Parking in Japan...Good and Bad

While I have the luxury of a two car garage, whenever I take the IS F out for a drive, I always try to find a safe location to park it.

You might think that, because Japan is such a crowded country that parking would be a premium, and that most spaces would be as tightly packed as possible. And sometimes cars barely fit into their spaces. And this is true.

From, http://girigiriparking.blog34.fc2.com/blog-entry-41.html

However, Japan is also home to probably the most number of mechanical parking garages. This usually involves a pallet onto which you drive your car, and then that pallet moves about in a certain geometric manner to maximize use of space.  These garages can be simple - a pallet that just goes up to fit 2 cars in the space of one, or can be mechanized to move horizontally as well as vertically,  for example 3 cars wide but 5 cars tall, sort of like a Tetris game, with one unused space like those puzzles.

With my GT-R, when I lived in Tokyo, I absolutely hated the parking structure.  This was because not only did it take forever for my car to appear, but also because humans were able to walk into the structure (on the ground level), and as the cars where tightly packed together, someone's bag or zipper would cause scratching. That, and as my car is lowered sometimes I'm not able to use the pallets!

Check out this old link on my GT-R Blog for photos.

Anyway, the other day I had to go to Chinatown in Yokohama for dinner. And was pleasantly surprised that 1) my IS F did not scrape the pallet, but 2) the car has a surprisingly wide tread, I only had a couple of centimeters on each side of the wheels as they fit into the pallet's track.

When we parked, the car simply vanished up, as if being vacuumed. But on the way down, there was more of a performance.

Enjoy the video:

Quick Trip to Hakone...and the Mazda Turnpike

So just today I took a quick trip up to Hakone with an old friend of mine visiting from the US.  No trip to Hakone would be complete for a car guy without a quick blast on the Mazda Turnpike (what used to be known as the Toyo Tires Turnpike). Here is a link for a further description, including how Mt. Fuji is viewable on a good day.

In any case, this post will be light on words and heavy on pictures. Enjoy!

Here is where we ended up, the Hakone Jinja (shrine) with these Tori gates on Lake Ashinoko...

Shortly after blasting through the turnpike tollgate on the Odawara side, our first photo op...

The rainy weather meant for some slippery roads...so we weren't able to drive at more than 7/10ths!

The roads weren't THAT slippery, but you had to watch out for clumps of wet leaves.

I just thought it was cool how the water mist sprayed up.

Still OEM exhaust, but hearing it from outside the car on full throttle was awesome!

Another stop for some more scenic pictures:

Was too cold and rainy to see Mt. Fuji

I asked my friend to keep driving, and stood on a boulder to get this shot.

And this one...

Yep...have to trust my friend to come back with my car...

Just as I was watching that red Mustang go past

Here he is carving up the road.

After I got back in the driver's seat, we drove to the Hakone Jinja (shrine)...
the local town is dotted with those red Torii gates.

Parked right in front of the shrine's Torii gate.

Here is a closeup of the gate behind the car...

(A different gate...) We parked the car and hiked up these stairs...

To the main shrine buildings 

Note Imperial crest... the non-Japanese Asian tourists didn't seem to even notice or care... 

So that is a lion... or maybe dog...covered in moss... guarding the shrine...

We then turned around and checked out the Torii gate on the water of Lake Ashinoko

And then got back in the car to continue exploring some more backroads...

I have to admit, compared to my GT-R the ride, while firm, is just right for these kinds of roads. As is the steering - which yes could be more communicative but felt just right on these roads. And the power - it sure was nice to have it when we did some quick overtaking of, uh, ehem, other more horsepower challenged vehicles out there.  

In any case, next time hopefully the roads are dry so we can have some proper fun!

I Violated My Own Rule On Always Washing by Hand and...

Yes folks - after having left my car outside for 2 weeks while I was doing a job away from home, plus with all the rain, the car badly needed a wash.

Except I had no time - I had to prepare to go to a relative's wedding later in the day... what to do?  As I pulled into my local gas station, I realized that a car wash would only cost me about 500 yen... and yes while not the TLC I typically expect of my cars, I have yet to take my car to be professionally detailed where all of the existing scratches in the paint would be taken out.

So, I figured one time in a mechanical car wash wouldn't be devastating to me...what's a few more scratches right?....

So with a deep breath:

Since I was taking some video as well you might as well see how these machines in Japan work.
Part 1:

Part 2:

And finally:

After the damage was done, the car was pulled around so that the interior glass and the mats could be cleaned:

Meanwhile, I was getting many upset messages on my Facebook account after I posted the first photo...

Still, it's nice to have a clean interior - after a week of rain which meant lots of dirt inside.

The attendant did remark that he'd never seen the water literally slide off the car, the "coating" as he said must have been very high quality. I DID tell him that I had only gotten the car about 6 weeks ago, and that the dealer may have put something on it.

When I thought about it though, I realized that what was probably happening was my habit of using a spray detailer - in particular this:

From: http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-8.html

I use this on my GT-R, which is silver, with great results. With a darker car, the results are even better, as this guy with a black Ferrari demonstrates:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2wgk8i

Each time I go to the dealer, they wash the car. So, as soon as I get home I'd do a quick spray on of this detailing spray, just in case. I like having the smooth slick feel to the paint, plus it really does make the car look better.  I can't wait to get the car professionally detailed, but I've been so busy with work and life that I haven't had the chance as of just yet.

Hopefully soon before the winter months...