Rezz

Andrew... You made it! Well done mate, I remember you wanting advice about Japan months ago... now you're here. Yeah ^^^^ Welcome to the club

But guys (Dave, Brian and Troy), do you *really* feel comfortable, like Japans your "home-away-from-home"? I don't think I'd ever feel 100% comfortable... now that I think of it, I live in a rich area, and maybe the snobby nature of the well off people around here make it uncomfortable at times... I don't know.

Thats "Bolocks", Troy... "Bollocks".... Thread closed.

Yes! Dave, Troy... I insist you come to the Nismo Festival with me this year!

How many of you Japan residents (and guys who have lived in Japan over 1 year or so) *really* feel comfortable living in Japan? I know some of the guys living in the country might not encounter as much indirect rascism as some of the city residents, but how much does it affect your enjoyment about living here in Japan? When I first came to Japan almost 4 years ago, I was pretty much naive to the whole "indirect rascism" thing. But as I got more of a handle on how (and why) Japanese people percive things and ESPECIALLY after getting married to a Japanese girl, I suddenly felt like a part of the Japanese "club" as it were, but at the same time came upon the realization that a whole lot of Japanese people (a good amount of them older people) resented that I was in Japan, and furthermore, would either downright: a) ignore me, B) say things along the lines of "you're a foreigner, so you don't know what you're talking about" and c) just general disrespect ie: coughing *directly* onto me on the train, puting briefcases on the only available seat on a bus so I couldn't sit down, offering free chu-hi drinks to all the people waiting in line at Daiei supermarket checkout except me etc,etc,etc... "Haha! Get a thicker skin Rezz!" you might say... but times those rascism experiences by 1000 and then you're starting to get close to how it feels. P.S. I once had an older guy (General Manager of Minato Bank in Osaka as it turned out) say to me on the train after an old f*cked up woman verbally abused me (totally ignoring the other 60 Japanese people who were using their phones) for using my mobile phone on the train, "Don't worry about her, she just doesn't like gaijin... where are you from?".

Don't forget the w00w Port City (Kobe) SuperAutobacs show down at Sushine Wharf in July, Troy... you up for coming?

Heheh! ... just jotting that quote down in my organiser... ;)

Blitz and crew from SAU are going again in '05... he's already made plans, so you're not so early...

Thanks dude! Stickied!

About C0ckpit Tatebayashi: C0ckpit stores are just your regular "Bob Jane T-Mart" type wheel, tire and tune up place, but Tatebayashi (and others) have complete "turbo tune-up menus", where you can drive your S14 in, and 2 days later, have a 450hp monster on your hands, with a complete set of coil-overs and 18" wheels and tires too. So they do almost the same job as a regular Tuning workshop... I say almost, because the emphasis (and where they make most of their money) is in the wheel and tire business.I'd go to C0ckpit if I didn't have any contacts with a regular tuning workshop (ie: C-West ) as they do the complete job in-house, and you can just choose a "tune-up package", you don't have to know what every part does. About the "EDGE" bodykit: Sorry, my bad, I said before that C0ckpit Tatebayashi produced the "EDGE" bodykit... well they don't. The bodykit is produced by Emotion R, and is quite expensive compared to similar looking front bumpers by BoMex Heres the EDGE front bumper for 79,000 yen (A$992): ...and the BoMex BM Type II front bumper for 30,500 yen (A$383): I know which one I'd buy! So C0ckpit Tatebayashi don't manufacture kits as such, but use other brands. I wouldn't say the EDGE kit is common (hence the price!) but they are made to the highest standards as is usual with the low volume Japanese brands. I guess try and go for a cheap EDGE knock-off, or the BoMex...

Yeah... those guys are *way* too smart... apparently...

The "EDGE" R33 Skyline GTS25t has been out since 1999 at least, made by ****PIT TATEBAYASHI (GODDAM IT! I've been vBulletined!!)... it's still doing the rounds at the car shows, me and the SAU boys from Sydney saw this one at this years Tokyo Auto Salon. AFAIK, the kit has been copied and is sold in Australia already? Can someone clarify this?