sleeper_et

Hi boys and girls, Well I arrived back in Japan last week. I am living with my misses in Matsue which is in the Shimane Prefecture. Yeah I know its a long way from anything but that`s where she has a job. So having not gone to Uni(I started a business more or less straight outta high school), not having a degree and already having used my only working holiday Visa, I face the challenge of trying to find a job and get sponsorship. Any tips? So D1 is going to Okayama next weekend. I have never been and watched it so I reckon I will head down for a look. Is anyone else going along? If you are sing out cause it would be good to meet some fellow car enthusiasts. http://www.d1gp.co.jp/ Way Off topic: but before I left for Japan, my brother and I managed to get my Drag ET Pulsar going again, here is a video if anyone wants a look. It`s running an engine out of a wreck until we get the suspension where we want it and isn`t tuned yet but we will put a rough tune into it and do some testing at some stage. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=A03OKpPrZUc Cheers

As far as I`m concerned they should never have taken Takeshi`s Castle off TV. That show really lifted the standard of TV in Aus when it was on. There is nothing like seeing someone run full tilt at a door thinking that its made of paper only to find out its solid wood. Damn I miss that show

Awesome pics. Don't know how you managed to get access to all of these areas but i am jealous. Is it just me or on the GT500 RB26 engine, have they ground all of the webbing off the side of the block to save weight? Could be wrong but sure looks like it. Excuse my ignorance, maybe Nissan Motorsport makes a race series engine block? once again cool pics

Hi all, not sure if everyone or anyone has seen this before. I stumbled across it on another forum and all I can say is this is impressive. I have gotta get here one day. Check out some of the names on the doors of the race cars(older). See anyone who has done big things? http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.aspx?...;msg_id=2079707 Regards Dan

It would be pretty cool thats for sure. It was unfortunate that in the past we didnt get the R32/33/34/35 aus delivered. But It will be great when the new skyline makes it out here- not that I can afford one.

Thanks for the info all, very useful. Gotta start filling that moneybox up hey. Out of curiosity those who have done it, what car(s) did you buy, were they modded by the previous owner and how much did you pay? (id you dont mind me asking?)

Haha, yeah its not really where I wanted 100% to be (Kobe/Osaka) but my misses has just scored a really good job in that area and the deal was if she gets the job we live there if she doesn't we live in Kobe or Osaka. It's a nice place with shit loads of Mountain Rds so... has its pluses. Looks like I will be doing tuning on the road and not a dyno. Would it take about 5 hours to get to Osaka by car? Thanks for the offer, funny you mention that cause if I can get my Japanese to where it needs to be that was one of the jobs I would have liked to have done(if in Kobe/Osaka). Good luck with the job. If you get it, it will open up a fair few opportuinities for you to make some $$$ on the side. Cheers

Sound like an Japan licence will be on the cards then. I have heard that when you get a Japanese licence your Aussie one is no longer valid? Thanks for the tip Laurence, I would of thought that being polite would have been the way to go considering how polite Japanese are. Thats funny, I will try it on an Aussie Cop and see what happens You mentioned buying from the auction yards, I'm under the impression that its pretty much an invitation/trade only deal, but say you wanted to go and look or potentially buy, how would you go about it? I know its ages away but I'm looking forward to the idea of getting a car in JP.

Thanks guys, that helps out a fair bit. I think that parking costs where I will live will be a bit cheaper(rural area). From what you have told me its safe to say that when I buy a car expect at least 200,000円ish　in other cost, then obviously the ongoing cost of running a car. I have never bought a modified car before, I always steered away from them in the thinking that the past owner had thrashed the nuts outta it, however buying a stocker then modifying it is way more costly. As in most cases there are ups and down sides to each. In Aus I would do it myself (as I have all the tools) but in Japan its probably better for me to get something that is mildy modified and work from there. When I lived in Japan my way of travel was mostly bike, how do you guys find the police to be in regards to modified cars with a 外国人 behind the wheel? Cheers

Hi all, I searched and found some older posts in regards to this topic and a litte bit on google about it, but for those of you who are currently living in Japan and have a car please feel free to give some input. ie parking, shaken, insurance.. Basically, I am moving to Japan (Matsue) in April and this time around I will definately be buying a car. It will be a daily driver but I intend to do some circuit racing and possibly a bit of drifting. The natural tendancy(in Aus) is to buy an older car ie R32 or S13/14 then do some work on it. Due to the Shaken and other taxes involved I'm wondering if its better to buy something newer and go from there ie R33/34 S15. It sounds like a simple question (shaken for newer cars is cheaper) but when you factor in the extra cost of buying a newer car... My question for those who have done one or both of these is which one did you find to be the easiest and or cost efficient way? The other question I have is where did you buy your car from? I frequently look on yahoo.co.jp オークション for cars, there seem to be some reasonable cars getting sold but I have read that there is quite a lot of paperwork that needs to be done. Which way did you guys buy your cars.. dealer/yahoo? Sorry for the long winded mail, just wana start getting an idea of what to expect. Cheers

How long are you going for? Obviously you are into cars, but what else do you you wana do/see over there? I dont know how the aussie dollar will keep going, but it might be a good idea to buy some yen in the not too distant future. I am heading back to stay for a year or 2 in april, so I am gonna buy a couple of grand soon- (when i was there last living last year $1 = 85yen, whereas now it is $1= 105yen) If you are into general sight seeing stuff and you have the time, go to Hiroshima. I lived near there and it was a really cool place. Having said that, I wish i had of spent more time in Tokyo and Osaka (both to live and sightsee). It seems like there is always something cool to do there. Also check out the dates for the Super GT calender, you might be able to get to a meeting(a must). They are PHAT. If only we were allowed to go that radical with the V8 Supercars. Cheers

