going back to japan next week
08-04-10, 08:37 AM
#19
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: JP (oki to be precise :D)
Posts: 4,918
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
as do i ^ ^ ^, and the last time i brought back about 6 vip mags (3 from vip style and 3 from vip car; past, current, and next months issues) plus an ls430 300 page huge magazine dedicated to the ls430 and 1 different mag and the thing made my back pack weigh like 20 lbs heavier... those mags must be made out of like bricks or something 
i've been working out though so this time hopefully my conditioning will allow me to drag around some extra shiz in my oversized back pack i plan on bringing with me this time... i just hate to be that tourist guy carrying all that bs around the whole day through all the subways, stores, eateries, back alley ways, shopping centers, and cabs... looks like i get to play mr tourist again for 2 weeks
i normally bring a small backpack and end up carrying like 12 various shopping bags around each and every day. but i think i will stuff all that in a big back pack and save some hassle.
i've been working out though so this time hopefully my conditioning will allow me to drag around some extra shiz in my oversized back pack i plan on bringing with me this time... i just hate to be that tourist guy carrying all that bs around the whole day through all the subways, stores, eateries, back alley ways, shopping centers, and cabs... looks like i get to play mr tourist again for 2 weeks
i normally bring a small backpack and end up carrying like 12 various shopping bags around each and every day. but i think i will stuff all that in a big back pack and save some hassle.
08-04-10, 02:04 PM
#22
If you get's by the dealerships, the bound literature for the cars. I enjoy accumulating their brochures which are unlike the stuff stateside. Brought back an armful of stuff from Nissan, Lexus and Toyota. 
The VIP rags list the bigger shows in the regions.
Have fun, eat lots and take plenty of pics.
The VIP rags list the bigger shows in the regions. Have fun, eat lots and take plenty of pics.
08-04-10, 05:05 PM
#25
What part of Japan are you visiting?
Rather than parts for modification, which are commonly available here in the USA for nominal cost, there are hundreds of items that are in the form of dealer/factory trinkets that are neat to get.
Try visiting "Toyota Amlux" Showrooms, the factory show floor (not dealer) in Tokyo or Osaka, and see all the nice displays of race cars, current Toyota lineup, and concepts, as well as the various gifts, apparel and TRD store there. Lots of commemorative items that are not available elsewhere even in Japan.
If you are in Nagoya area, Toyota Automobile Museum and the nearby Toyota Industrual Museum are very interesting places for a Toyota enthusiast.
The Automobile Museum houses over 200 cars on display not limited to Toyota. Many cars that maked a era or technology leap in each era, from oldest Japanese cars, to modern F1 cars.
The Toyota Industrial Museum houses equipment used by Toyota from the original maker of textile weaver era, to automotive assembly line equipment all in demonstrating operation. body stampers, welders, weaving machines... It's pretty cool actually, and I enjoyed it as much as the Automobile Museum.
Both of these places carry really cool items and apparel too.
All of the above places are staffed by pretty companion girls who will describe or escort your way through the museums, and try their best to make sure you are having a pleasant and enjoyable time for your admission price.
Word of caution: You won't find much in terms of inventory or display in normal car dealerships as you might expect from a USA dealer. They are very limited on space in Japan. Also the car buying for much of Japan is very different. They order cars from a catalog, specified to order, and wait 2-4 weeks for inspection, registration, and delivery to their home. You can't just get a car and drive it home in Japan as one can here in the USA. There is no such thing as temporary new car tags so all buyers wait for dealers to finish paperwork and installation of license plates. That said, most do their test drives from limited number of demo cars, and order things as they need.
Large aftermarket discount stores like YELLOW HAT and AUTOBACCS carry all inventory and feature products from smaller tuner companies these days as well as voume manufacturers...so better luck there for finding gadgets you need.
Rather than parts for modification, which are commonly available here in the USA for nominal cost, there are hundreds of items that are in the form of dealer/factory trinkets that are neat to get.
Try visiting "Toyota Amlux" Showrooms, the factory show floor (not dealer) in Tokyo or Osaka, and see all the nice displays of race cars, current Toyota lineup, and concepts, as well as the various gifts, apparel and TRD store there. Lots of commemorative items that are not available elsewhere even in Japan.
If you are in Nagoya area, Toyota Automobile Museum and the nearby Toyota Industrual Museum are very interesting places for a Toyota enthusiast.
