JAPAN TRIP MARCH 7-18 BILL & MIKE

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JAPAN TRIP

HERE IS THE SITE OF A JAPANESE VEHICLE AUCTION. THIS PARTICULAR SITE AUCTIONS ABOUT 10,000 VEHICLES A WEEK.
WHOOPS! GOT TO REDUCE SIZE OF FOLLOWING PICTURES.
~BILL

 

[Scalp]

OK, try again to send photos:

 

[Scalp]

Ok, that last picture shows one of two auditoriums where bidders participate in the auction. There are computer screens at every seat and 6 jumbotron screens where 6 vehicles are auctioned at the same time. Each vehicle is auctioned in about 15 or 20 seconds. Then the screen quickly starts another vehicle. It is possible for a bidder to bid on two cars at the same time by pressing bid buttons.

The second picture is a field where thousands of vehicles are lined up for inspection before the day's auction.
~Bill

 

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To get around the huge vehicle storage yard, we rode around in shuttle vehilces to find specific Cruisers. Here is Mike and Bill examining a BJ74 in the yard. We could start the engine and inspect the vehicle, but not drive it.
~Bill

 

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Mike and Bill Examining a Cruiser

 

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Here is a heavily modifed Nissan for auction

 

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Rich kid's toy--Just married--must sell!

 

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Of course, this Japan trip was not just 24/7 Land Cruisers. It had cultural aspects too. Here Bill hits on Dona.

There are more pictures but I'm maxed out on my photo limit on this site.
~Bill

 

[chuglife]

Bill-

Looks like a fun trip! You can send me pictures of more Land Cruisers and I'll post them up for you. You can get me at cburgett@telus.net. Post in here to let me know if you've sent them as I don't check my mail often.

 

[Greg_B]

So...impressions? Did you buy? Was it what you expected? More? Less?

Glad you both are back safe and sound.

gb

 

[Stone]

Hi Bill: Cool pics. Very interesting...that's the first glimpse I have of the Japanese Auto Auctions. So...did you pick one up? Details, pls.

 

[Scalp]

Hi Guys:
OK Chels, I'll get busy scanning a few pictures and send them to your website. Mike has quite a few too. Greg and Stone: Japan was a lot of fun and very educational. Mike bought a BJ74 Turbo and I guess it will arrive sometime later in April. I didn't because I guess I am too fussy about what I want. I was looking for a BJ74 Turbo in primo shape with all the goodies something like Stones or Gregs. The ones I saw needed work and I guess I'm not into a project right now because I have a zillion things on the go from house renovations to Cruiser work. I could have brought one back to sell, but I just have too many other things to do, plus the market here is slow right now. The guys over there we are dealing with are keeping their eyes open for me and I hope they find a pristine one for me. One thing I noticed was that the mileage for these vehicles is much lower, I guess because it is a small country and they can't go as far as us in Canada. Lots we saw were between 100K and 150K. There are a lot of HDJ81s coming onstream so there will be a flood of them coming over later in the year.
~Bill

 

[gar]

nice

 

[LX_TREME]

Ahhh.. thats nice.... By the way is that Nissan Terrano?

 

[Scalp]

Chels:
I just sent 11 more pictures to your telus email. Let me know if you got them.
~Bill

 

[Scalp]

Yeah, I think it was a Patrol. They have a lot of different models and names of their vehicles that we don't get over here. Toyota alone has at least 30 different vehicles, many with the weirdest names.
~Bill

 

[chuglife]

Here come 5 of the 11, still waiting on the rest.

The Toto Sunshine Automatic Electric Toilet! Here are the features:
-Seat warmer - low & high
-Pressure ass wash - 3 speeds - mist, sprinkle, & blast.
-Blow dry - high & low
-Automatic deodorizer.
-Sound effects
-Energy saver mode
-Panic STOP button
-Automatic clean seat feature

It costs around $2000, but is well worth it.

 

[chuglife]

Lots of Tokyo streets are closed to traffic and can get pretty crowded.

 

[chuglife]

Many Japanese women are knock-kneed and pigeon-toed and it is painful to
watch them trying to walk in those high heels.

 

[chuglife]

Japanese people tend to live in small crowded quarters and if they want
privacy they may rent a Love Hotel by the hour for intimacy. Many of these
places are decked out in weird styles and none of them have real windows.
People drive into the underground parking and discreetly rent rooms without
attracting attention. We called this one the "Love Boat."