Friday, January 20, 2012

Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 2: Toyota Megaweb


First stop, the history garage. Two years ago, i made the trip here only to find it was closed. This time though, it was all open and i was all smiles! Just an awesome collection of cool whips. From tiny Toyota 800s to massive American Cadillac boats to the original Japanese sportscar legends, they had it all.


We were allowed to sit inside the tiny 360 to take photos.

You could sit inside the messerschmitt if you'd prefer.


Needs no introduction.

Lotus Elan.

Jaaaaaag.

Can't forget the BMW.

Lovely pair.


Back in time?


How to go broke really really quick. Visit this memorabilia shop.




Ahhhhhhhh...



Walk downstairs and you'll find even more lovely classics. I was floored to finally see a Toyota 2000GT in the flesh. Funny how small the car actually is.

240Z sitting next to a Mazda Cosmo. Awesome.


You won't see these too often.

Nor these... Grand daddy of all GT-Rs.





I share the same birth year as this Soarer.


Tiny Honda S800.

Even tinier Fiat 500. Or Luigi from Cars.



Just lots of awesome stuff everywhere!

Two legends being worked on inside a real garage.

Hachiroku!

Even the tailpipes get used in the deco of the cafe.

Right outside the cafe sat more cars. A Toyota GT-One, a Celica Rally machine, a Bluebird and a Toyota 800.

This Celica was still wearing it's battle scars.


Just so much to absorb in one short trip. I would love to return again. They do change the displays every once in a while so returning visitors will have a slightly different experience each time they visit.

They had a few Toyota 2000GT items on sale, i could only afford a sticker.

10,000Yen buys you this mystery bag containing a 1/18, a 1/43 and a 1/64. Total value is 20,000Yen. Only catch is you have no idea what cars they are. I was very tempted.

We also popped by a pet store right outside the History Garage. They had cute pups!

My girlfriend was tired out and headed for Starbucks while i ventured into the City Showcase. It was like one giant Toyota showroom.

You can open up almost all the cars and sit inside them.



Almost all...


I only wanted to get into the Century!




This is how Japanese bosses roll...

V12 baby!

Classic Toyotas were also scattered around.


Catalogues can be had for a small fee from vending machines. I grabbed a Crown Majesta booklet.

Just 2 stops away from the Megaweb is Super Autobacs Shinonome.

You don't see displays like this in your regular Autobacs.

Pick your poison. BBS, i choose you!

Unfortunately, the best bookstore in the world, Lindbergh has moved away from this location. In it's place is a section selling accessories for European marques. So all i bought from Super Autobacs this time was some stickers. I doubt i'd be returning since the bookstore was THE coolest part of this place.

And with that, we left Super Autobacs and Odaiba and made our way back to Shinjuku for some rest and dinner.



Coco Curry rice in Shinjuku is excellent!


Read more:
Tokyo 2012 Day 1
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 1: Sushi-Dai & Ginza
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 2: Toyota Megaweb
Tokyo 2012 Day 3 - Tokyo Disneysea!
Tokyo 2012 Day 5 - Asakusa & Harajuku
Tokyo 2012 day 7 - Akihabara
Tokyo 2012 day 8 - Hakone!
Tokyo 2012 day 9 - Last day in Tokyo

Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 1: Sushi-Dai & Ginza


Our second day in Tokyo started off early, wayyy early. We forced ourselves up at 5am, got dressed and headed straight towards the Tsukiji fish market for the boss of all Sushis. Sushi-Dai.

For the uninitiated, waiting times to get in can stretch up to 2 hours at times but almost everyone would tell you it is worth the wait. Sice we got there slightly early, we didn't need to wait too long. Here are some food pics. Om nom nom!!!

Above is fatty tuna, or Ootoro. Yummy.

Flounder.

Snapper.

Sea Urchin or Uni.

Mackeral.

Topshell. This one was still moving when served. Tasty though.


Tuna.

Baby shrimp.

Steamed eggs.

After breakfast we pottered around the fish market but headed back to the hotel shortly after for some shut eye again.







Next stop after our nap, Ginza. For some shopping and ambling about.

Hermes has a pretty cool glass building and there is an art gallery on the top floor for those interested. I got bored really quick and left.


Spotted this pink Pork.


Expensive fruits!


Fat cat statue.


We stopped by the Shiseido parlour to pick up some tidbits.

Even the no-parking signs get a dosage of good design.

Expensive chopsticks.

With Ginza done, we boarded the train and swapped over to the Yurikamome monorail line towards Odaiba for the Toyota Megaweb!


Read more:
Tokyo 2012 Day 1
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 1: Sushi-Dai & Ginza
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 2: Toyota Megaweb
Tokyo 2012 Day 3 - Tokyo Disneysea!
Tokyo 2012 Day 5 - Asakusa & Harajuku
Tokyo 2012 day 7 - Akihabara
Tokyo 2012 day 8 - Hakone!
Tokyo 2012 day 9 - Last day in Tokyo

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Tokyo 2012: Preview & Day 1


After 2 years since my last trip to Tokyo, i finally headed back to JDM-land for the best ever car show in the world! This trip up was going to be different, since my awesome girlfriend was coming along, i planned for more sightseeing trips and less car-nerdy stuffs. Onward to day 1!

We arrived really early in Haneda and it was rather cold at 4°C. A short monorail and train ride into town and we were in Shinjuku!

It was still too early to get into our room so we left our bags at the lobby and went wandering around. Most of the shops were still closed.

Our first meal in Japan was simple fair. I drizzled my bowl with fried fluff.
We wandered around more after breakfast but since most stores were STILL closed, we popped into a Krispy Kreme for some hot cocoa and a bit of snooze...

Nearby our hotel (Best Western Shinjuku), was a Muji store with a cafe inside, they also had Muji Legos.

After checking in we went to explore Shibuya and saw these Alfa Romeo bikes, probably more reliable then the cars? hahaha...

And with a long day now drawn to a close, we settled in for some sushi at Sushi-Zanmai.


It was good, but we planned to hit Tsukiji the next morning for the real deal.


Read more:
Tokyo 2012 Day 1
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 1: Sushi-Dai & Ginza
Tokyo 2012 Day 2 - Part 2: Toyota Megaweb
Tokyo 2012 Day 3 - Tokyo Disneysea!
Tokyo 2012 Day 5 - Asakusa & Harajuku
Tokyo 2012 day 7 - Akihabara
Tokyo 2012 day 8 - Hakone!
Tokyo 2012 day 9 - Last day in Tokyo