Beer Baron's Japan Photo Diary

[Rezz]

Richard I hope these weren't the pics you were going to battle me with in the photo comp... coz you would've lost buddy* Exceeeept for the second one of the ARC chick

*pics taken under non-competitive conditions notwithstanding

[Beer Baron]

haha, don't pick on me you bad man! I'm just a poor noob with shaky hands and a lowly canon 400D!

ok some more pics. these next few post are November 2006

First one is a view from a hotel in central Chiba. Chiba is known as home to some of the most enthusiastic wangan racers made famous by option vids (smoky nagata, chiba-kun etc).

massive row of vending machines running parallel to the train line near Chiba JR station.

This is all you can eat Shabu-Shabu in Roppongi. It's all you can drink too, so of course I get the waitresses to bring a few long necks at a time. from memory it's 3,000 yen all you can drink, and about 9,000 all you can eat (for the prime japanese beef, yankee beef is cheaper). Of course we always eat too much.

a nice ferrari outside roppongi hills shopping mall. typical of the calibre of traffic in this area.

This sign is on the freeway which runs over the top of Roppongi Crossing. Funny place, Funny slogan.

Probably the most packed coi pond I've seen in japan (and believe me i've seen plenty!). This one was in Asakusa (big tourist spot for both foreign and japanese people).

same pond, wider angle.

I forget the japanese name for these lanterns, but they are just outside the shrine at Asakusa.

This is a bridge just near Asahi headquarters.

the view over Asakusa from the top floor bar at Asahai headquarters. nice.

Asahi headquarters in Asakusa, complete with golden poo.

[Beer Baron]

ok this is pretty much the only thing I did in Hiroshima, and to be honest I don't have the stomach for the war museum etc, plus I was on there as I had to change shinkansen at hiroshima station and had a few hours to kill, but I definately want to go back to this place:

If you love okonomiyaki then it's a must do.

Here is the Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki I had for Dinner in Hiroshima at a place called Okono-mura (Okonomiyaki Town). It's a building and all floors are filled with shops making Okonomiyaki. That's it. Beer too. Hirsohima style is the type with noodles on the bottom (it's my favourite style of Okonomiyaki).

[Beer Baron]

Old Group A (actually probably mostly group N) GTRs at fuji speedway.

The main straight and pit complex at Fuji Speedway. the cars run from the right to left of this pic.

Super GT in action. the sound is awesome at Fuji as the whole place is like a natural ampitheatre being surrounded by mountain and in the shadow of Fuji-san.

a neat R34 in the carpark

A crazy S14 Silvia with full R34 conversion. looks pretty cool in real life.

Inside the cabin of a Super GT race car. Crazy cockpits in these things.

Campaign girls on stage at Fuji speedway behind the grandstand.

the old calsonic R33 GTR GT car. very cool looking car.

It seems that japanese pimps go to the Super GT too.

[PORTS]

Very nice pics Richard, that okonomiyaki looks very tasty. Hmm, still can't see any zeds though.

[Links]

Any more to come richard, fantastic photos, makes me wanna go away over there..

[Beer Baron]

yep, hundreds more. I'll try and get some more going this week.

[SysLink67]

These are really interesting photo's man. Maxium respect for taking the time to post them up. That noodle omlet looks kick ass!!!!

Can't wait to see more, gives a few ideas on paint im trying to choose for my car.

[Tales]

Awsome piccs ^^. good stuff buddy! Cant wait to see more, but ima see heaps as im planning on going over there by the end of the year

[Beer Baron]

Ok, here are some shots from a drift event event at Fuji Speedway.

These two red cars were both driven by girl drifters. they were pretty good too.... at drifting that is.

My firend Tomonori. he is a great drifter, and a lovely guy. sadly this car has been written off since I took this photo. RIP little Hachi. However it's 20V engine, driveline and rims live on in another chassis now. That's the 4th car that engine has been in! You certainly can't say he's lacking the balls...

This is another friends car. Miguel. His 86 is just breath taking. It is BY FAR the pretiest AE86 I have ever seen. Everything he has done on the car is top shelf. He had the engine built by techno pro spirit. anyone that watches best motoring will know who they are. he is a lovely guy too and another really good drifter. he hasn't been doing it long, but he is already very good.

