Hey guys,
Well I've been teaching in Korea for the past few months and decided to take a little breather and go to Japan for he weekend. I first got dropped off at Kansai Airport in Osaka and made my way to the Hilton Hotel. Well to put it short, I visited Autobacs in Osaka (all the floors weren't even open). I went to Nissan, Honda, and Toyota dealers to check out some cars- some cool new cars are out. To end the day, I rented a Skyline (G35) for six hours and just cruised through the city and went sightseeing.

After being in Korea, Japan doesn't really seem that foreign to me anymore. I mean both places have their expensive stuff here and there. I will tell everyone that not all cars in Japan are tastefully fixed up- some are just hideous. It seems like JDM this and JDM that....but when you actually end up in JDM land....I was a bit disappointed.

 

ill be going to my 1st tokyo auto salon in january. i wanted to rent the skyline too how much was it for 6 hours. any specific requirements to rent it

 

I had it through the rental car service at my hotel. If I'm not mistaken, I think you can actually even rent the car from the airport as well. I had my trusty International Driver's License with a California Driver's License as well. You can get the license at any AAA in Socal. Also, you'll need a credit card and a passport with you.

 

question for you,
some say parts in japan is much cheaper then here is US. obviously, not having to ship oversea has to make it little bit cheaper, but i mean...is it much cheaper???
Cheap enough to worth someone to make a trip down to Japan?

i lived in Korea for 10 years but that was long time ago. i'm sure it has changed much since then. what do you teach and how do you like korean food?

 

Yea....the prices of parts are definitely cheaper than the states. But like you said, you can't really pack that stuff up in your suitcase and go back (actually.....maybe you can). My friend had a empty suitcase and bought used Tein coilovers for his Impreza and took it back. I'm not sure how strict it is now for you to do that now. Anyways, you can't really buy large object unless you're willing to ship. But the used parts in Japan are cheap as hell and even with shipping it should still be cheaper than what you pay for in the states.

 

Oh and I love Korean food either way....because I'm 100% full-blooded Korean. Korea has changed a lot and the importing of cars here has truly took off as well. Infiniti/Nissan is starting to market their cars here and it is a short trip to Japan here....so you do see the occasional Skyline GTRs here as well.

 

i am thinking about my next assignment and korea is on the list. i would love to go back. i think i can go to japan, buy parts and go to a military base and ship it fedex...maybe not since there is a i think size limit on shipping. it would be cool though.

 

yeah if u look over in the san diego forums in socal. there is a few of us going on a motorsport themed vacation. tickets for tokyo auto salon, wangan races, gymkhana events,tour of tunning shops and best of all a day going threw junk yards supposedly there is a s2000 only junk yard our guide is an s2ki member who is fluent in english and japanese. he lives in tokyo. if anybody is interested PM circuittheory for details on s2ki tokyo japan trip