Japan 2024: D5

 Quick recap:

Day 1 was settling in to Japan, checking in, etc.

Day 2 was our first venture out to around the area, going to a tourist hotspot fish market nearby Ginza, going to Ginza and then Shibuya.

Day 3 was visiting Akihabara and then an Up Garage in the more rural/residential parts of Tokyo.

Day 4, was a tour; more or less, to visit local attractions and do sightseeing.

Day 5 is primarily a Daikoku tour, but before that will be a trip to Akihabara to pick up on Day 3. 

For this entry, think I gotta make a disclaimer:

If you’re uncomfortable with seeing non-family-friendly content, please skip this entry. There’s gonna be multiple photos of just that in this post and I won’t expand them for easy viewing. It’ll be a ‘if you want to see it, its your choice’. Alot of the contents regarding the contents are super niche and may alienate, so I’d like to have this warning out. I’d comment that if you’re familiar and comfortable with anime, you’ll do fine reading through this post.

So, as luck would have have it, Day 5 was the first day to rain. With the start of the monsoon season, it would not be expected for bad weather, but this one was particularly strong. Again, I am on the lookout for some more merchandise to acquire for some friends, so alas, the first order of business for today is going back to Akihabara for the beforementioned purpose.

The cars are tend to be high specs, here’s a CLA45 AMG.

A breakaway from the common American-market cars, a European Ford instead.

Tokyo doesn’t disappoint with its classic car conditions.

So, coming here and I simultaneously miss a Dodge Magnum and another Dodge Challenger Demon. I blame the rain for being as intense as it is.

Za Honda S660 (This was shortly after I missed both Dodge cars)

For those interested, these are pins (Alot of money)

win

jumpscare

For those interested, these are at this moment pre-order only, nice to see some pre-production showcase examples.

Also, this is the that shopping mall that has 10 floors

IMO snap kits are the most bang for buck model you can buy.

Continuation of the assortment of airsoft guns you could (can’t) buy.

Some more car-themed merchandise for you to easily lose your money on (If you’re one of those people who adore weird and quirky cars)

Idolmaster 7th Anniversary apparently

I love jacked up prices (The blue reimu I bought for about 70 sgd total including shipping)

Money and dignity loss later is exploration to another part of Tokyo (Which I honestly forgot)

Road presence? Lots. This Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign, probably on par with the likes of the Toyota Century, commands one hell of a presence on the roads. It definitely defines class, or to the untrained eye, probably signals an Uncle’s car, at least where Singapore would be concerned. But looking here, wow, not something you see often, and certainly not something you overlook either. I wonder if the likes of me taking photos is seen as weird since Jaguar as a brand is often overlooked by many others, I hope not.

Hey, wait what’s that over there towards the right-

Mercedes W124? No, wait… Roof bars, that can only mean one thing…

Oh, she’s a beaut. Not a W124, instead a S124 given it is an estate. I love this country.

One train ride to I-forgot-where later, come to exit the station, and ooh, more metal on wheels to envy.

Dodge Durango. Another American name to add to the list. Now that I think about it, Dodge used to sell cars in Singapore, but surely not enough for them to last. Now, in 2024, a single Dodge car remains on our roads. Its for sale too, a Dodge Journey 2.4A SXT. Here’s the link: SGCarMart. Good luck finding parts for it in this part of the world though. Anyways.

Well, a Nissan Fairlady Z, specifically the 350Z. Plus an older G-Class. I tend to forget that the old ones are a thing, in Singapore all of them are on classic plates and sadly speaking, I find them incredibly forgettable. Here though, G-Classes all around.

Little Vespa dealership. Cute.

Stopped by for a quick spot of lunch to rest my incredibly sore legs. If you don’t walk often, one week or less in Japan is not for you. If you love hurting your legs to the point of blisters and having next to no rest, do what I do. I’m definitely just amusingly weak though.

I think this is a Porsche GT4RS? Not too sure.

Tokyo does not play around with their specifications.

Because of course, if you buy a Mercedes, why not go all out? Buy a Maybach, buy a GLS600.

Or, buy a S65 AMG. I’m stoked at these being basically back-to-back. A convoy, probably. A convoy of incredibly high-specification cars? Don’t see it often.

I don’t have much else to update here, we now make our way back to Shinjuku. Its nearly time for a little tour around Daikoku, but we need to head back especially to temporarily rest.

Two Subaru Exiga’s practically next to each other. Or at least, next to each other separated by a road divider and two lanes.

Alright, one hour to rest our legs and wash up. Its been another journey again, based on smart watches, its been a consistent step count of 14-20k steps each day, and without enough shut-eye and rest, you can imagine that the legs don’t heal. Goodness I can affirm my legs are chronically sore.

Complaints about my lack of agility and stamina aside, one hour passes by. Its time to snoop around the enthusiast hotspots.

Wooh, this is quite a car. A BMW 530i estate. What I would say is the grip is quite good, its very stable, the suspension is sporty and you do feel imperfections and bumps, but it isn’t crashy or too stiff that your neck leaves its mortal realm.

Agenda would be going to A PIT Autobacs, which is about a 30 minute drive from Shinjuku. Afterwards is a drive from Autobacs onto the Bayshore-route to Daikoku.

Scored tonight. First Toyota GR Yaris of the trip, and likely the last.

This is a peculiar one. On first glance it might be a Toyota Mark II, but its too bubbly to be one. Turns out its a early 90’s Toyota Corona.

Japanese roads can be a whole mood by its own.

The carpark is incredibly promising. Maybe someday I’ll know folks with these cars.

Autobacs was cool. Lots of official products, from many brands that you wouldn’t expect or simply don’t see elsewhere. Where places like Akihabara sold merchandise for popular JDM cars, Autobacs sell Italian and British brands. Shoot, some F1 products too. Definitely worth a visit with what they have, although some things will no doubt cost a pretty penny. I did get a short and a MOMO horn button though, as I did purchase a MOMO Benetton steering wheel last year, and its lacking alot of items for it to work, including the horn.

Anyways, a short while later we were to head back onto the roads to Daikoku. Sadly speaking, the rain was still persisting, and I’ll spoil real quick, nothing much was there. Nothing that radical, it was probably the timing if it wasn’t just the weather, but I digress.

Christ almighty, is that a stock RX7?

Blimey, a Peugeot!

The infamous twirling highway that loops back the Wangan or down to Daikoku.

Photos alone probably wouldn’t be enough to show. So, camcorder in hand, here’s what I compiled of the trip:

Again, nothing else further to add in this segment. Off we go, though going into the C1 loop first before heading back to Shinjuku. I recorded all of it on my camcorder, of which I don’t quite have ready footage for it, so take my word for it.

Last spot of dinner (At 12am) while browsing through Crooober for “deals” (The shipping negates the “deal” bit)

Dinner’s done. It’ll be the last dinner for this trip before we are out. Its been fun, genuinely. I went into this thinking about it as a “experience it once, never again”, maybe I just wasn’t willing to meet my heroes, wasn’t confident about the language barriers. But after this trip, lots of that have vanished. I would like to come back sometime. Alright, its pretty late and the flight is sometime in the evening. Its best that I conclude it here. Its been fun, although this won’t be the last entry. Alright. Ciao.

~Linus