Dopey's Japan Photo Diary

[liger]

was going to go to tokyo motor show on the wednesday night. but after seeing the news report down in nagasaki and all of the fugly cars they shown. i decided against it.

was it worth going?

also, picture 14 of this thread looks like saito daigo's D1 drift car. looks pretty similar to me. good photos none the less.

[d0p3y]

I thought the Tokyo Motor Show was worth the visit, most especially because there were a number of cars on display that I was interested in seeing for myself - pictures just aren't the same. The only down sides for me were that Odaiba is a bit of a hike and the crowd was massive which means some cars are hard to get a good look at. Definitely glad I went though.

[Tai1or Made]

Just found this thread. Amazing photos mate.

Such quality cars too.

[On Edge]

Great photography thanks for sharing

[AGE]

Awesome pics!

What hire place did you get the cube from, and whats the go with the satnav?? Are the JDM/engrish gps's easy to use?

[West]

Oh man, great photo.

[d0p3y]

Thanks everyone.

With regards to the hire of the Nissan Cube, I hired it from Nissan Rent-a-car in Shinjuku. I do my bookings through this website: http://www2.tocoo.jp - they deal with multiple companies. Not all rental companies offer English GPS, but Nissan do. It's a ~Y1000 option and well worth it. Because I was staying at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku which is right near Shinjuku station I opted to use this outlet: http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/branch&id=02236&prefecture=13 - I've used them twice now and they have been perfect to deal with every time.

The GPS is easy enough to use but keep in mind that the Japanese map system is not the same as here. There's two ways of accurately finding your destination (most of the time):

1. Phone Number - the GPS System will allow you to enter the phone number of the place you want to visit.

2. GPS Co-ordinates - My preferred method is to look up the locations I want to drive to on Google Maps when I'm planning my trip and then convert the coordinates for that location into the format that the GPS System in the car uses. A helpful website for conversion of the coordinates is http://netvicious.com/gps/ - make a note of all the formats of the coordinates so you don't get caught out. I think from memory the GPS system in the Nissan uses Degrees/Minutes/Seconds format (xx.xx.xx, xxx.xx.xx).

The Nissan GPS system is pretty good, I never got lost with it. It's not 100% english but the directions are English and the signs on the roads in Japan are usually in both languages too.

I'd advise that you burn a CD of Mp3 music or take a spare SD Card with Mp3's on it to play in the car during your adventures, Japanese Radio stations can get a bit tiresome as they talk a lot between songs!

Edited December 20, 2011 by d0p3y

[copycutter]

Awesome photo diary dopey, I wish I had been to some of the place you've seen! Some outstanding photos there.

Do you speak Japanese? How did you know all the best places to visit etc?

Was the GTR expensive to rent?

[d0p3y]

Awesome photo diary dopey, I wish I had been to some of the place you've seen! Some outstanding photos there.

Do you speak Japanese? How did you know all the best places to visit etc?

Was the GTR expensive to rent?

The GTR was Y46,200 for 24hrs hire, so depending on the exchange rate it's not too bad. There were three of us on holiday so divided by 3 mates it was certainly good value. Toll roads cost a small fortune though they are great to drive on. Rental was through Premium Rent - http://www.premium-rent.com/en/cartypes.php

I can't speak much Japanese, I understand a fair bit. Enough to get by.

I did a lot of research for places to visit just using Google, Travel Wiki, other Forums etc. There's quite a few threads on http://www.jdmstyletuning.com forums with other travel blogs and Japan holiday advice threads. If you put a lot of time into research you'll find heaps to do.

[AGE]

Thanks everyone.With regards to the hire of the Nissan Cube, I hired it from Nissan Rent-a-car in Shinjuku. I do my bookings through this website: http://www2.tocoo.jp - they deal with multiple companies. Not all rental companies offer English GPS, but Nissan do. It's a ~Y1000 option and well worth it. Because I was staying at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku which is right near Shinjuku station I opted to use this outlet: http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/branch&id=02236&prefecture=13 - I've used them twice now and they have been perfect to deal with every time.The GPS is easy enough to use but keep in mind that the Japanese map system is not the same as here. There's two ways of accurately finding your destination (most of the time):1. Phone Number - the GPS System will allow you to enter the phone number of the place you want to visit. 2. GPS Co-ordinates - My preferred method is to look up the locations I want to drive to on Google Maps when I'm planning my trip and then convert the coordinates for that location into the format that the GPS System in the car uses. A helpful website for conversion of the coordinates is http://netvicious.com/gps/ - make a note of all the formats of the coordinates so you don't get caught out. I think from memory the GPS system in the Nissan uses Degrees/Minutes/Seconds format (xx.xx.xx, xxx.xx.xx). The Nissan GPS system is pretty good, I never got lost with it. It's not 100% english but the directions are English and the signs on the roads in Japan are usually in both languages too.I'd advise that you burn a CD of Mp3 music or take a spare SD Card with Mp3's on it to play in the car during your adventures, Japanese Radio stations can get a bit tiresome as they talk a lot between songs!

