When Honda enthusiasts travel to Japan - a summary of events.

Jinks said:
I hope I am Japanese in my next life. The cities look clean, sterile, beautiful, and the craftsmanship of even the most smallest details are superb! Screw my condo in Maui, I want one in Japan!!!!
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Housing prices in Japan are actually pretty cheap!

Mike B
 
Several years ago, I spent two weeks in Japan on a trade mission for the State of Texas and representing City of San Antonio (SA). My division of the San Antonio Economic Development Dept. played a very small part in bringing a Toyota truck plant to SA. So I guess as a reward, I was included in the Toyota CEO's request to go to Japan for the 2005 World Expo in Aichi as a guest of Toyota and a member of the Gov's trade delegation. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Toyota City and Aichi. Most of it was business but we also made room for some site seeing. The politeness of the people we met with whether in meetings or just on the street, in bars and restaurants was what I remember most. Tokyo was exciting and very fast paced. Nagoya was less so but the Nagoya Castle was both beautiful and interesting and across the moat from my hotel room. We had two days off to explore Kyoto and it was by far my favorite city of the trip. Ryoanji Temple rock garden may be the most peaceful place I've ever been. Thanks for stirring up a great memory of mine. What an awesome trip you had and the pictures make me want to go back as a tourist next time.
 
Lostbuckeye said:
Several years ago, I spent two weeks in Japan on a trade mission for the State of Texas and representing City of San Antonio (SA). My division of the San Antonio Economic Development Dept. played a very small part in bringing a Toyota truck plant to SA. So I guess as a reward, I was included in the Toyota CEO's request to go to Japan for the 2005 World Expo in Aichi as a guest of Toyota and a member of the Gov's trade delegation. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Toyota City and Aichi. Most of it was business but we also made room for some site seeing. The politeness of the people we met with whether in meetings or just on the street, in bars and restaurants was what I remember most. Tokyo was exciting and very fast paced. Nagoya was less so but the Nagoya Castle was both beautiful and interesting and across the moat from my hotel room. We had two days off to explore Kyoto and it was by far my favorite city of the trip. Ryoanji Temple rock garden may be the most peaceful place I've ever been. Thanks for stirring up a great memory of mine. What an awesome trip you had and the pictures make me want to go back as a tourist next time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your experience. Every time I come back from Japan, I feel a little more patient and humble. The people there have a different standard of respect and politeness as you mentioned, and I do by best to bring some of that home with me. And yes, the beauty of the cities and regular housing is enough in itself, but when it comes to the castles and gardens... it's simply inspiring.

Pictures do an amazing job of stirring emotions and allow us to relive distant memories. Curating these pics has taken me hours and hours so far, but the time seems to fly by when I'm doing it. It brings me joy just to feel like I'm back in those places, actually feeling the environment. What's even better are the reactions I read from prime members, many whom have never been there. It makes it all worth it.

I hope you get a chance to visit Japan again soon. I'm sure it will be nothing short of amazing.

Mike B

PS. Sorry to everyone for the delay on the final pics from the honda collection hall. I've been disassembling my motor, so it has taken up most of my time. I should get the pics up this week!
 
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lived there for nearly a decade. Wish i took some more pics.

thanks for the memories !

To those interested in visiting, you'll be surprised how cheap it is.
 
Our last stop of the trip was the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi Circuit. This place has nearly every vehicle I would ever want to own. Everything from the Honda NR oval piston motorcycle, to Aryton Senna’s legendary 88’ MP4/4; the Super GT Castrol NSX, to a perfect 94’ NSX Type-R.

The Collection Hall is split into 4 major halls; Production Motorcycles, Production Cars, Racing Motorcycles, and Racing Cars.

What follows are a LOT of pictures, broken up across a few posts. Enjoy!!

--
Welcome to the Honda Collection Hall. Soichiro Honda’s signature is etched in glass with the RA271 front and center.



The lobby displays some legendary Hondas. The RC142 race motorcycle, RA271 Formula car and S600 convertible.











Classy S600 convertible.







If you didn't already know, Honda makes robots. This is Asimo. (4ft tall, weighs only 115lbs) And it can hope of one foot. Amazing.





Previous generations. Honda started the Asimo project in 1986.



Soichiro Honda designed and built this car when he was 18 years old. It utilized a Curtiss aircraft engine with an output of 90ps at 1400rpm.









Probably the most beautiful racing livery of all time. So simple and impactful.















Enter the Production Motorcycle hall.





















Africa Twin. Some of these have been imported to the US, but they were never officially sold here. They’re damn cool.





Silk Road. Probably the coolest motorcycle name ever.





The Honda NR. Famous for its oval piston, 8-valve per chamber design. Very cool design.



You can see the oval pistons in this engine cutaway. That's a lot of motor.





