merlin Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 I tried this last year but had to bow out at the last minute... this year I'm booked already- no turning back... so! So I booked 2 weeks in Tokyo just now ... staying in Minato-ku neighborhood of Tokyo, hoping to get my pass into the Nissan Zama Heritage collection, and to check out as much as I can of Tokyo. I want to do with a few day trips out of the City, haven't got my JR rail pass yet, but will do shortly. I want to split my time kinda 2 /3rds culture and tokyo, and 1/3rd Datsun/cool car stuff. I consider myself a cultured redneck...politically incorrect but with grey poupon. I'm a late 30's "Park Ranger' who writes, fixes old dattos and is a city councilor in my spare rare time. I hate ties and suits.. and love beer and girls with tats... Those that have been or lived there... 1. what rocks and must be done? 2. where to shop for car parts/toys and books? 3. best places to go on the train daytrip/overnight from Tokyo? I'd like to see some old JDM, especially H31 Cedrics, 510's pre 1972 stuff if anyone knows a club member or anything over there. fire away. Merlin Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 I went in 2006. Couldn't find much Datsun stuff, except for what I planned ahead. Keep yours ear open when you hear an interesting car, chances are it will be a Skyline. They seem to be like what 'old chevys' are like here. See my Japan tour web page. If I went again I would go by: * Musashi used car lot - classic Datsuns * Nissan Engine Museum * Book Garage (a chain of used book stores) Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Most travel agents and your Tokyo hotel [if that's where you ae staying] offer tours by Bullet Train to Kyoto. Book the 2 day Kyoto and Nara trip! And opt for the optional stay at a Japanese ryokan [inn]. Best news, the one they offer has been in business for 700 years [of course it's not a 700 year old building] at the same site, has an on site tea house and Spa plus in-room Japanese hot bath if you are bashful about appearing naked in the other spa. You would be one block from the classic Gion [Geiko. that's what they call Geisha in Kyoto] district and your dinner and breakfast are part of the deal, cooked for you in your room. Your choice of Japanese or Western cuisine, take the Japanese! Before dinner you can wander over to the party houses lining the stream that flows through Kyotoand watch the Geiko and apprentice Maiko on their way to and from the various parties. Comes out less than the standard Western hotel plus meal cost. The tour operator will drop you at the Ryokan and send a taxi to fetch you for the second day's tour. The 2 day tour beats the hell out of the one day hurry up tour. Have you ever seen a temple built 800 years ago on massive cedar pillars over a gorge? It's in Nara on the second day. The tour guides are completely bilingual. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment
Z chopper Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 I have never been but friends have said there is a temple in Kyoto that is a must see. edit: a friendly reminder not all the girls in asia are female Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 I went in 2006. Couldn't find much Datsun stuff, except for what I planned ahead. Keep yours ear open when you hear an interesting car, chances are it will be a Skyline. They seem to be like what 'old chevys' are like here. See my Japan tour web page. If I went again I would go by: * Musashi used car lot - classic Datsuns * Nissan Engine Museum * Book Garage (a chain of used book stores) going to definitely head up to the museum on the north coast... looks totally cool. Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Most travel agents and your Tokyo hotel [if that's where you ae staying] offer tours by Bullet Train to Kyoto. Book the 2 day Kyoto and Nara trip! And opt for the optional stay at a Japanese ryokan [inn]. Best news, the one they offer has been in business for 700 years [of course it's not a 700 year old building] at the same site, has an on site tea house and Spa plus in-room Japanese hot bath if you are bashful about appearing naked in the other spa. You would be one block from the classic Gion [Geiko. that's what they call Geisha in Kyoto] district and your dinner and breakfast are part of the deal, cooked for you in your room. Your choice of Japanese or Western cuisine, take the Japanese! Before dinner you can wander over to the party houses lining the stream that flows through Kyotoand watch the Geiko and apprentice Maiko on their way to and from the various parties. Comes out less than the standard Western hotel plus meal cost. The tour operator will drop you at the Ryokan and send a taxi to fetch you for the second day's tour. The 2 day tour beats the hell out of the one day hurry up tour. Have you ever seen a temple built 800 years ago on massive cedar pillars over a gorge? It's in Nara on the second day. The tour guides are completely bilingual. Enjoy! thats exactly the type of thing i wnat to see! that and tentacle porn. Quote Link to comment
king bee66 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 ypu mean like this? hxxp://i.imgur.com/93x1c.gif Quote Link to comment
Rhapakatui Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 ypu mean like this? hxxp://i.imgur.com/93x1c.gif you really just had that ready for tentacle porn jokes? Quote Link to comment
sddriver Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Depending what you like for night life, Yokohama, Shibuya and Roppongi are very popular if you like clubbing and bars. The best places to find "cheap" used parts (I say it with quotation marks since the yen is so strong) is either Garage Off or Up Garage. They specialize in 2nd hand parts. You may find nostalgic stuff on occasion. I think Autobacs has a 2nd hand version of its stores too, but they usually only stock stuff for newer cars. If you can get to a bookstore, either Nostalgic Hero or G-Works will cater to the classic car crowd. Car ads that start with an area code of 042 I think are the Tokyo area and 046 for the Zama area, so you may get lucky and be able to find a shop near a train station. Anyway, have fun and take a lot of pics! Quote Link to comment