Awesome!!

Huge thanx, that is some fantastic info.

Me learned

Is there a engrish website on how the toll/roads system work in Japan?

[d0p3y]

It's all pretty simple - there's cash booths on every toll road I've come across. I wish there was a way for foreigners to obtain the ETC card but so far I haven't seen any way to hire or buy one so cash booths are the only way. Cash booths are usually marked by the big green sign like this:

Just remember to have lots of cash handy. I think the most I've spent is about $80 in one day. Most tolls are Y300-700 but the motorways can cost up to Y2500 on the long journeys. The more expensive motorways that are charged for different distances will have 2 toll booths - the first when you enter the motorway you collect a card and the second booth where you hand your card to the operator and pay the charge based on distance. When you get to the second booth they'll usually have an electornic sign showing how much to pay.

I've noticed that the GPS system in the Nissan will usually show you the estimate of how much the toll charge will be which is handy but not entirely vital.

There's a few guides on the net for driving, ie: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2022.html & http://expatsguide.jp/ch6 - for the most part it's pretty straight forward and easy to grasp.

Remember to get your international driving permit from NRMA before you leave the country!

When you go to fuel up the car just remember the word "mantan" and they will give you a full tank. Usually a station attendant will guide you in and fill the car up for you, no need to get out of the car at all.

[AGE]

Fantastic info there d0p3y. Huge thanx

:worship:

[West]

Apparently that Home stay place that you stayed on that Island is right next to that Nuclear station that blew up ..... is this correct ?? I really like it.

[d0p3y]

Nope it's down the other end of Japan mate, near Hiroshima. f*kushima power plant is north of Tokyo.

Edited December 30, 2011 by d0p3y

[elrodeo666]

It's all pretty simple - there's cash booths on every toll road I've come across. I wish there was a way for foreigners to obtain the ETC card but so far I haven't seen any way to hire or buy one so cash booths are the only way. Cash booths are usually marked by the big green sign like this:

Just remember to have lots of cash handy. I think the most I've spent is about $80 in one day. Most tolls are Y300-700 but the motorways can cost up to Y2500 on the long journeys. The more expensive motorways that are charged for different distances will have 2 toll booths - the first when you enter the motorway you collect a card and the second booth where you hand your card to the operator and pay the charge based on distance. When you get to the second booth they'll usually have an electornic sign showing how much to pay.

I've noticed that the GPS system in the Nissan will usually show you the estimate of how much the toll charge will be which is handy but not entirely vital.

There's a few guides on the net for driving, ie: http://www.japan-gui...om/e/e2022.html & http://expatsguide.jp/ch6 - for the most part it's pretty straight forward and easy to grasp.

Remember to get your international driving permit from NRMA before you leave the country!

When you go to fuel up the car just remember the word "mantan" and they will give you a full tank. Usually a station attendant will guide you in and fill the car up for you, no need to get out of the car at all.

You pretty much need a Japanese credit card to get ETC.

You can buy with cash but you'll need at least half decent Japanese to buy one from the companies that run the toll roads.

Also to add on filling up... Regular Mantan kudasai.. (fill her up with regular please) Genkin de onegai (paying by cash please)

You get a slight discount by using cash instead of credit card.

[yogi000]

awesome thread dopey.....great read, heaps of info.

cheers!

[barraspalding]

dude... I'm super fkn jealous. Only spent 6 days there and I had the locals laughing at me for taking pictures of everything. You must have had alot of attention! haha

Bloody awesome photos

[d0p3y]

No probs.

I didn't get many looks, well, I don't think so anyway. I didn't pay too much attention to others whilst I was taking photos. The only time I can definitely recall somebody noticing was at Daikoku Futo - they were talking about me but I don't think they realised I understood a bit of Japanese. Nothing bad they were just exclaiming "wow, a foreigner all the way out here". People were surprisingly friendly for the most part and I had a chat to a few people about their cars. Those who seem intimidating initially are often quite friendly once spoken to!

[Yidz]

Amazing photo thread buddy. Love it, and makes me want to visit 100 x more...

[-Tom]

Wow. This thread nearly made me cry. So comprehensive and every photo is quality. I wish I had le monies.