[m3gtr]

wow, Richard i didnt know you had any Japanese friends!! Impressive!

the 86's are the ducks guts..the essence of drift. At least in pop culture.

[BOZ22N]

Nice work BB, I am so jealous. My partner and I have been wanting to go for a while.

Good clear photos, many cool stories for the pub.

Boz

[Beer Baron]

Boz22n, glad you like the pics.

Adam, yeah lot's of japanese friends. why do you think I go back to japan so often! it's not just for the rice snacks.

ok a few more pics:

These are some pics of my friend's (tomonori) GTR. Well actually it's his fathers car (Akai-san). He is over 60 years old, but still drives a tuned (over 500ps) GTR. It has all the good gear, upgraded turbos etc, massive endless brakes, TE37s. He hit the recall for me on his speed meter and it showed 267kph. I thought that was pretty good and asked if that was on the main straight at Fuji speedway (yes he still drives it on track) and he laughed and said in his best english: "No! Freeway Driving..." lol. he's pretty hardcore for a small, older japanese gentleman. He even has a fixed bucket recaro as the driver seat. The best part of this story is he has promised to organise a fuji speedway course licence for me later this year so I can drive his GTR and Fuji. So big thank you Tommo and Akai-san. (^_^)

here is another pic of Tomonori with his hachi parked in the front of his dads factory.

and here's what he did to his poor hachis driveshaft when we were out drifting.

[Beer Baron]

here are another couple of food pics:

another night of Shabu Shabu:

and here is something for the bolder. Fugu karage. Anyone who watches the simpsons, or who knows about fish with know that Fugu is a poisonous fish that when cut and served incorrectly will cause death. Many Fugu chefs will leave a small amount of poison in the dish to make your mouth numb! Most popular as fugu sashimi and also fugu soup. But Fugu karage is extra tasty

A friend of mine Yumiko.

and lastly this guy would have to be the funiest man in the world! He works out the front of a store in Shinjuku in this crazy suit. It has a ducks neck and head where his wang should be, with two little reins so he can steer it. he stands there in this outfit rapping (yes! rapping) in japanese. I love your work duck/wang man.

[Beer Baron]

ok, some cozplay-zoku in Harajuku. Some people think they are freaks, some think they are cute, some think they are sexy (?!) but most japanese friends I've talked to about cozplayzoku think they are just weird kids, and most japanese girls I know are a bit embarassed about foreigners fascination with these type of people. but no matter what your opinion it has to be said they are uniquely and recognisably japanese.

[Beer Baron]

two more as a teaser of more things to come as we move away from Tokyo a bit for a while.

[Tales]

Tomonori has the same element jumper as me lol Richi keep the pics comming !!! Mmmm cosplay girls are awsome yep. Hey whats the second last pic? Looks like a shrine right? Ive seen a red one in a pic that my friend showed me but i cant recall where it was :S They look the part just like their traditionally styled buildings And...damn envious much? Drive a GTR and a fiju license to top it off hahaa good stuff man, llok forward to seeing more.

[m3gtr]

the tori is from hiroshima if im not mistaken, Richard? And that pagoda is part of Kyoto, Kiyomizudera i think..

Kyoto is magnificent. simply stunning..shame about how cold the people were there.

[ls1ben]

Very good photos.

[Beer Baron]

the tori is from hiroshima if im not mistaken, Richard? And that pagoda is part of Kyoto, Kiyomizudera i think..

Kyoto is magnificent. simply stunning..shame about how cold the people were there.

Good guesses, pretty close but no cigar. The floating Torii is at the entrance to the floating shrine in Miyajima island (just south of Hiroshima). That 5 story pagoda is in Miyajima too. If you've never been there, it's worth checking out. Listed as one of the 5 most beautiful sights in japan.

oh, and yes, Kyoto was lovely. But to be honest I couldn't spend more than 2 or 3 days there tops. After a while all the shrines and temples begin to look pretty similar. The Kyoto Imperial Palace was awesome though.