| I'm saddened to have to preface my post with this, but it needs to be made very clear:
These images are for non-commercial use, by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. They are not to be reproduced for commercial ventures. That includes Calendars, DVD's, Posters, etc. Any use of these images for those purposes puts future trips and access at risk, diminishing the value of the invitation and the experience for all.
This story is about incredible people, who find a way to cross great cultural boundaries using the Z car as an excuse.
A quick summary of the last few months.
Got married on Sept 15
 ZCon 2012 in Phoenix - September 17
 Honeymoon (Paris, Zurich, Milan)
 Insert a few weeks break for work, and now the trip to Japan. Bernie & I Boarded ANA flight NH01 out of Dulles on Nov 22, and touched down a few short hours later in Tokyo. You are going to see ALOT of GREAT pictures from our team photographers (Ahmed, Eric, Ric & Scott Olsen), so I'm going to cover candids and a few things we did before the rest of the CraZies arrived. 
We were greeted by none other than HaloZ (The Halo is for NiN, in case you didn't know) and proceeded to take the train to down town Tokyo, where we would meet with the infamous Harry.
 I'm not super tall (five ten) but I soon learned that this would be a common sight for me in the land of the rising sun.
 It should also be noted that the Japanese are quite fond of Western holidays, and have fully embraced christmas (the commercial version, not the creepy virgin birth stuff)
 It should be noted however that they do buy a cake and sing happy birthday to Jeebus
After a few drinks and dinner with Harry, we stumbled back to his apartment to BS some more and finally get some sleep. The Japanese are brilliant folks, and have some of the best toilets in the world. You wash your hands, and the gray water is used in the next flush. Smart. It's also heated and will wash your tooshie or v-a-jay-jay depending on what you need. They also have a more traditional style, but I didn't use one or take a picture. 
We totally rocked out that night, and got up early the next day to start more adventures. Bernie and I hit the Tokyo train system and found our way to several Up Garage locations. One of which actually sold car parts (the first one was Motorcycle only) Up Garage is a service / part resale shop that is throughout Japan. Thankfully Google Maps is very aware of the Tokyo transit system, and was our ace for getting around. In our first day, Bernie and I covered around 100 miles on the train, and somewhere between 2 and 6 miles walking to up garages. On the second day we tricked Harry into being our navigator and managed to hit an UP Garage, as well as a Super AutoBachs in the same day. Much more productive.
 I bought an ARC Air Box for an S14, and also a Blitz SR20DET BOV Kit.
 We also found a twin TD-05 turbo manifold for an SR20DETT, but decided against the purchase
 On our way back to the train station from one of these outings, Bernie hit what he thought was the "train crosswalk button" while a train was coming. In actuality, it stopped the train for a good 30+ minutes. We scooted out of there and took another way to the train station… 
As I mentioned, you are going to see a lot of great coverage from folks who know how to actually use their cameras. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pics from our travels as a group: Bearded Donuts
 Strawberry Jelly & Butter in the same package
 Local flavor
 Does this mean what I want it to mean?
 Our saionara meal was 100% Fugu (Puffer fish, blowfish) and was awesome. 
Pimp 510 track car
 R33 GT-R Autech (4-Door). I'll get one of these one day.
 SOHC Cross Flow L motor w/ITB. Pimp. Rare. Sounds like a beast.
 ZCCNV Represent
 A special thanks to all of the people who made this happen. You can't imagine how much people opened their hearts, homes and families to us. It was really an incredibly moving experience, that just happened to center around the Z. Mr K & Tetsu
 And of course Mad Mike (And Mini Mad Mike)
 zya
1993 Ultra Red Z32 TT Convertible
2011 Electric Blue D40
1997 Cobalt Green S14 (project fun 2.0) The Z Car Club of Northern Virginia
"boobies have power" - Bernie(NoVA) |
Subject: Japan, Zama, Mr K… - 
