at Border.

The all singing all dancing Garage Saurus R32 GTR. Probably one of my favourite GTRs of all time.

Love their engine bay work. Lots to learn here.

Top Secret RB26 powered Supra. Another awesome car.

MCR (Matchless Crowd Racing) time attack GTR. One of the nicest GTR time attack cars. Another favourite of mine.

The second Option Stream Z built for the silver state classic in the US (Dai crashed the first one after a tyre failure in 2004). He's since crashed this one too after failing to stop at the end of the run...

Border Racing FD RX7. Lovely looking car.

[Beer Baron]

sumo tournament at ryogoku.

The contenders face off.

The Beer Baron himself and a crazy japanese drifter who took me for a wild ride in his 450hp (!!) silvia. Please forgive the fact that I look like crap as this pic was taken at 5am after I had been out at the street drifting all night in the freezing cold (around 2 degrees) and pouring rain wearing just a T-shirt and jumper with a useless C-West spray jacket over the top.

Fuji-san in all it's glory.

This is the sunset at Harajuku. (standing on the overpass just next to the omote sando bridge)

Hard Core R34 GTR at Top Secret

RB26 Powered Supra at Top Secret

I farken love it.

Do you think they have enough vending machines?

God I miss the JGTC GTRs. So unbelievably tough and amazingly wide.

[Beer Baron]

Tokyo Bay and the rainbow bridge.

Top Secret R34 GTR at Top Secret. Check out how close they park them!

Border Racing R33 GTR at Border in Ome.

400hp S13 drift silvia. I love this pic.

Night time in Shinjuku. This is looking towards the east entrance of the station (under My City).

Do you think R34 GTRs are popular at Top Secret? I wasn't sure.

The ol' Beer Baron and a promo girl that looks like she just stepped off the set for Fast and Furious. All the japanese photographers went nuts when I did my 'pretend to poke my tounge in her ear trick'. hmm my hand is getting a bit high there too....not my fault.

The all conquering Nismo Z JGTC car proudly displaying it's #1.

[Beer Baron]

I hope you guys enjoy them. I love looking back at my pics. It brings back lots of memories and reminds me of all the awesome things I've seen and done in japan over the last 3 years. These were some of the first pics I took in Japan, but some of them still came out quite well. I particularly like the blue/silver S13 pic. All these were taken with my old canon S50 (just 3X zoom, 5mp) except for one or two which I took with my Sony T1 (never really liked that camera though).

so tell me what your favourites are?

[Wink]

Great photos Richard. Keep em coming.

[GoldZilla]

I love the MCR R34, for the same reason I love the Mines R34 - they're just tough-looking cars with little to no graphics or un-necessary adornments. Wheels, suspension work and a functional bodykit is all they need, and the performance does the rest of the talking. Iron fist in a velvet glove!

That, in a nutshell, is what I'm aiming for in my car. And if I can have an engine anywhere NEAR as responsive as the Mines 34, I will be one very happy boy! I don't need that sort of power, but some improvement would be great...

[lingeringsoul]

I love the MCR R34, for the same reason I love the Mines R34 - they're just tough-looking cars with little to no graphics or un-necessary adornments. Wheels, suspension work and a functional bodykit is all they need, and the performance does the rest of the talking. Iron fist in a velvet glove!

That, in a nutshell, is what I'm aiming for in my car. And if I can have an engine anywhere NEAR as responsive as the Mines 34, I will be one very happy boy! I don't need that sort of power, but some improvement would be great...

hell yeah....you have to admire them for having such an unassuming car that owns everything in sight.

wonder if Border racing has made any new demo cars or not.....last I read in HPI was about a white 300Z and Supra taht had the Cleanest bodykit I have ever seen.

[TokyoTaxi]

This........has to be my fav pic !

I know it has nothing to do with cars and chicks but it brings back a flood of memories. I can remember the smell of the icy cold air at sunset in winter, and the atmosphere that is truely unique to Japan.

That Garage Saurus R32 GT-R is just so sweet ! I don't know exactly what it is, but most cars from Garage Saurus are horn IMO

[gts-4 dreamer]

most the cars were sex, but the ffa chiky porn FTW!

man gota luv what 2f2f did for fashion, THE 1 THING THEY DID RIGHT!

2f2f Promo GIRLS FTW!