We all opted to pay for the buffet brekkie every morning. Makes such a massive difference IMHO, one of my fave things about going overseas and such a great way to start the day. Matty came down in his slippers and the lady at the entrance made a huge cross with her arms and said NO SLIPPERS! Bahaha.
Stacks on! After brekkie we went for a little scroll around the block. First we saw a car stacking system, then we saw this bike stacking system.
Nyaw puddy!
Next up we went to check out the Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art which is pretty much directly across the road from our hotel. One of the Sunflowers by Van Gogh is there, which to be honest was pretty mind blowing in real life. We couldn’t take photos of it though, but the main reason we went up there was to enjoy the view from the 42nd floor anyways!
Straight after that we hit the department stores which surround Shinjuku Station. The toy section at Bic Camera was wild!
So many toy vending machines! The perfect place to get rid of all those damn coins (as it’s so much easier to just break notes every time when paying for goods haha).
Gotta love fat rubber! Loved these fat wheeled bikes.
We then spotted a bunch of Japanese men testing out the massage chairs. All of them were completely KNOCKED OUT!
We thought we’d follow suit and boom, man we were stuck there for at least half an hour! They’re amazing. I must have one!
When in Tokyo one must visit Tokyu Hands! We went to check out the one in Takashimaya Department Store.
But first, food. The top floors of the main department stores in Asia usually have great restaurants and too right, Takashimaya had 4 floors of food at the very top. I hunted down a Tonkatsu restaurant and found Katsukura Shinjukutakashimayaten on the 14th floor. Was a new experience for the boys, which was awesome. Grinding your own toasted sesame seeds in a special textured bowl gives off such a nice aroma, you then add either spicy or sweet sauce and dip your pork in it. SO GOOD. Also the best Miso Soup I’ve had in years!
I went for the Kurobota (which is the “wagyu” type of pork loin). Man it blew me away as expected. SO SOFT! SO GOOD!
The staff were so accommodating, we were super satisfied and it was only $30/head all up!
Boys in the smoking room, lots of Tokyo is now no smoking, something new since my last trip in 2008.
Stickers! After our meal we checked out Takashimaya (which had a great Ikebana exhibition on, again no photos) and Tokyu Hands; 8 floors of eye popping and mind boggling goodness!
You can find everything at Tokyu hands, this device is to help you piss more easily into a bottle whilst driving.
We checked out the HUGE Kinokuniya too, and after that we thought we’d make our way back to the hotel for an afternoon kip, but not before dropping into Krispy Kreme for some special Halloween donuts!
Cute, right?!
Chris landed earlier this morning and he activated his JR pass at Shinjuku Station which was all hustle and bustle in the afternoon. We just chilled and did some people watching whilst the sun set.
On route back to the hotel from Shinjuku Station.
Couldn’t pass up a packet of JPS’ just for the cool packaging!
Senna!
We rested up for a little bit, then Alexi of Nori Yaro picked us up in his van and took us to Tatsumi Parking Area, located along the Wangan.
Such a cute little car park, and it’s got everything you need. Vending machines serving hot food, drinks and toilets too.
Alexi waxing lyrical (and wearing a Zen Graff shirt!). The guy’s a celebrity, being pulled over by fan boys all night (he’s an absolute champ, that’s why!).
Alexi and Dino from Speedhunters.
Dino meeting a fan who’s come all the way from Seattle.
Dino’s ride for the night.
Koenigsegg! The first car that caught our attention and made our panties drop.
The second car made us come.
Acquired Taste Dance Crew. The boys were in heaven.
The vibe was just so great. True car enthusiasts meeting up and just appreciating each others rides.
Tatsumi Parking Area is basically a rest stop and the locals have a loop they use to go on quick runs, so it’s a transient space with cars constantly coming through and downshifting on the way in and launching it on the way out. Aural delights are beyond words.
We got there pretty early, but more and more cars just kept on coming, by midnight it was pretty packed out.
Diversity was amazing too, with everything from Kei cars to Euro Exotics.
There were so many hot cars there I failed to take photos of other cars which were already a notch above the quality of cars we see at meets back home.
This tiny Japanese girl with huge heels rocked up in this Abflug kitted 430.
My heart skipped more than a few beats. She could be my Queen.
This car would probably get laughed at in Sydney, but here it’s appreciated, and yes we were appreciating it! It’s mad and I’m so glad that there’s all types of people and styles out here. Even if you’re not into it, you’re just happy someone else is!
So wide, so low. So yesterday, so now. I loved this thing.
Alexi plays translator so well. In the middle is Daisuke Hasegawa. D1GP driver, and he’ll be driving the BenSopra GT-R engine powered 380SX at World Time Attack Challenge this year. Guy on the left is Tomokazu Hirota. He was famous for being the only guy to drive a Toyota Verossa in D1GP, but now he’s currently in a Lexus GS350. He showed up in his personal GS350.
Daisuke Hasegawa x Acquired Taste.
Slammed R32 was slammed.
Loved this loud little Lotus.
Another RWB Porker.
The Police rocked up and basically got everyone who wasn’t in a proper parking spot (it was getting pretty damn full in there) to move on. From there we decided to hit the Wangan on route to Daikoku Futo.
We’ve seen this countless times on videos, now in real life.
Can’t believe that I’ve been perving on photos from this place since the early 2000’s and Ive never been before. All thanks to Alexi for taking us tonight, much gratitude for the man.
Straight into it! Where does one start?! It’s all just been so overwhelming.
Jizz.
Multiple orgasms.
Urgh…
Lone Bozo tonight. Hope to spot more of them another time.
The boys had a rad time trying to communicate with this guy, who was literally 1cm off the ground, static!
Loved this.
Alpina goodness.
The 2 RWB cars dropped in too.
DTM!
Alexi spotted this car, and felt it’s aura. He had to chat to the owner, an older Japanese man who had a real Bunta vibe about him. He asked, very nicely whether we could see the engine. When asked how much power the car makes the owner said “1000HP”. We were in awe. The night ended very soon after, we were elated. We came so many times. It was 3am and Alexi was taking us back home via the Wangan, then we felt a sonic boom as this very GT-R flew past us faster than our minds could compute. We were in shock, even Alexi was in awe saying that he’d never seen a car go past so fast on the Wangan. Icing on the cake! What a night, we’re done and would be happy if nothing else happened this trip! It was just all too much!
