Rezz

Ait: Thanks for taking the time out to post, but you're telling me things about *my home country* in which I grew up in for 25 years. Having said that, I think I know what I'm getting into. The main reason I'm going to leave Japan for good is that Australia offers an infinitely better quality of life. Less population density, less pollution, less psychopaths that want to kill EVERYBODY (as opposed to teen gangs and wierd poofs like Ait pointed out) hell... I can even drink the tap water in Australia! I totally realize why alot of you guys who've only been in Japan a short time find it hard to understand why I don't want to live here anymore. Japan is your magical place where everything has novelty value and is just so clean, efficient and... not like your home country. Yeas indeed, I did feel like you guys when I first came here. But I'm not healthy as a result of living here. "What??? Not healthy? What do you mean?" When I say not healthy, I'm talking physically and dare I say... mentally. Now kids, don't take 'not healthy mentally' the wrong way! It doesn't mean I'm a raving lunatic, it merely means my take on reality has somewhat altered for the worse since coming to Japan. Let me explain: You other Japan residents... have you ever heard the old quote amongst foreigners in Japan "All people who come to Japan are just losers wanting a second chance" or "Foreigners who come to Japan do so because they can't make it in their own country", or even "All foreigners in Japan are wierd"... hahaha! Here I'm saying that there are an unhealthy amount of wierdo's in Japan, yet the foreigners here all think the foreigners are the wierd ones!!! This has had a negative effect on me, because I *have met more than a few 'scary' foreigners* in my time here. Those quotes above do seem to hold some truth now... and I don't want to be a part of that. Heres the bombshell: I think all foreigners ultimately change, for better or for worse when coming to Japan long term. For better I mean financially and for international experience... and maybe language reasons. For worse I mean that every single day they spend here chips away at their inner self, having to put up with the fact that they have no status in society... no matter how long they stay here. This is the truth. Some people (very few Men, even women) can happily put up with this. I can't. I will NEVER be accepted as a Japanese person, so therefore they can go and fu(k themselves. My country accepts 1000's of Japanese every year, helping them mature and become people able to achieve much more than their parents would ever dream of doing, yet what do they do for us? Sure you can live here and buy our computers, cars, TV and other non-necessary bollocks, but you CANNOT have a passport, and you CANNOT vote. You HAVE TO have a JAPANESE GUARANTEUR in order to get a bank loan, because frankly, Japanese businessmen don't trust foreigners. This messes with me. I'm probably more trustworthy than half the Japanese in this country yet I'm classed as 'on par with Japanese women' which in Japan, is not that high compared to Japanese men. The way the Japanese government treats 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans (Koreans who are born and raised in Japan who only speak Japanese) is pathetic too. They can't get a Japanese passport... yes, they're born and raised IN JAPAN, yet get issued a KOREAN PASSPORT. Talk to these 'Korean/Japanese people' for long enough, and you start to draw paralells between them and yourself. YOU ARE NOT JAPANESE, THEREFORE ARE NOT. One Korean/Japanese girl cut me to pieces when she told me about her story... I'm not going into it here, but rest assured that I had a newfound hatered of the archaic Japanese government after I was told. There you go, I hate the Japanese pathetic government, so I pretty much can'T live here any more. Some foriegners can happily ignore it and continue to live here... I can't.

Link: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...826#post1415826 First mention of a 3700cc capacity increase I've seen here, we might even see 4000cc V6 by the time it's released?