West: Do you mean you want more pics of Hanami/Sakura(Cherry Blossom) and Japanese Gardens, or dont wana see them? Cheers

Just a few more pics I would love to have a steer of one of these, I watched a DVD with Ayrton Senna testing one around Suzuka and it was pretty inspiring. Just in case one of the vending machines runs out they have 10 backups My housemate used to reckon this is the best way to wake up in the morning...With a compliment This is one of the toughtest looking Evo's I saw in Japan. Must be the huge pumped out guards Very Cleam AE86, plus the car behind it is nice too. This store was packed with Jap Car Models. It had almost any car that you could think of and the price was pretty good. http://www.mrdperformance.biz/frames/mainpage.htm If anyone wants to check out my car, go to Projects- 10 Sec MRD ET And Karl's 200SX is another more serious car that my brother and I built, we owned a performance shop in Victoria before I went to Japan. I have lost a CD that has lots of my photo's, when I find it I'll put some more up Cheers

With the dollar the way it is you should start planning it. I would recommend it to anyone, not just the cars but the country aswell, real eye openner. I think AutoSalon was great because there was a big variety of cars--- however I would have loved to have seen a dyno there. I know it would be a logistical nightmare but- how good would it be to see Top Secret and some of the big guns that we see on DVD's punch out some numbers. Post more pics soon

I will try and get some more pics up soon, Cheers

This is the set of "Yamato" the movie, in Onomichi. looks pretty real. A mate and I were riding to the shops when we saw this. How often do you see a 70's model car with Convo pro's that are about 14" wide? The guy was stoked, he was holding the traffic up so we could take pics. Just been restored and getting towed to the owners place. Bit rare in Japan Good wording for a cafe. haha I know its not a skyline but gotta appreciate the time put into that engine bay It didnt say how much this car weighed but it wouldn't be much. Good looking car too... In summer this was the best place to be. Was about a 40 min ride from my house What a store. There was a store like bunnings down the road called "DIK" Check out the flares

This is what I got my brother for his birthday. It was in a small hobby shop, cost me about $250 but worth every $. Dont see too many of these for sale anymore. This is why I am about 10kg's heavier than when I arrived there. Krispy Kreme has nothing! This is a love hotel on the way to my old work.... Camping Store name in Onomichi It took me ages to work out how to use an ATM for the first time

Hi All, Just thought I would post up some pics of my stay in Japan. I lived in f*kuyama, Hiroshima for a year. I did a bit of travelling around and got heaps of pics. Excuse my camera work, I'm not too good at it and my camera is a bit old... AutoSalon 06 was really enjoyable, I was on a budget so went by local train which took 13hours (seasonal ticket, only 2500yen return) and stayed in internet cafe's for 3 nights. Not the highlight of the trip but 4 days in Tokyo cost me 11000yen including food, trains, accom(if you call it that). I will be heading back with my girlfriend next year and plan is to live there for 2 or 3 years. Hope you enjoy the pics, if you want more let me know, I have about 3000 of them. 3 Litre Beer can This was soo cool, shit it was a tight squeeze though I think this cost more than I earn in a year A few shots from f*kuyama Now you find your bike in there when you are under the influence!!!! Tokyo AutoSalon.... if only Melbourne was this good!!!! I want one. The Car Park was awesome, I spent about 2 hours walking around looking at cars. R34's are cool, but you can't beat a tuff looking 32 Apart from the rear wing, when I go back I am buying one!!!! If only I had this much money...

Damn there are some nice cars there, imagine how much it would cost to get reg and insurance on them..... Was it a big Expo, i dont know much about this one? Cheers

Thats good to hear that you are gettin into it, you sound like you have done a fair bit of practice how about racing? It can be expensive when you start getting pretty good and doing a fair few meetings, the biggest thing i noticed was engines and tyres, you gotta keep em nice and fresh. What kinda kart have you got over there? I used to run a Swiss Hutless which was like $3800 (roller) about 7 years back so i would dread to think what the prices would be like over there to buy one. What are the flavour of the month when it comes to karts? Thanks for the info mate, def worth a look

Yeah cant do the diploma option either, I am thinking about doing the open learning/off campus learning to get a degree but wont really help much in the mean time. Its funny, I thought that Karting would be huge in JP but it just doesnt seem to be-- i know over here we use Yamaha KT100j and s engines by the bucket load.

Just found another thing that I will do when I get back there eventually, I will take some lessons in how to make Ramen and Udon. I have been craving it of late and its hard to find somewhere good that doesnt cost shit loads, always loved the station ramen joints on a cold morning. Other question, I used to race Go Karts and was thinking about giving it a bash over there again, anyone else done it in JP or only in Oz? Thanks for the input fellas

I reckon that there are quite a few driving schools with semi-good instructors needed. I went for a ride in a few mates cars and holy shit. They dont drive fast just unsafe--- and dont get me started on mum's who dont put seatbelts on their kids. I am with a great girl at the moment, I am sure I will marry her in the next few years but at the moment I dont think its and option unfortunately. I was thinking about doing uni over there but I am 25years old so whilst looking to buy a house its also a little bit of a hassle. Back to the drawing board

Ahh- I think i am facing a problem that soo many people have, I am trying to return to Japan at the end of the year with my misses(not married yet), I dont have a degree as I entered the workforce pretty much straight after finishing school and I have used my 1 working holiday visa. I am trying to get a job but everyone I speak to wont sponsor as I need a degree to get someone to sponsor me, I thought of going over on a tourist visa and getting a job but it takes soo long to sort visa's just not sure if its feasible?!? Drives you insane