Very sleek design.



Beautiful carbon tank with formed frontal air ducts.





















Hit my 50 picture NSX Prime Forum limit for this post. To be continued...

Mike B
 
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You have taken some outstanding photos, congratulations! It shows the country for what it is, beautiful.
The shots from the Honda collection bring back some great memories of the visit with a bus load of NSX enthusiasts from the USA in 2010.
What a collection........
I still really like the little Honda generator sitting in pride of place next to the GP car as you walk in. Thats the reason we are driving the NSX, they made a couple of gazillion generators, then they could play....NSR, RC30, any Type R, all those HRC bikes, GP cars, TLR trials bikes, S2K and now NSX V2.
Brilliant.
 
NSX9 said:
You have taken some outstanding photos, congratulations! It shows the country for what it is, beautiful.
The shots from the Honda collection bring back some great memories of the visit with a bus load of NSX enthusiasts from the USA in 2010.
What a collection........
I still really like the little Honda generator sitting in pride of place next to the GP car as you walk in. Thats the reason we are driving the NSX, they made a couple of gazillion generators, then they could play....NSR, RC30, any Type R, all those HRC bikes, GP cars, TLR trials bikes, S2K and now NSX V2.
Brilliant.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm glad you like the photos. Your visit in 2010 must have been quite the experience. We were only there for 2 hours before it closed, so we just ran around and took as many pictures as possible. I could easily spend a full day at each of the halls, looking at all the details. I was surprised to not see a single S2000.

- - - Updated - - -

Continued...




Some scooters we’ve never seen here in the US.













Lol.





Honda Monkey, 1967.











Gotta love the tach design. It's rare to see a rpm gauge on a moped.





Interesting vented disk design. I’ve never seen anything like it.





Enter the Production Cars hall.









The dream line up. EK9 Civic Type-R, DC2 Integra Type-R, NA1 NSX Type-R



Citrus color Insight. I’m sure you’ve seen these in the US, but they’re as limited in number as the NSX. Also full aluminum chassis, weighing only 1850lbs wet. First production hybrid to hit the US, originally only offer in 5 speed manual, and averages 60mpg. I own one myself, and have averaged up to 70mpg. Pretty amazing for a year 2000 design.





EK9





DC2

















Honda Beat. One of my favorite Hondas. So small and cool, and came stock with zebra print seats. Redlines at 8500 rpm. Epic.











Couldn’t help but continue taking pictures of these three.











Motocompo, 1981. These fold into a suitcase size, and can be stowed in a trunk. Some people have imported them into the US, but they’re quite rare. I’d like to bring a few of these over.













50 picture limit. Continued shortly...

Mike B
 
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Here you go again Michael, slowing down my browser with Devine high quality photos from an exotic land far far away. Honda,,, the power of dreams.....

- - - Updated - - -

What is that little yellow roaster anyhow? It has a 10k redline!:eek:
 
Jinks said:
Here you go again Michael, slowing down my browser with Devine high quality photos from an exotic land far far away. Honda,,, the power of dreams.....

What is that little yellow roaster anyhow? It has a 10k redline!:eek:
Click to expand...

Definitely the power of dreams!

That's the Honda Beat. Never sold in the US, but one of my favorite Hondas. Here is some more info. Mid-engine, 3 cylinder with individual throttle bodies and weighing only 1675lbs. Sold in 91-96'

- - - Updated - - -

Continued...





I was digging these vans. So tiny.









The S600, very rare in the US. Grandfather of the S2000.





The giant H logo is excellent. Beautifully designed. This bus looks happy.













I wish they still made cars this simple and beautiful. Functional and necessary inputs are all that are needed.



















Did you know Honda makes generators? Well they do.



Along with a bunch of other things.















Up the stairs to the next halls. (Colin taking a pic of the lobby) From here, the displays look like scale models.





Enter the Racing Motorcycles hall.





The RC143, Honda’s first World GP winning motorcycle in 1961. Look at those hand sculpted panels. I love it.





NR500 oval piston race machine. Only won one race due to continued mechanical issues. Bravo to Honda for thinking outside the box.























Forum 50 picture limit. To be continued...

Mike B
 
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Very strange design.





















Details.





19000rpm redline!









Days could be spent at this place, looking over every little detail.











“Soichiro Honda observes corning characteristics”





Enter the Racing Cars hall.





The RS272, Honda’s first F1 victory machine in 1965











Earth Dreams. The aero on this car is just insane.















NSX race cars!











50 picture limit. To be continued...

Mike B
 




THE car. Aryton Senna’s MP4/4. Dominated the 1988 F1 season with 15 out of 16 race wins.





So much simpler than today's F1.







































That wraps up our time in Japan. I hope you enjoyed my point of view through pictures. I certainly enjoyed going through them and reliving the moments. Can't wait to go back.