Taken from 'The My Car' magazine (I'm not for or against any info brought out here): SUPER SPORT SCOOP! - We'll see the prototype this autumn, and a January 2007 debut! The Prototype to be shown at this years Tokyo Motor Show will still in fact be a 'design concept', but don't let that fool you. Development is well underway, and what we see at Tokyo in Autumn should be almost final. The Next GT-R's base body type is actually a Skyline! We've seen the test-mule being trialled at Nurburgring in Germany which was a rebadged Nissan V35 Coupe (LHD Infinity G35), but actually the whole body will form the base of the next Skyline series 'V36'. This can be interpreted as 'the next Skyline (V36) will be designed around the GT-R underpinings, rather than the GT-R being based on the Skyline...' Breaking news this time is that the Twin-turbo V6 configuration has had it's capacity increased to 3700cc. With the increased capacity, it further assists low down torque in conjunction with the electric motor assisted twin turbos, creating instant positive boost pressure when throttle is applied, giving a 'linear pick-up engine'. We expect the engine to produce in excess of 380hp, and although far higher figures have been quoted, we expect a conservative figure - in line with previous GT-R outputs from factory. An 'ATTESA Frame' is the new type of 4WD system being used this time around, incorporating a hybrid drive system: an FR transaxel powering the rear wheels, and combined electric motors for the front wheels, similar to the system used on the Nissan March 'e-4WD', but designed with 'Super Sports' in mind, able to produce much more power and torque with an almost instant reaction time (when wheelspin is detected). This system will not bring shame upon the GT-R name as has been seen in public reation so far. A hybrid 4WD system will take car dynamics to the next level. The car name will be 'Infinity GT-R'... not 'Skyline'. /Rezz

Well, maybe it's better to start a new thread with that one mmmmm?

Thanks mate, that pretty much sums up my thought process right there... but thanks anyway.

No worries Andrew, I'm glad I could help Heres a KH2 Gun Grey metallic R32 GT-R in broad daylight, but the pic you posted looks a little dark? Could just be the time of day the pic was taken but yeah, by all means check out the other GT-R, it sure sounds like your hungry for some ATESSA RB26DETT goodness :jump:

Lol, then there's another reason not to come to the city so often To be honest, just walking around Osaka, you can *see* the wierdo's walking around amongst the throngs of people... talking to themselves, moving erratically... I can pick them out. These are the guys that maim and even kill... remeber back in 2002 when that crazed psycho stabbed to death 10-odd kids at the Primary School in South Osaka BECAUSE HIS WIFE LEFT HIM??? Ok, he got the death penalty but what about the kids? Theres more, alot more stories like this but you get the picture. It's incredibly insane and horrifically random murders like this that just reinforce the fact that there are a heck of alot on people in this country (mostly men) who have very little regard for other human beings... or even their own pitiful lives.

Ok, here are the things that make a GT-R Nismo what it is: Metal turbines in the turbo No intercooler grill twin air intakes either side of the front number plate boot lid lip spoiler no aircon no stereo no ABS no rear wiper revised projector headlights Nismo sticker on boot lid Unlike the regular GT-R's, the Nismo models were only available in Gun Grey Metallic paint (KH2), and they were the lightest of the BNR32's weighing in at a clean 1400kg. Only 500 were made, starting production on the 22nd February 1990 and ending on the 11th March 1990. Everything else is pretty much the same as the regular GT-R. I don't have to tell you that the car in the pics above is SILVER, so unless the car wasn't looked after or had crash damage at some stage and thus entirely repainted, it probably isn't a genuine Nismo GT-R. In fact, I can see from the interior pic that that car has climate control aircon, so it's a safe bet that it isn't genuine. Nismo GT-R's are pretty sought after, I find it hard to believe that someone would retro-fit aircon and respray the thing silver... I hope this info helps.

Lol, I can dig it

ARE YOU IN OSAKA? Why don't we meet up??? Streeter can come along too. Let me know...

