Each year after my 2002 trip to Japan, Mr. Kenji Tsuzuki, of the Front Row Gemini
Owner's connection Car Club, has asked me to return to Japan for their big, annual
car show and club meeting. Unfortunately, Mr. Tsuzuki usually gave me two or three
weeks warning in late May, for the show that is held every year in June. Inexpensive
airline tickets must be purchased months before a trip, otherwise it would cost
three or four thousand dollars for a round trip ticket, instead of a little under
a thousand dollars. So, with short notice, I had to decline.
But in the winter of 2005, Mr. Tsuzuki contacted me to tell me that the 2006 Meeting
would be held on June 11. With such advanced warning, I could not convince myself not
to go. And I really wanted to visit my friends that I made in 2002. So I began
contacting my friends and planning and out my trip.
I wanted to visit my former language teacher in Tokyo. I also wanted to visit a friend
I met on my 2002 trip who lived in Hiroshima. I had to visit my friend in Yokohama, and
tried to fit all of these things around the weekend of the car show near Nagoya.
As it turned out, I once again lucked into another auto enthusiast's dream vacation.
I began gathering up equipment that I would need for the trip. This time I made sure
I had a good digital camera as a backup to my film cameras well as a video camera.
I trimmed down my laptop for travel, so I could download my digital pictures, I had
the feeling that the language translation software would be handy, and I wanted to
have it at the show to play some DVDs of racing footage I had shot since my 2002 trip.
I remembered that Japan in June is moist, to say the least, with almost constant
drizzle. If the sun is out, it is hot and the humidity feels well over 100%, and if
the sky is cloudy, it is a chilly, wet soak to the bone. I started gathering two weeks
worth of clothing looking for anything with the phrase "moisture wicking" in the description.
I also remember from my previous trip, that it seemed like I was the only person
wearing blue jeans, while all of Japan was dressed somewhat more formally, so I looked
for a lot of semi-casual looking travel clothing.
Somewhere between St. Louis and Nagoya on my 2002 trip, the baggage handlers managed to
remove the wheels from my ten year old rolling luggage, so I had to find something new.
I managed to find some really light weight luggage that would pack inside itself, and
the plan was to load two bags up with gifts for my Japanese friends on the way there,
load everything into a single suitcase while there, then load up both suitcases with
whatever automotive related goodies I managed to buy while there for the trip home.
I planned to take some gifts to give to my friends at the car show, and had baseball caps and wind breaker jackets made up with the "Isuzuperformance Racing Team" logo on them. They all turned out beautifully, but the jackets were late, so they had to be air freighted to Nagoya after I had left.
Once again, I was busy all night before departing for Japan. This time, copying racing DVDs to give as gifts to my friends in Japan, and trying to figure out how to fill two suitcases (because the jackets weren't ready). And, once again, lack of sleep actually worked to my advantage in combating jet lag.
The above map shows my route of travel. I arrived at the new Nagoya airport. From Nagoya, I travelled by car to Ise and Suzuka, returning to Nagoya. I left Nagoya by train and went to Hiroshima for two days. I returned to Nagoya from Hiroshima by train. I then travelled to Okazaki. I left Okazaki by car and travelled to Yokohama. I travelled by train from Yokohama to Tokyo. And I finally returned from Tokyo to Nagoya by train to meet the departing flight.