Japan here i come - Questions for folks over there

[sewid]

Hey guys,

Ok i just booked the flights and got the time off work finalised. Im leaving for Tokyo on the 27th of March. My girlfriends grandfather owns an apartment in Tokyo so accomodation for that part of the trip is free (sweet).

Few q's:

- whats the weather like in early april, i've heard it will be spring time 15 - 20 deg?

- whereabouts is the nissan museum

- is car hire out of the question? i am > 25 with international license and would love to take a V35 coupe out for a drive around some of the better roads.

- are stores such as super autobacs etc the cheapest place to get parts? im after a turbo, intercooler kit, some defi stuff, nismo doo dads...

- can someone look after my girlfriend while im parts shopping??? hehe

- anyone interested in meeting up while im there? ill be around from the 28th March to the 10th of April and will be travelling up and down the country via a 7 day rail pass at some stage. Would love to :beer: with some of you

arigato

[Blitz]

Sewid: we did all our shopping at Super Autobacs until we found Crystal which is not far from Chiba. I can give you directions if need be. Crystal is way cheaper than Autobacs and has more stock than Autobacs so its definately worth a visit.

Grab and Option mag when you arrive - plenty of maps to workshops and other parts shops to keep you entertained.

[sewid]

Sweet. I sent you an email Blitz.

Turns out the apartment is in Chiba so thats even better.I have a map to Chiba Super Autobacs but Crystal > autobacs.

I looked at a map and Chiba is about 30 something km from Tokyo. How long does it take by Shinkansen?

[sewid]

oh yeah. I plan on spending a day in Akihabara, did anyone catch the local price for a Canon EOS 300D camera by any chance? Or maybe the new mini iPod or creative nomad Zens ?

[Blitz]

Not sure, but Akihabara rocks. I bought the Sony DSC077P for $435 once converted to Aussie dollars and it retails for $1000 odd here.

As for train travel, the best transport between Chiba and tokyo was simply via JR which is around a 30-40min ride depending on wether you catch the rapid service (limited stops) or the local JR service.

[Rezz]

- whats the weather like in early april, i've heard it will be spring time 15 - 20 deg?

Thats right... take a light jacket for when you go out at night.

- whereabouts is the nissan museum :rofl:?

PM Demon Dave... he went there not too long ago. I have a feeling that taking a train out there is gonna be a pain in the arse though.

- is car hire out of the question? i am > 25 with international license and would love to take a V35 coupe out for a drive around some of the better roads.?

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to hire *a* car... but hirring a V35 on the other hand... you just gotta find someone who has one available a the time. (sorry, can't help out, I'm nowhere near Tokyo/Chiba)

- can someone look after my girlfriend while im parts shopping??? hehe

What? You mean you haven't trained her to scope out all the bargains for you???

- anyone interested in meeting up while im there? ill be around from the 28th March to the 10th of April and will be travelling up and down the country via a 7 day rail pass at some stage. Would love to :beer: with some of you

sorry man, I'm not in the vicinity...

[DaiOni]

"How long does it take by Shinkansen?"

* There is no shink line - they are only used for long distance. I guess you could hop on the NEX (narita-tokyo express) which stops at chiba - but it may cost more (not sure on that one). I'm not sure if it would even be quicker - but it looks faster

* Get option and price match with that (option 2 may have more parts ads). Though places like crystal are your best bet - they tend to be mail-order style businesses, that bulk buy. Whereas autobacs is a (not so) cheap, autobarn style chain of shops. Take a look at autobacs anyway - they may have something you want on sale.

* Akihabera - do your research first! come armed with all the local (australian) prices. Walk around - try the small shops (the bigger places tend to price match with each other). You can try to haggle, but good luck - most don't (again, particularly the bigger places). Check that the sticker price is the duty free price - I found that this wasn't always the case. The phrase "menzei no nedan desu ka" (is this a duty free price?) is a helpful one to know.

* The weather will be about 15 degrees or so. The weather in tokyo is always more mild than most of honshu - so that's a good thing.

* I don't know where the nissan museum is (Rezz?). Don't bother with the toyota museum/showroom unless you are really bored - the current state of toyota production is really depressing (IMO, the latest soarer convertible is the only winner). Someone once told me that there was a honda museum in tokyo too, and that it was really cool, but I haven't seen that either.

* Pretty much all of the western world, in my experience, has a 25+ restriction when hiring a car - not sure how japan fares, but it's quite likely, similar. Good luck finding a v35 - most places will just have rows of bright white toyotas. $$$ too.

* You can have a beer with me, I'll even take you for a spin in the FD, but you better find sado island on a map first...

Enjoy!