Bump... This has got to go, A$1,100 + shipping

Thats right. I'm glad you chimed in with that Dave because I think this is where the real discussion is. Just how 'good' is living in Japan compared to your own country? Granted, you live in a somewhat rural Japanese town, which I dare say you wouldn't experience peak hour on the trains very often. Theres a whole bunch of other stuff which I won't go into, you know it, I know it so... yes, it *is* nice to have a choice. BUT... I don't think Japan even compares to my hometown of Perth. I mean, we send 20 - 30 students there on vacation tours and study abroad packages every year. And they keep coming back for more. What in Jeebus's name could they like about 'Perth'???? The rediculously short trading hours (9am - 5:30pm Mon - Thurs, till 9pm Fri, and 10 - 6pm Sat/Sun)? The stupidly inadequate train system? The reliance on cars as a result (thats not such a bad thing IMO ) The tame nightlife? Hers my list of pro's and con's of Japan v Perth (my hometown): PERTH Pro's: Brilliant weather Brilliant beaches Overall high standard of roads Low pollution levels VERY quiet in the suburbs Compact city that is easy to navigate Strong economy (for the State of WA) Easy to find a job (for me anyway) Lower cost of living Public Transport is quite high tech (Hydrogen cell buses/brand new trains) My family live there! Low population density PERTH Con's: Isolated compared with other AU cities (but then again, thats good for Perth culture) Stupid Shopping hours Housing prices are increasing Summers can be too hot Water restrictions in Summer sometimes? Overzealous Policing of traffic/speed cameras Less disposable income due to infinitely smaller economy Slow domestic internet (8meg/sec is fastest right now?) due to low population density... thats a Con AND a Pro. ------------------------------------------------ JAPAN (Osaka) Pro's: Huge market with so many choices Large disposable income Convenient Public transport system (maybe best in the world) Spring and Autumn can be beutiful in the right areas Good choice of used sports cars 'Interesting' nightlife Some real bargains to be found in any market genre (I found 300 yen pints of beer the other week) Generally well recieved because I'm not Japanese. I think Americans have it good and bad... they're the most well recieved sometimes, then other times they're the most hated... depends on who you talk to. But as an Australian, nobody *really* hates us. JAPAN (Osaka) Con's: Pollution Crowds 'Citizen Tax' Road tolls Shaken (Vehicle roadworthyness inspection) Earthquakes (never know when or where - constantly in the back of your mind) Humid Summers... too humid. Endless built up areas that all look the same... a nightmare for navigation Ugly cities Beaches that I wouldn't even piss on... not near the cities anyway Wierd people that could injure/kill people at any time, any place (Amagasaki train crash anyone?) I HAVE TO be an English teacher, no other choices Total ignorance to the fact that I can speak conversational Japanese by the locals... even my inlaws! Staring Strange smell in the city Staring Peak hour Staring Not a good School system for the kids to go through IMO Lame 'all talk no action' Government - Koizumi is pathetic Did I mention 'staring'? Theres more, but they are the main points.

Just dead links all around the place. Not a big operation I'd imagine, but yeah, some kind of tuning Garage. I believe they got involved in motorsports (including motorcycles) and did some minor sponsorship of an event or two.

No I didn't, I said: I was actually referring to the people who are like me - at a crossroads - but decide to stay in Japan knowing full well that there are things that make them uneasy that have to go ignored in order to continue living there. I can name 3 guys in my social circle right now who are like this. I don't condone that course of action, they are indifferent to it, so I leave it at that. Keep digging mang because I've never had an IT career LOL! In fact, I came to SAU almost 3 years after I arrived in Japan. By that stage I think I was totally brainwashed to the 'good side' of Japan, the complete opposite of how I feel about it now. Being 30 years old doesn't help either. The Anpanman theme song. Period.

I believe it's a club of some sort, as opposed to a workshop. They *did* have a website but it has since been taken down. Just some GT-R club... and yes, during it's first 3 years, your car has probably been thrashed within an inch of it's warranty

It's funny, the moment I hook up with someone who *actually* gets out and drifts regularly in Osaka (ie: Streeter), I suddenly have no inclination to go to any illegal drift. I've been there a few times and... well... yeah. It maybe hard for you guys in Australia or wherever to understand, but Japan isn't 'all that' as far as I'm concerned. ^^^Hehehehe... I'm starting to sound exactly what most Japanese students say when their motorsports-mad English teacher first asks them about illegal drift and drag in Japan: Teacher: "Hey Yuki, do you know about do-ri-fu-to?" Student: "Do-ri-fu-to? Ah yes... are you hashiriya? HAHAHAHA!" Teacher: "Yeah, I like Japanese sports cars." Student: "Heeeeeee.... are you yanki? HAHAHAHAHA!!" Teacher: "Well... I like drift." Student: "Do-ri-fu-to? Heeeeee.... ano... why you like drift?" Teacher: "It's fun and it tests my skill as a driver." Student: "It's not cool YO!" Student: "Are you yanki? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!" :Oops:

lol, try 'every time' mang... well, when considering my future that is...

Are you Australian born and bred? What stupid laws are you refering to? Not the vehicle importation laws surely??? If so, I couldn't care less about that.