The Automobile Museum houses over 200 cars on display not limited to Toyota. Many cars that maked a era or technology leap in each era, from oldest Japanese cars, to modern F1 cars.
The Toyota Industrial Museum houses equipment used by Toyota from the original maker of textile weaver era, to automotive assembly line equipment all in demonstrating operation. body stampers, welders, weaving machines... It's pretty cool actually, and I enjoyed it as much as the Automobile Museum.
Both of these places carry really cool items and apparel too.
All of the above places are staffed by pretty companion girls who will describe or escort your way through the museums, and try their best to make sure you are having a pleasant and enjoyable time for your admission price.
Word of caution: You won't find much in terms of inventory or display in normal car dealerships as you might expect from a USA dealer. They are very limited on space in Japan. Also the car buying for much of Japan is very different. They order cars from a catalog, specified to order, and wait 2-4 weeks for inspection, registration, and delivery to their home. You can't just get a car and drive it home in Japan as one can here in the USA. There is no such thing as temporary new car tags so all buyers wait for dealers to finish paperwork and installation of license plates. That said, most do their test drives from limited number of demo cars, and order things as they need.
Large aftermarket discount stores like YELLOW HAT and AUTOBACCS carry all inventory and feature products from smaller tuner companies these days as well as voume manufacturers...so better luck there for finding gadgets you need.
Last edited by motohide; 08-04-10 at 05:15 PM.
08-04-10, 05:13 PM
#26
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: JP (oki to be precise :D)
Posts: 4,918
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
i will be in osaka, kansai, umeda, if you wanna get real specific.. my guess is that it is city, county, neighborhood respectively but i could be wrong. i need a new vip mag to find out the big meets but even a small local one would be chill as ****... i am trying to convince my wife to check out some vip websites for me to find out... i went to a lex dealership and 2 toyota ones last visit and scored some real cool hard cover books. the lex dealership in osaka that i went to was incredible compared to ours. i hope to get to go to some cool stuff like that again, beside all the wussy stores my wife will surely drag me to.
i have a huge list of all the great food places i want to eat at.. me are on the verge of being considered foodies (i try to stay on the sane side of that line) so osaka is definitely one of the best cities in the world to eat some high quality food everything from cheap food vendor to high class restaurants that blow away most out this way. kuidaore is gonna be the theme of this vacation... kuidaore part 5, start!!!
i have a huge list of all the great food places i want to eat at.. me are on the verge of being considered foodies (i try to stay on the sane side of that line) so osaka is definitely one of the best cities in the world to eat some high quality food everything from cheap food vendor to high class restaurants that blow away most out this way. kuidaore is gonna be the theme of this vacation... kuidaore part 5, start!!!
08-04-10, 06:30 PM
#27
Cool!
I'm from Osaka, born and raised from birth to when I was 9 years of age, before we moved to California, when my dad got called by an All Nippon Airline executive to open a Udon SOba restaurant in San Francisco. I live in LA now with my own store, Mifune.
Anyway, if you are a food enthusiast you have to check out "Doguya Machi" district in Nipponbashi, near Namba (Minami). It's home to Kansai area's food service industry, and there you will find a lot of kitchenware and food prep supplies from all over Japan. Interesting things like takoyaki pans, character mugs and plates, okosama lunch plates, plastic food samples, signs, chochin, silverware, bento boxes, aprons etc. Near there also is the "Den Den Town" which is Osaka's equivalent of Akihabara, where you will see 100's of toys and electronics stores, and the maids, anime fans, and nerds that come with the territory. Maid Cafe's there are hilarious.
There is an Amlux in Osaka, as well as Honda Plaza and SONY Tower, which also may be interesting.
Kaiyouhaku Aquarium is one of the largest and best in the world if you are into marine life.
Junction Produce is home in Osaka, so that's a VIP visit for you there.
Kuidaore is a tourist spot, fun place, and if you venture into the side streets, you will find the local dives that are tiny stores that tastes even better!
I'm from Osaka, born and raised from birth to when I was 9 years of age, before we moved to California, when my dad got called by an All Nippon Airline executive to open a Udon SOba restaurant in San Francisco. I live in LA now with my own store, Mifune.
