Re: Japan trip report

["Robert K. Davis" <bob@btv.ibm.com>]

> Not observed:
> Lexi
> Crapura
> Sh_tfinity

In Japan the cars are not sold under these derived labels.  For example, what is sold as the Lexus LS400 in the U.S is sold in Japan as the Toyota Celsior.
(Had a ride in one last time over - went to an accountant's home for dinner -  rode there in his BMW 650(?) (auto, not bike, looked similar to an 850 here, Japan spec only?) and back in the Celsior.  The BMW would have been nicer to drive, but the Celsior had a much more comfortable back seat.)

> minivans

Common over there are what I call microvans.

> so-called SUVs

Not observed?  In the Tohoku region where I usually travel, the Toyota Hi-Surf seemed to be the most popular vehicle on the road.  But I've heard the SUV craze in Japan has passed and now station wagons are the big thing, probably the folks in Kanagawa are a little ahead in that respect.  (I know one woman who traded her Audi 80 in on an Opel Astra (or Vectra, I always get the two confused) wagon.

> sewer-pipe exhaust systems or tips, are these mostly Japanese products 

I believe these are mostly an American attraction.

> Conclusions:
> Audis very rare indeed
> many roads outside the cites are only 1-car wide but are bi-directional, very exciting!

Got a ride from Miyagi Prefecture to Yamagata Prefecture.  We took the major highway between the two, a bidirectional, mostly one-lane, road.  Quite twisty, every sharp turn had a large convex mirror on the outside so one could see if there was a vehicle coming the other way.  Very interesting, especially since the traffic did not only include automobiles but also large trucks!  One nice touch: In the US, in falling rock areas, at mostly I see a sign: Falling Rocks, maybe a steel net covering the cliff where the rocks fall from.  There, there was a covering built over the road (akin to a bridge) to shield from the rocks.  

> Kirin Black is excellent brew

Never cared for it.  Personally, I'd rather have a nice dai-ginjo sake served cold!

--
Bob Davis