[Blitz]

..............Or take Carlo with you. We managed a great deal on the two cameras we bought with a little creative story telling and some stern words with the owner of the sidecart

[akeenan]

anyone interested in meeting up while im there?

Depending where you are and where I am this might be possible!

[sewid]

Hey guys, im spending about 6hrs out of ever working day doing research while i should be working so have answered a couple of my own Q's too so ill post the info I have for those who find this thread in the future:

- I'll be purchasing a 14 day JR pass which i've been told should cover 95% of my train travel around Japan. Including Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hokkaido and Shikoku.

- Rezz I will be travelling thru Kobe. I will let you know what day and we should have a beer somewhere local to you.

- There are actually 2 "Prince and Skyline Museum"s:

- The first one (Redpark) is near to Tokyo, you take the subway to Ueno then a local train to Mitsukaido, it is close to the station there. I can easily make it to this one.

- The other one is in Suwa which is close to Nagano which is a fair way North West of Tokyo. I may not find the time to make it to Nagano unfortunatly

- I found Sado Island on the map, off the coast of Niigata. I probably wont get any time to visit it though unless you highly recommend it. If thats the case we could make arrangements to check it out.

- there is a company called Nissan Rent-A-Car but I dont know if I will bother renting a car in Tokyo. I will try to once I reach Hokkaido/Sapporo but dont like my chances of the V35

[sewid]

Depending where you are and where I am this might be possible!

Ill be travelling as far North as Sapporo on Hokkaido, hugging the east coast mainly, then south to Shikoku via Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Okayama ... not 100% sure of exact dates and times yet though. Let me know if you'll be near!

[Demon Dave]

Getting to the Mitsukaido (Yawara) red park isn't too difficult - only a 30 minute drive from centre Tokyo. The museum itself isn't that large, but it's worth it to see the fine collection of Skylines both old and new (no R34's though), and the LM bodied R33 is particularly cool

Here the redpark homepage: RedPark

(BTW. The museum doesn't look like a musuem from the outside - more like a converted shop, but it isn't far from the station and not too difficult to find. )

I had no idea there was another Redpark in Suwa city (pronounced "sewer" - what a name for a city! ) which isn't that far from me. Do you have an address for the Suwa branch? When the weather improves I might take a drive up there...

[DCD]

have a look here:

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/showthre...&threadid=19146

Might be helpful to you

[sewid]

Thanks DCD I will quote some good info from that thread:

Originally posted by DCD on GTR.co.uk forums

Try and visit the usual places, although I have to say it will be very hard to do a lot of the stuff yo have planned without a car.

Super Autobacs in Shinonome, I think the closest way to get there by train is the Ariake tennis stadium, but I'm not sure as I've never used the train to get down there.

Nismo Omori factory, about a 10 min walk from Omori station on route 15 (4-5km down from Shinagawa)

Nissan HQ/Gallery, About a 5 min walk from Ginza station. HQ has a big gallery/dealer while there is a second Gallery where the main ginza street crosses with harumi dori. Train station exist it right there if you get it right. Its right opposite Mitsukoshi dept store.  

Top Secret is in Chiba-kita, I know you can get there by train but I forget now

JUN is in Siatama, never been so no idea

Mine's is in bumblef#ck Hayashi. Get to yokohama and take the train to yokotsuka and ride it all the way down to the coast...can't remember the train station name(sorry)

Prince & Skyline Museum in Mitsukaido, Ibaraki-ken. Take a local from Ueno station to Mitsukaido station and its a 5 min walk. Its an old (and a bit desolate) ex department store.

Tsukuba circuit, about a 20-30 min drive from Mitsukaido. Could grab a cab from Mitsukaido and make sure you tell them to come back and pick you up as the circuit is in the middle of rice fields

There is another skyline Museum up near nagano but I've never been

Daikoku PA, you'll need a car to get there. Get on the shuto and head towards Haneda airport/Yokohama, pass the airport and before you get on the bay bridges get off on the left down to the parking area. There is one before that, after the toll gates where the C1 racers meet, its easy to see as it runs parallel to the main road.

Thats all I can think of now. Get yourself down to Nissan rent a car and rent a Micra or something. Best way to do it IMO.

[sewid]

Anyone interested in buying a Canon EOS 300D camera in Japan should know that they are known as the "Canon EOS Digital Kiss" camera and cost about 110,000y and up for the body+lens kit. Or from 90,000y and up for just the digital body.

This is about $1100 - $1400 AUD as opposed to $2000RRP.

[sewid]

Useful links:

Japan Rail Pass official site: http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en01.shtml

Japan Tourism website: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/GA/

Japan Train timetables: http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperd01.cgi

Redpark Prince and Skyline Museum: http://www.redpark.net/