Mike B
 
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Mike,

That was AWESOME! Really appreciate you sharing your time in Japan.
 
There are a few prime members that have expressed their urge to go on a Japan adventure. I would like to give a short breakdown of our itinerary and the services we used during our trip. Hopefully this will inspire some of you to make the trip.

The biggest fear people have is the language barrier, and it's true that most people do not speak english in Japan. But neither Colin nor I speak Japanese and we made it around just fine, with only a handful of conversational words between us. All you really need to get around are some basic words and a smile (and a language translation app on your phone for emergencies).


Things to expect

Weather - Summer is likely hotter and more humid than you’d want to experience, so Spring or Fall are the best times to visit. Winter is cold, but doable. Just dress very warm. Regardless, there is always potential of rain. On our trip, it rained 70% of the time.

Cash - Japan is still largely a cash based society, so you’ll always want at least a few 10,000 Yen with you just in case.

Trains - They are main mode of transportation, and almost always on time. Don’t be late! Also, trains stop running between 12-5am. If you’re out late, plan to take a taxi home, or party till 5am (the more popular choice)

Walking a lot - Unless you decide to rent a car or pay for taxis, you will be walking a lot! This is a part of life in Japan, and it’s one of my favorite things. It’s something we don’t really do here in Los Angeles and we miss so much by driving through everything. In larger Japanese cities (most of what you’ll likely visit) most people don’t own a car. Train is the major form of transport, and most things are walking distance from stations. Bring some comfy shoes.

Be respectful - You’ll learn very quickly that Japanese culture is very different from American culture. It’s too much to explain here, but just recognize the level of respect and patience that everyone shows each other. You’ll rarely come across people yelling at each other (or even talking loudly), or being obnoxious in public. Be kind and respectful of everyone around you, and you’ll receive the same kindness back.


Services

Airbnb - This is a service that allows people around the world, to rent out their space to others for a short time; be it a day or a month. This was excellent for Japan since it connected us with local residents in the areas we were staying in, who were always friendly and willing to speak english with us. It's also much more personal and seems to be cheaper than staying in hotels. Checkout the website: https://www.airbnb.com/

Currency conversion - From our experiences, converting money upon arrival in Japan at the airport yields the best results. It seems to be the lowest fee, and the best experience. (tip: there are plenty of places to convert money while in Japan, so err towards converting less to YEN at first, so you're not stuck with extra paper at the end of your trip. You'll have to pay fees again when converting back to USD)

Wifi internet - This is a must when traveling through Japan. Wi-fi hotspots can be rented from the airport for relatively cheap and used throughout your stay in Japan. They work amazingly well and especially well in the subways! We rarely lost service, even in more rural areas. These allow you to constantly stay connected to the internet. Cost for one wifi hotspot unit for 2 weeks was around $100

Japan railpass - This pass is very useful if you will be traveling on the JR lines (Japan Rail - most common in large cities like Tokyo) and especially the Shinkansen (bullet train). The Shinkansen travels at over 150mph, getting you places faster and more smoothly. www.japanrailpass.net

Train app - Hyperdia made life much easier. Just type in what train station you are at, and which you want to go to; the app will give you route options and layout the train lines you’ll need to take and stations you’ll need to stop to transfer. This sped up our trip greatly, and gave us a better idea of how long it would take to get places. They offer a 30 day free trial, so don’t activate it until you’re about to leave.

Tip: Keep in mind that there are some spelling differences between Japan and the U.S. so sometimes it's hard to find the station. It's rare, but sometimes N can be substituted with M. For example: "konbanwa" can also be spelled "kombanwa" depending on who is translating. Also there are instances where it can be a double n instead of a single. For example: "konichiwa" is actually spelled "konnichiwa" when properly translated.


Locations (from east to west)

Okayama

We attended the Super GT race at Okayama International Raceway. It’s a more rural area of Japan that requires use of taxi or rental cars to get around easily. Beautiful hills and mountain roads here.

Osaka

Beautiful city with lots to do. Also a short train ride from areas like Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and other scenic spots. I’ll just list some of the things we did.
Osaka - Dotonbori area has endless streets, lined with stores and food. Much of it is open late.
Kobe - Home of Kobe beef. You’ll need to research a popular restaurant and be sure to make a reservation.
Nara - Known for its “friendly” deer and deer park. Absolutely beautiful are.
Kyoto - Famous area full of temples, bamboos gardens, monkeys… just look online to pin point what you would like to experience there.

Tokyo

Mugen and Spoon are in the Tokyo area, along with a bunch of other tuners. We just researched online where some of the tuning shops were located and made a visit. If you have a friend that speaks Japanese and can call ahead to notify them of your arrival, your visit will be much more pleasant compared to if you just show up randomly. This goes for any establishment really, except retail locations open to the public.

