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Miata Talk 2/6/09 Last Updated: 05/08/2009 |
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 It's a Friday night like any other and I'm up late hanging out with friends. The only difference is that we are all preparing to go to Japan the next morning. Our flight leaves at 6:30am and I have a special method for getting over large time zone changes. My friends, Peter and Yusuke are apprehensive, but play along. Several hours later, we're at the airport, whisked through security and sitting at the terminal waiting to board our plane to our connecting flight in Houston. As we're sitting there, it hits us, we're really going, and this is going to be the most amazing thing we've ever done. A full week and a half dedicated to nothing but searching out the most exclusive Miata shops and absorbing (and eating) as much Japanese culture as we can at the same time. Oh, and attending the largest Miata gathering in all of Japan. That's pretty cool too. We've got our work cut out for us.  Luckily, months ahead of time we began planning. We made careful itineraries keeping in mind that some days we might not want to go some place, or the weather might prevent us from going somewhere else. Thankfully the majority of our excursions were going to be on the robot-controlled metro system. Saying the trains are on time is a vast understatement. Each conductor verifies the time on his pocketwatch hung on the instrument panel and at precisely the right minute, he closes the doors and takes off. No exceptions. The rail systems are so accurate that they actually sell clocks that follow the various lines throughout their station plans. And if they are late? They give you a voucher to give to your employer proving that the train was late. That is how serious these people are. Amazing. It makes other metro systems look like, well I don't have a good metaphor.   After the necessities were taken care of, we attempted to find some shops to go visit. Among the shops we visited were such names as Car Make Corn's and RS Aizawa. Such commitment to excellence in not only service, but also the quality of the products they sell is completely evident in every place we went. We had a bit of trouble finding Corn's, and only had an old issue of Road&Ster to go by trying to find it. Even asking the locals didn't help much. We wandered around for about an hour before finally figuring out it was a whole 100 yards away from the train station we came from. Joy. We looked around a bit, and then went on our way. RS Aizawa was another story. They met us at the station and gave us VIP treatment the whole day. We visited customers of theirs and toured their facilities before finally being treated to an ENORMOUS dinner that nearly killed me. I've never eaten so much in my life. And I mean that. As soon as my plate had any free space on it, they instantly filled it with more meat, vegetables or whatever else was on the grill. After our collective lethargy had faded from the night before we ventured out into the suburbs of Tokyo to soak in some shopping venues and general culture. We toured Tokyo Tower, visited Akihabara, Nakano, and several other bustling mini-metrpoli in the following days leading up to our final destination of Karuizawa. Our anticipation grew more and more evident the closer the day came. This would be the second time for me going to this event, so I knew what to expect, but Peter and Yusuke were in for the biggest shock of their lives. The day finally arrived for us to board our bullet train to Karuizawa, just outside of Nagano. In the warm seasons the ski resorts are used for large meetings and other gatherings and this one is no exception. Every year they set a new record for attendees and this year was no different. They have two massive parking lots for cars and both years I went they were filled to capacity with a third lot handling the overflow. Like any good event, the main attraction is one thing, but so is the parties beforehand. These guys know how to do it right. We were lucky enough to be invited into the Over 40's Roadster Club party and met some really cool people. Everyone ranging from average Joes all the way up to senior design staff inside Mazda assigned such projects as designing the NB and secret RX7 re-release. Oops. That was supposed to stay a secret, I think... Oh well, this ain't Vegas we're talking about! After boozing with all those guys we trudge back to our cabin in the wee hours of the morning only to greet the following morning all too early.    Immediately we are greeted by a sea of Miatas. All years, colors, modifications and owners you can think of. Special editions, base models, what were they thinking models, it was all there. Also in attendance were many of the prestigious vendors whose parts we all oggle over here in the states. Nakamae, Barchetta, RS Factory Stage, Art Works Dewa, Zoom Engineering, the list goes on. The whole day could have been spent talking with them, but there were the over 500 Roadsters that had to be given some love as well! We started wandering the endless rows of cars until we stumbled upon the Nostalgic Roadsters club.  These guys are a hoot. Peter has been communicating with them for some time and finally got a chance to meet them and they were ecstatic to finally meet him. We presented them with special t-shirts and they presented him with a very special custom front lip for his Pitcrew Racing front nose. We ended the day completely exhausted and laden with new parts to take home, myself especially. Another one of Peter's friends, Makoto Nakamura was kind enough to sell me an old set of his wheels, which are now proudly mounted to my car. Some super-rare Bridgestone Super RAPs. People often tell me, "nice steelies" but are shocked when I tell them they're really aluminum and weigh under 10lbs each. Getting them back was a lesson in global logistics. Two were shipped back and the other two were checked on the plane. After a final day of relaxing and packing up for the last time we set off to the airport to begin our long journey back home. This completely amazing journey is one I hope to make into an annual trip. It's a welcome departure from what I'm used to here at home, as well as a great opportunity to forge new relationships with new vendors and strengthen bonds with old friends alike. The Karuizawa Meeting 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the Roadster in Japan, and will be an absolutely amazing event to attend. I can't wait and I'm already looking at airline prices to get the best prices. I just hope my credit cards can keep up with me.
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