metalmonkey47 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJC7ykAPXuw&feature=related Quote Link to comment
pharouh Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Wow, Sounds like a great trip! I've wanted to go there for a long time. I've heard it's expensive. Quote Link to comment
king bee66 Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 you really just had that ready for tentacle porn jokes? you never know when it will come in handy Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 Wow, Sounds like a great trip! I've wanted to go there for a long time. I've heard it's expensive. its actually about half price right now over what i budgeted last year... my hotel 4 blocks from the train station, river, and central park is 110 a night average... airfare from buttfuck canada to Narita is $1200 plus 600 in fees and taxes.. last time the same flights were $2900 with taxes. there are deep discounts right now to Japan because people stopped coming after the Tsunami, earthquake and Nuclear meltdown. Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 So now it just costs "a lot", but no longer "expensive". That's almost exactly what I paid in 2006. I didn't do any long-distance train traveling because unless you get the tickets in advance, it's very expensive (e.g. over $200 to Nagoya). Instead get the tourist pass, it's all you can travel for one price. Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Got my Zama Pass, got a guided tour of the engine Museum, got a tour of the all the historical DAT, datsun, and Nissan factory sites around Tokyo... and I'll be doing some of it in a 1964 Nissan Cedric driven by the former head of Nismo marketing... :blink: :blink: :blink: :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D fuck, i'm going to bubblewrap my ass until i get this thing done. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 The tour guides are completely bilingual. Enjoy! Bi-lingual... mmmmm Asian chicks with two tongues. I'm in heaven. Japan dropped the charges if I never go back there. Merlin, we're counting on you to absorb everything. Quote Link to comment
king bee66 Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 personally i would go to takakanonuma greenland , its an abandoned amusement park,but i may be the only one here interested in urban decay Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Merlin, when you go, ask about the "Sunny Museum" -- it was located in the Zama plant back when Zama was producing cars. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Oh yeah, Merlin... congrats on being mayor of Clearwater. Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted December 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Oh yeah, Merlin... congrats on being mayor of Clearwater. lol just town councillor... prince turd of crap island.. too bad doug aka Sealik lives just outside my juristiction- no parts raids under the guise of bylaw enforcement. :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment
king bee66 Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 does that mean you get to write off this trip as a diplomatic mission? Quote Link to comment
HRH Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 lol just town councillor... prince turd of crap island.. too bad doug aka Sealik lives just outside my juristiction- no parts raids under the guise of bylaw enforcement. :lol: :lol: :lol: That's it, I'm totally moving to Canada! We'll start our own Datsun city, eh? :D Quote Link to comment
Rhapakatui Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 lol just town councillor... prince turd of crap island.. too bad doug aka Sealik lives just outside my juristiction- no parts raids under the guise of bylaw enforcement. :lol: :lol: :lol: I have never been a citizen of Canada, or a city, so humor me. Does that mean that if someone in town is sad, they come see you? Do you help citizens decide where they should move when it comes time to leave town? Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Be sure to visit Mooneyes in Area 1. Shige Suganuma is very cool and will show You around. When I went I bought about 30 Route 66 t-shirts at Oatman and handed them out to everyone I met (Datsun wise). They LOVE gifts and it will work to Your advantage. The space in My suitcase that was filled up going over became filled up with t-shirts I bought and was given over there. Makoto Okamura, the editor of Trucktrends, drove Me and My wife all around Tokyo and Chiba. I was able to visit the Tokyo Harley Davidson shop, Lindberg Magazines (where I scored My issue #1 of Trucktrends and a few other mags), the Dick Dean of Japan at Art Of Work (Japan's #1 sheetmetal fabricator and roof chopper), Deuce Factory and a handful of 620 owners. On side trips We went to the Nissan Shatai factory and was given a full tour, however nobody spoke English. Still very cool. The only thing that was a waste of time and $$$ was the Tokyo Hard Rock. TOTALLY OVERPRICED!! Not recommended!! Mooneyes is a MUST. Go on the mooneyes website to get directions: http://www.mooneyes.co.jp/ You will have a blast over there!!! Here are the gallery pages of events that Mooneyes has either put on or attended. You will be HOURS on here!!!! http://www.mooneyes.co.jp/galleres/ Quote Link to comment
paradoxx Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 youve gotta get some memorabilia for the ratsuners :P we want tshirts!!! we want tshirts!!! we want tshirts!!! we want tshirts!!! size M please LOL. Have a nice trip Merlin!!! Quote Link to comment
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