Lol, I was going to continue this diary thing, but theres too many replies... messes up the 'flow'. Anyways, thanks for all your advice, but really, I *have* thought long and hard about this, and I know Australia isn't exactly the place for cool tax systems and logical laws... but it's home, thats where my immediate family lives so thats all there is to it. The guys that have decided to stay in Japan indefinately generally all put blinkers on to the bad side of Japan (not ignore, just... not aknowlege) and yeah... thats what you have to do in order to stay there indefinately as far as I'm concerned. As for the guys that constantly complain and don't leave, well they are as stupid as they sound. So I'm not going to change my mind, Japan is not for me anymore. Sure, they've got some good things going, but there are as many bad things aswell. If I have to choose a place to live and get screwed by the government, I'd rather be in a place where I could at least understand the language and not have the indirect racism and other asscociated bullsh!t.

Today, Wednesday 15th June, 2005: Came to work to day wanting to pick up my much needed salary (having just come back from 2 weeks in Germany) but no dice... this is hopeless. All I want to do is just make a budget, plan an exit date and stick to it. I think thats one of the reasons why some foreigners stay in Japan WAAAAY past their 'used by date' so to speak, it's because they just can't bring themselves to ultimately change their lives *again*... I mean, they've already done that once by coming here. The salary being late is just making me more curious as to our schools real financial position aswell. Hmmmm. Is it just me, or has the number of hard-tuned cars decreased in Osaka??? Haha, I can't believe I asked that, because any Japanese resident in their right mind would know mini-vans rule the show now. To be honest, thats why I skipped the Tokyo Auto Salon this year, I just couldn't justify the expense of going all that way just to see the Makuhari Messe filled 80% with modded mini-vans, SUV's and other FF paraphenalia with hydraulics and huge stereo systems. And besides, I really don't think theres much of a future for 'decent' affordable performance cars anymore. Honda, Toyota and Nissan can do their best, but the vibe here in Japan (where I am) is like the life has been sucked out. Hearing that (originally) TBO, Buddy Club, SSR and even Bomex going bankrupt doesn't give me much hope. I know the Japanese car industry is huge, and as many new companies are opening up as the ones that are closing down, but it just demostrates the fragility of the industry now... although no Japanese guy worth his weight would admit it. Oh, I also handed in my notice today, so the guys at work are a bit suprised, I'm like the 'veteran' teacher here and some of the less experienced guys might get cold feet as a result. "Had enough of Japan have you?" asked our accountant. "No... well.... aaaaah...... ye......s...... kinda".

Fast forward, Monday, 13th June, 2005: Snniiiiifff.... whats that smell? Summer in Japan, well, extremely humid 'rainy season' first, then an extremely humid (and hot) summer. Yeah, just makes you wanna bust out with some Beach Boys tunes on the way to *cough* Suma *cough* "beach". Not looking forward to it, although I do prefer summer to winter thats for sure. Why do seemingly intelligent students ask that 'ol chestnut "are there 4 seasons in your country?" How can you reply to that??? "Aaaahh, yes, we have 4 seasons, in fact we actually have 5, if you include the silly season...", to which they reply "Heeeeeeeeeee! (pronounced 'heh')" in utter disbelief. Haha. Speaking of students, I had to teach a 'travel class' to one, she's quite cute actually (shes going to Canada you Canuks! Vancouver lads be on the lookout from August) and it just involves doing role-plays at Immigration, Sucurity check, customs etc... nothing special. The odd thing was is that she can't speak A WORD of English, and she's never been out of Japan!!! Now she's going on a 3 month study abroad program to Canada. Geez I hope she's ok over there. I'm not saying our Canadian friends are untrustworthy, it's just that Canada is so different to Japan. I don't think she realizes what she's in for... 21 years old too. But I can't feel responsible for these guys anymore. I think thats part of my problem. After 5 years of 'looking after' the students, I just don't wanna be involved anymore... not in this school, not in any school. I just don't care anymore what they do.