Anyway, if you are a food enthusiast you have to check out "Doguya Machi" district in Nipponbashi, near Namba (Minami). It's home to Kansai area's food service industry, and there you will find a lot of kitchenware and food prep supplies from all over Japan. Interesting things like takoyaki pans, character mugs and plates, okosama lunch plates, plastic food samples, signs, chochin, silverware, bento boxes, aprons etc. Near there also is the "Den Den Town" which is Osaka's equivalent of Akihabara, where you will see 100's of toys and electronics stores, and the maids, anime fans, and nerds that come with the territory. Maid Cafe's there are hilarious.
There is an Amlux in Osaka, as well as Honda Plaza and SONY Tower, which also may be interesting.
Kaiyouhaku Aquarium is one of the largest and best in the world if you are into marine life.
Junction Produce is home in Osaka, so that's a VIP visit for you there.
Kuidaore is a tourist spot, fun place, and if you venture into the side streets, you will find the local dives that are tiny stores that tastes even better!
08-04-10, 10:25 PM
#28
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: CA
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Osaka is cool. I went there a few times to shoot some stories a few years back. I don't know if these shops or shows still open. The Osaka Messe show is cool for VIP cars. It's was in the winter though. It was just as cool to sit in the parking lot and watch all the cars cruise. These Osaka guys are really hard core. The VIP cars I seen had no air suspension. Driving around with there cars slammed! Literally 1" off the ground. Did a story on Garson / DAD a while back. They have a retail outlet called Tire House Catus. This place is packed full of Garson stuff. Not too sure if you like that style. Also shot a story on Wald. Unfortunately no mag picked up that story. They have a retail outlet too. You should pick up the supercharger they have on display!
If you want to pick up some aftermarket parts in the beginning of your trip you should go Signal Auto and talk to Yumi. They can order what you need and by the time you come back they could have your parts. I think they can get VIP parts. Just a warning. Carrying back those Japanese magazines is a *****. You get 4 or 5 of those your carry on gets really heavy! lol
The Osaka Aquarium is really crazy. They have a Whale Shark! Going to Japan right now is going to be expensive. I'm getting ready to go to Tokyo on 8/25 so I've been checking the yen. Today is was down to 86.2 yen per dollar. Have fun. Hopefully you will be staying somewhere with a/c. Osaka right now is going to be hot! lol.
If you want to pick up some aftermarket parts in the beginning of your trip you should go Signal Auto and talk to Yumi. They can order what you need and by the time you come back they could have your parts. I think they can get VIP parts. Just a warning. Carrying back those Japanese magazines is a *****. You get 4 or 5 of those your carry on gets really heavy! lol
The Osaka Aquarium is really crazy. They have a Whale Shark! Going to Japan right now is going to be expensive. I'm getting ready to go to Tokyo on 8/25 so I've been checking the yen. Today is was down to 86.2 yen per dollar. Have fun. Hopefully you will be staying somewhere with a/c. Osaka right now is going to be hot! lol.
08-04-10, 11:02 PM
#29
Lead Lap
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Seattle/JPN
Posts: 533
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
so those jdm visors wanted 56$ (my parts source in j-pan) to ship 1 week air to my place in MD and i asked about shipping in j-pan and they said like $19 which i thought would be like $5 so its really not that big of a difference. i was hoping to save $50 by carrying them back to the states, but it doesn't seem like that would really save much loot at all.
You can save by sending the parts by EMS. I've send a Fabulous grill for my car and cost me $50 to ship (which is way heavier than the visors).
What part of Japan are you visiting?
Try visiting "Toyota Amlux" Showrooms, the factory show floor (not dealer) in Tokyo or Osaka, and see all the nice displays of race cars, current Toyota lineup, and concepts, as well as the various gifts, apparel and TRD store there. Lots of commemorative items that are not available elsewhere even in Japan.
If you are in Nagoya area, Toyota Automobile Museum and the nearby Toyota Industrual Museum are very interesting places for a Toyota enthusiast.
Both of these places carry really cool items and apparel too.
Try visiting "Toyota Amlux" Showrooms, the factory show floor (not dealer) in Tokyo or Osaka, and see all the nice displays of race cars, current Toyota lineup, and concepts, as well as the various gifts, apparel and TRD store there. Lots of commemorative items that are not available elsewhere even in Japan.
If you are in Nagoya area, Toyota Automobile Museum and the nearby Toyota Industrual Museum are very interesting places for a Toyota enthusiast.
Both of these places carry really cool items and apparel too.
Have a good trip!
Last edited by JP2SEA; 08-04-10 at 11:19 PM.
