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Tokyo Auto Salon 2006 Trip January 11 - 16, 2006
Tokyo
Auto Salon Video PART 1 Part 1, Wed. January 11 - Thur. Jan 12, 2006: 10am Wednesday, Hawaii time we left the Aloha State aboard Japan Airlines. Mahalo to the check in counter for bumping us two fat Americans into executive class to avoid crushing any unsuspecting Japanese nationals. It’s a 9 hour flight to Japan and we’ll be losing a day in transit, so by the time we arrived it was 2pm on Thursday.
Once arrived in Japan, we quickly picked up our baggage and headed to the train station in the Narita Airport basement. Jumping onto the Keisei Line we headed to Ueno Station to meet up with Drift Session Japan liaison Justin Carvalho. A quick train ride later, we arrived at our final stop in Shinagawa where we stayed at the luxurious Meridien Pacific Hotel.
Our friends in Japan told us to “please wearing warmly” since it was the coldest winter Japan’s had in 50 years or so. Luckily, the weather warmed up slightly by the time we arrived. I’d tell you what the temperature was, but I have no idea what Celsius converts to in Fahrenheit. Cold enough to be uncomfortable, but not cold enough to make your balls shrink. Is that a good approximation?
For those of you that have never been to Japan, it’s an eye-opening experience. Not so bad for me, with my Japanese-ness allowing me to blend in smoothly, but maybe somewhat unnerving for gaijin Otaku-Mike who stuck out like…. well, a big Mexican in Tokyo. Combine that with a booming voice and very animated movements, and we quickly became the center of attention everywhere we went.
After a
quick shave, shower, and s**t, it was back onto the train to Yokohama to
meet up with our friend Kenji Yamanaka, D1 / Formula D driver and writer for
Drift Tengoku magazine. We stopped off at a small Izakaya restaurant and had
dinner, which was cool, since we were stepping off the beaten path and into
the realm of Yokohama locals. One big difference between Japanese
restaurants and American restaurants is that you can smoke indoors. Just
about every restaurant we went to was filled with a cloud of cigarette smoke
hanging over the room. After dinner, we parted ways and it was back to the hotel. Needed to get enough rest before the opening day of the Tokyo Auto Salon. To be continued…
Video of the 2006 Tokyo Auto Salon
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