First time on a 787. See you all on the other side

I went out for a drive this evening and found pretty much the coolest place ever.
I drove by a dealership selling Liberty Walk-kitted Ferraris but I didn't get a picture. I'll go back soon. Some bonus DOTS-

I put a deposit down on this car exactly one month ago, and then waited, and waited, and waited... The Japanese car buying process is weird; I'll write more about it some day.

But today, I have my new car! 1995, auto (unfortunately), 65k km/ 38k miles, one previous owner, 660cc turbo 3 cylinder, and in typical Japanese fashion, lots of goofy electronic things wired in under the dashboard.

@Exage03040 was the first to correctly guess what I was buying in my last post, so you win one drive in it on the touge (flight to Japan not included)

1-of-1007 Ferrari 512 BBi just going about their business.

I received word this morning that my Crown has reached its temporary new home in Osaka, and the exporters sent along a whole album of pictures. I'm planning on going out there on the 17th to see it in person, but for now, bask in the glory of its B I G N E S S

Got my Japanese driving license today. This is the only time being from Ohio has benefitted me. For some reason, Ohio is one of the 4 US states with license reciprocity with Japan, so no written or driving tests for cars or motorcycles. I even got the >400cc bike license straight away, which normally can't be done.

I like dams.

Today I visited one of my favorites, Tomata Dam in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture.

It's a bit far from Okayama city, but it's really interesting because you can actually go inside it. This glass observation deck is flanked by the two floodgates. Unfortunately I've never seen them open, but it's still cool being inside everything. (And it feels like you absolutely shouldn't be allowed to, since there's never anyone else there)

There's a visitor center with some nice models, too

I found this one especially fascinating, it shows all of the areas that were flooded when it was completed in 2005. There are still roads that lead right down into the water, and a hilltop became an island in the middle of the lake.

Japan's annual inspection did what it was intended to do, and took a perfectly usable older car off the road. I was facing a bill upwards of $2000 to fix everything that would make it fail, if parts could even be found. Today, I traded it in for a newer car to get me through my last few months here. Even though I knew I'd sell the Alto before I left, I hate that it had to happen this way.

Day one-

After new wheels-


I made friends in my Alto, talked to new people in my broken Japanese about it, and even got invited to join a car club in it.





It brought me all the way to Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima-

To Daikoku after driving the Bayshore Wangan-

Helped a friend move in Osaka-

And just last night, drove another friend home through a freak snowstorm-

I loved this little nugget

So the Nissan Heritage Collection has been closed the entire time I've been living in Japan due to take a wild guess. I check the website every month or two just in case, and finally at the beginning of the year , with little fanfare, they started taking reservations for 3-4 tours per month. The spots are limited and they fill up extremely fast; I forgot to check for the past couple days and I already missed out on the dates they added in March.

There was one date which I could make- it's after my job ends but before I leave the country, so I emailed them and asked if they could contact me in case anyone cancelled. I got an email back right away saying "Yeah the tour's full, but we'll make an exception and you can come anyways"

I'm so stoked!! I've wanted to see this place ever since I first read about it many years ago. I'll probably also visit the Fuji Speedway Museum and the Honda Museum around that time as well, so it'll be a racecar-heavy week!

This... is my 1990 Toyota Crown.

I'm buying/storing/exporting it through a 3rd party company, and I just heard today that the payment went through. 1990 hardtop widebody, 7M-GE, auto, factory air suspension, about 65k miles, and of course, lace seat covers.

@davesaddiction Most average day in Ohio

@Qaaaaa Maybe, there was a cub in a similar state behind it and it's not far from someone's house, so I figured it was just someone's parking area that got caught in a landslide. Bikes getting stolen happens here but it's very very rare.

@AdverseMartyr My first though was "man I could've used those rear plastics when I had my FZR..."

@AdverseMartyr Looks like it was pretty cool, sorry I couldn't make it!

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly Right? I think it's structurally integral...

I'm pretty sure it's a 1st-gen 1KT TZR250 based on the rear turn signals. If it were a 2nd gen I'd be out there digging it up with my hands.

The exposed parts don't even look that bad, but the engine is completely underground Worth saving?

@AdverseMartyr You went! How was it?

@P1eased0nteatme Welcome, love the Cappucino! @DSM_OR_DIE has one as well, and I recently had an Alto Works with the same engine

This is probably my favorite of my old GTA. Man, I miss that car. I want to take better shots of my Crown when I get it back to America though

This isn't a very good photo but I like it anyways. Four wheels equals a car, right?

@Roundbadge Oh man, I completely forgot about this Cars and Coffee! Was this the first time we met?