Read on guys, all will be 'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrevealed'. Friday 10th June, 2005: Got into work at 11am (usually start at 12 - 1pm *sigh*) for a meeting. Not just any meeting though, the owner of our schools wants to sell up everything and offer 'after-support' (sounds like Japlish doesn't it?) at 20% of monthly takings. Hmmmm. He wants to get out too... a bit of that going around then. Funny though because the schools are doing really well, all posting decent monthly profits - which increased for 12 consecutive months during 2004. I'm not implying that the private English school industry is about to falter (hence the owner wanting to sell) but that the industry - in Osaka at least - seems 'stale'... whereas we used to get alot of serious students all wanting 850+ TOEIC scores etc, now it seems we just mainly teach English for students 'as a hobby', with no real impetus to do anything with it. Damn, I really should take my camera out with me every day now... I missed a golden oportunity tonight: a huge crowd of people, maybe 200 or more, have just reached the top of the steps having just got off at Umeda (Midosuji subway line). Enter an extremely drunk 'salaryman' - his suit and tie all scraggly and slightly dirty, he must've fallen down a few times already - walks to the top of the staircase just as the 200 people are walking the other way. Then we stops, crouches over, then BARFS his 15,000 yens worth of sake and okonomiyaki at the top of the stairs SCATTERING people left and right, all wanting to avoid getting vomit spashed on them. The odd thing was is that some people did indeed get splashed, yet they didn't even flinch, they just kept going their merry way. Some other people who were about to step in said vomit patch just stopped, and stood there staring at the vomit, wondering how to negotiate such an obstacle... 'go around it' maybe??? NAAAAAAH. To logical... lets just stand here and look dumbfounded instead. But as all this was going on, people from the back started pushing and shoving, ending up in the dumbfounded people who failed to react in time being pushed into the vomit patch, ruining their generic Hikari Shopping business shoes. The above story just reiterated the Japanese term 'hito gomi' literally meaning 'people trash' but in use it means 'crowds'. That term always made me chuckle, but it really does - in a sad but true way - describe the situation in Japan where masses of people gather... anyone remember the 50-odd old people and children who were crushed to death in the Akashi end-of-summer fireworks displays back in 2001? Those people perished solely because people were in a hurry to get back to their cars or the train station. 'Hito gomi' may not be used in everyday Japanese, but it does exist, and it's one of the things that I'd rather not be in close contact with.

Hi everyone, here's my blow by blow report of the dreaded 'Sayonara Japan' saga I'm about to go through. Thursday, 9th June, 2005: Today was just the same as every other day for the last 6 months... or years? I had a 2 hour break between classes today, so I was able to just reminisce about what I've done in the last year or so - went to Central Circuit, went to Osaka Auto Messe, went to Ti Circuit for the Nismo Festival etc etc etc. But what about everything else? Besides motorsport and car culture events, I'm basically just teaching the same old students the same old English lessons... hardly what I call 'interesting'. At home, it's just watch all the English channels on cable. Who needs Japanese TV? Even if I could understand everything, it's still whacky and dare I say - annoying? Going out at night isn't actually a babe goldmine either. Once your beer goggles are off, the girls that you *actually* want to speak to (ie: intelligent) are few and far between... the 'cutesy J-girl' thing is as overrated as Star Wars Ep III. I've got to get out of here...

For Sale: 1x Nikon D70 body, battery, 64meg mem card , PC software (Picture Project 1.0) and cables 1x Nikon AF Zoom Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 lens 1x Nikon AF Zoom Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens 1x Nikon battery charger (100-240v) and adapter plug (JP > AU) ok for Australia, no transformer necessary. 1x NiCad/LiIon battery pack adapter, possible to use readily available batteries (CR2 type) instead of Nikons battery included. 1x LowePro camera bag, possible to fit the camera, both lenses and all accessories in except tripod. 1x VF aluminium tripod and bag, extendable to 1.5m high Everything you need for professional pics in any situation. A$1,200 (plus shipping) All equipment was bought new in March this year, need to sell as I'm moving back to Australia. If your interested, please PM me or email me at: [email protected] All equipment is as new and priced for a quick sale (no offers please). *Edit: This camera combo was bought in Japan, but the camera itself has all English menus. The manuals and software are in Japanese though. The 64meg memory card is just something I threw in to the deal, it's a Canon card actually.

So if it's not the final product, why are you criticizing it? Did you know that the 'test mule' for the V35 Skyline was actually a long-wheelbase R32 4-door? You can see it at the Nissan Prince Museum. So going along with your assumption, you could've said that the V35 looks sh!t because it's too much like an R32? lol