I had read somewhere they tax older cars heavily, I travel a lot for work, japan has been by far my favorite destination. I am not sure I could live in a city like tokyo but the train service sure is nice and the best food I've ever had. Noodles taste so much better when they are hand made right before eaten.

Those go-carts? I just saw those on tv a month ago, wish I could remember what show it was

 

Thanks for telling us about the Honda S660, and especially the Spoon. Interesting little car from Honda and tuned by a great tuner that takes a mature approach. It definitely an exotic JDM the Spoon is.

Evidently the reason older cars are rarely kept is the PITA factor that requires more frequent inspection that includes road worthiness (2 years), and having to deal with snail pace bureaucracy. The time and pain involve on top of the service and maintenance costs adds up as few have space to park even the kai-car let alone working on one themselves.

I saw two of these go-kart outfits now. One in Asakusa and the other around Shibuya. I think is one of those tourism thing the government takes on a open approach especially with the upcoming 2020 Olympics. I talked to the one in Asakusa and he told me it cost like 8000 Yen for 1 hour. They drive in a pack like a row of ducks behind he tour guide.

I love ramen and just about any good noodles, but the problem that i find eating ramen is the high carbohydrate goes to the waist fast. I love noodles and taking trip in Asia this is one problem. I can't sleep so I might just head down to a 24 hr ramen joint that normally has hour long wait.

 

 

Thanks Eddie. So much nicer without the infinite scroll. Infinite scroll + concatenated "related threads" are the most annoying feature when you try to find a post, and when you have narrowband.

Oh, I figured out why I wasn't able to resize photos in my MBA. The resize option is hidden in the file type drop down which I didn't think it got bury there. I first thought is due to my turning on Live Photo feature.

More opportunistic photos of rides in Tokyo. It seems Porsches are more numerous as G-roaches (G-Wagons) here.

a 911 Carrera GTS in elegant color


I have been seeing a lot of Panoramic (Panamera)


a 991.2 GT3 in the same color as the GTS again near Isetan department store


cherry blossoms in a shrine by the hotel - not quite full bloom for another few days

 

 

One of 2 sets of front pads arrived. The other is still back order after 6 weeks. At least I am covered. The weather god hates me as the weather has been incredibly nice after I left.

The only tires on sale at TR I am seeing is BF. Do you have a special promotion?

 

 

I've only seen one exotic in the 10 days in Tokyo and this is it. Not too often you see a white Ferrari.







first R53 I saw; I also saw one R52




the ram air intake seems odd where it enters in front of the tank


I've seen a lot of S2000

 

More G-Roaches. In 15 minutes I seen all these, all around the Isetan department store. Must be attracted by the wonderful thousands of ready to eat food in the basement food court.


this sure stands out in Tokyo


owning a Range Rover will make you 2nd class citizen in this area


owning either of these you must be on welfare














most of the Mercedes are AMG

 

I saw a few odd Miata's


a Boxster





the only Cayman I saw; I also saw a lot of Cayenne but not one Macan










a GTR being ticketed




Nissan and Toyota shares the same badge engineered van that is Hiace


a Jag


a lot of Maserati bi-turbo's

 

White looks good on the Ferrari, much like the WetherTech Ferrari in IMSA.

 

I too like the white on the Ferrari.

 

I spent 10 days in Tokyo and then back to Hong Kong as a jumping point into the Guangdong province. Here are some interesting rides in Hong Kong.












with my trips I have seen a lot of GTRs here






more M3


an older Cayman






this is my ride into the mainland China

 

Better brace yourself and my next stop is Shantou, and it has the dullest rides. Most have one treat it as a basic transportation that is better than hiring a 125cc motorbike as taxi, take the bus, pedal a bicycle, or worst walk. The photos I took are one in hundreds.

view from the hotel


very few Mini's here


if you own one of this you really stand out


imported sport bikes are one in thousands and very small displacement


for a Chinese city it has the highest bicycles I have seen and some are electric assisted


most of the imported (i.e. luxury) rides are SUVs

 

Most of the domestic built rides are very dull, so I spare you all the eyesores.

most electric assisted bicycles are vert beat up and dull but this is amongst the nicest I've seen


this is one of the most interest ride I seen in Shantou


yep! most imported are SUVs


the red strap is not for to locate the tow hook for track driving; it is repurposed as a good luck charm


this is a high end touchless carwash place as you can tell by the German imports




these 125cc 4-stroke domestic motorcycles are oven used a illegal taxis; this one is Yomahao (to resemble Yamaha); they look like copies of 70s Japanese 125cc's.

 

And a Cadillac, no less.

I like the bullet train. Wish we could figure out how to do that in this country.

 

I noticed some BMW 320i for the China market has the additional chrome embellishment at the c-pillar; seems also the sill also; this one has a few fake M3 themes added by the owner


this is one of the very few interesting electric-assisted bicycles; actually looking closer it is all electric


I saw quite a few Smart's in this more "trendy" neighborhood where there are a lot of Western restaurants


a Smart behind a domestic built Buick


a domestic built Malibu

 

gasoline obviously is precious commodity here and owning a Mustang is a big deal; I failed to spot what engine it has; it is in the wealthy ocean front neighborhood


finally! I captured this Mini Cooper lookalike domestic brand; this one had a hard life ; and according to Wikipedia it uses the tritec block also though I am unconvinced as 1600cc is very big for this domestic built car smaller than R50





a very beige MG; I fail to see how can this be a lineage of the old MG


here is a better view of the additional chrome embellishment on some 320s

 

Japan has the best train and subway systems and especially the Shinkansen. The safety must be the best in the world and if you pay attention to the drivers and all the supporting staff you can see why. Oh, I notice their very new buses are 6-speed manual rather automatic like in most other countries. The drivers are very professional so the ride is so smooth, and you would not know it is manual until you pay attention to the cockpit. Unlike most new buses in China that are all electric the Tokyo buses are ICE but ride some nice.

here is a newer Tokyo bus


the driver white gloved hand on the gear shifter; the bus ride height lowers before the doors are opened for passengers


the attention to detail in the design is everywhere


it has excellent signage for the route and next stop, accompanied by multi-languages automated announcement along the whole route


I cannot overemphasis how clean they always are


even the seat fabric is designed to be cheerful

 

Wow you found Lifan 320 aka the MINI copy. Keep the pictures coming, this is awesome to see.

 

Thanks for reminding me it is a Lifan 320 as I forgot. Lifan is a translation of the brand, that is life's sail in Chinese.

 

Yep, love the trip pics and seeing how things are in different car cultures. Cool thanks, did not know that. I have seen some that have really been done over:

 

China has been on the big nationwide electric transportation push a while now. Here are a few photos of the newest electric buses in Shantou. These buses run on battery banks rather than fed by overhead power cables.

They have great acceleration and most of the drivers are knuckleheads and love their loud hones so you need to brace yourself against a pole well if you are standing.






these domestic built buses are very spartan compared to the Tokyo buses

 

Priceless. The best form of flattery is emulation.

 

If you make it to Shanghai make sure you use the Mag-Lev train! Always wanted to ride one. Haven't had the chance, yet. Here in the PNW, we have been talking about high speed rail off and on for as long as I can remember. Sadly,I do not believe that it will happen in my life time.