North of Tokyo is the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi. The address is easily found online. This is a must for Honda enthusiasts. It’s a 2-3 hour train ride from Tokyo, so be sure to start early so you can maximize your visit. Also, it’s further than you’d want to walk from the station in Motegi, so be sure to arrange a taxi to pick you up.

Tokyo is by far the most visited by tourists, so english is written more often on signage and it’s easier to get around. An online search will show you much that Tokyo has to offer.

-If you'd like to add anything or have suggestions, please feel free to comment!

Mike B
 
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michaelbrat said:
Be respectful - You’ll learn very quickly that Japanese culture is very different from American culture. It’s too much to explain here, but just recognize the level of respect and patience that everyone shows each other. You’ll rarely come across people yelling at each other (or even talking loudly), or being obnoxious in public. Be kind and respectful of everyone around you, and you’ll receive the same kindness back.
Click to expand...

This is one of the things that intrigues me the most, I think.
Every day I leave the house and deal with the public, and I honestly mean every day without fail I'm pretty sure, I am disgusted by the people I meet and interact with. A good 50% of my clients at work are rude or rub me the wrong way, and there's always a plethora of people I encounter on my 55 mile round trip drive to work who aren't using their signal or are simply being jerks on the road. I hate it, and it's slowly making me into a grumpy old (26 year old, lol) man.
Everything I hear about Japan has reference to this. I can only imagine a world where all (most) of the people I meet are respectful. It sounds like heaven. It sounds like I wouldn't be slowly losing my mind!
 
clutch1 said:
This is one of the things that intrigues me the most, I think.
Every day I leave the house and deal with the public, and I honestly mean every day without fail I'm pretty sure, I am disgusted by the people I meet and interact with. A good 50% of my clients at work are rude or rub me the wrong way, and there's always a plethora of people I encounter on my 55 mile round trip drive to work who aren't using their signal or are simply being jerks on the road. I hate it, and it's slowly making me into a grumpy old (26 year old, lol) man.
Everything I hear about Japan has reference to this. I can only imagine a world where all (most) of the people I meet are respectful. It sounds like heaven. It sounds like I wouldn't be slowly losing my mind!
Click to expand...

Yes, I know what you mean. Also consider though, this is the culture we've grown up in, so visiting a place like Japan can be a magical change. It's easy to view the opposite being Japanese and visiting the US; with our carefree and openly expressive lifestyles. Every culture has it's balance of good and bad, but being a foreigner in Japan is an interesting perspective. The discipline and respect in everyday life is contagious. It's only a bonus if you can take the good things back with you and apply them to everyday life in the US. We could use a little more respect and discipline at times.

NSXandNOFX said:
I was wondering what was your favorite (or three!) pictures from your trip?
Click to expand...

Humm, that's a tough one. How about my favorite ten!

Mike B



















 
michaelbrat said:
Thanks for sharing your experience. Every time I come back from Japan, I feel a little more patient and humble. The people there have a different standard of respect and politeness as you mentioned, and I do by best to bring some of that home with me. And yes, the beauty of the cities and regular housing is enough in itself, but when it comes to the castles and gardens... it's simply inspiring.

Pictures do an amazing job of stirring emotions and allow us to relive distant memories. Curating these pics has taken me hours and hours so far, but the time seems to fly by when I'm doing it. It brings me joy just to feel like I'm back in those places, actually feeling the environment. What's even better are the reactions I read from prime members, many whom have never been there. It makes it all worth it.

I hope you get a chance to visit Japan again soon. I'm sure it will be nothing short of amazing.

Mike B

PS. Sorry to everyone for the delay on the final pics from the honda collection hall. I've been disassembling my motor, so it has taken up most of my time. I should get the pics up this week!
Click to expand...

Hey Mike, I've been wanting to thank you for some time now. I found it funny that I was lamenting about going back to Japan in your thread in May last year and a few weeks later , I was invited to go to NSX Fiesta and the NSX 25th Anniversary Celebration/Tour. The information that you passed on in this thread was very helpful. Especially the remote hotspot rental. Thank you.

Talk about your Honda fan boy trips....it was amazing. As I said before, the people are awesome. My son went with me for his first time. We both agreed that our favorite part of the trip was at the NSX Club of Japan's Banquet. My son and I sat at a table where we were the only ones able to speak English. But, we soon found out that we all spoke car fluently. We spent almost two hours writing in English on scraps of paper and sharing pictures of our cars from our phones. The next morning, on the track at Suzuka, every one of those gentlemen greeted us and offered us a ride in their car around Suzuka. And one guy offered to let me drive his 02 NSX-R. I declined his offer and did a lap as a passenger instead. We are all Facebook friends now. I want to go back again.
 

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