Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area on the planet. Over 38 million people live within the 23 wards. Even as the overall population of Japan shrinks, Tokyo's population continues to grow. Space is a premium in the city, and everything is built right next to each other. In theory, this means that traffic in the city is going to be god awful.
My route to get home took me through Tokyo. I would have to take the Tomei Expressway to the Shuto Expressway, one of the ring roads (or beltways, if you want to call it that) that go around the city. After that, I would have to connect onto the Tohoku Expressway, which I could then take straight up to the Ban-etsu Expressway to get back to Aizuwakamatsu. The estimated trip time was about four hours. Without traffic.
Speak of the devil, how was the traffic? This was a Sunday evening, predictably when traffic should be the "worst", as people travelling outside the city for the weekend should be on their way back. I've driven in Manhattan twice before when I was still in the states, and the roads there were not scary to me. Tokyo, however, would be an entirely different beast.
And, now that I've found out, a tame one, too.
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| While I was still above ground |
Well, I guess it's not a "real" Tokyo driving experience as I never left the highway. But with the exception of two relatively small stop and go sections, and one reduced speed section, it was smooth sailing throughout. It did feel a bit disorienting travelling on a highway right in between apartment buildings. Tokyo lacks the grid system that New York is both blessed and plagued with.
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| Got to drive behind this Ferrari for a few miles. Would you believe they kept the speed limit the whole time? |
A key highlight from the trip was the connector from the C2 to the Tohoku Expressway. I ended up making four turns on a curve with a grade ranging anywhere from 2-4%. The video below is from my dashcam, which I installed before I left the dealer.
I stopped at two rest stops. The first was in Saitama to get some nourishment. While I was there, I saw some interesting cars, most noticeably the old Buick (?) with Fukushima plates, and an orange Dodge Challenger with a Hemi. (Yes, you can get them here, provided that you import them yourself. The guy must have had crazy money to do so.)
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| USDM is to Japan as JDM is to the US |
The other was later on to prevent myself from falling asleep at the wheel. (I should point out that tired driving is treated like drunk driving here, and drunk driving is definitely no game.) While I was out of the car getting a bottle of water from the vending machine, I reflected on the drive so far. The Roadster had what felt like a newer clutch that was yet not a hassle to operate in stop-and-go. I only stalled once, at the toll both heading onto the C2, but never again afterwards. And while my back was feeling sore, it was probably from all the work I was doing to the seat and not the seat iself.
All in all, after about 7000 yen in tolls and four and a half hours of actual driving, I made it back to Aizuwakamatsu with Tackawanna, my daily driver for the next two years. This is the car that I want to drive, and it's the one that I plan to take back to the states with me after I finish my degree. I still have to transfer the car into my name, but once I do that, the car is officially mine. I will post a review about the car itself after about a month of ownership.
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| Tackawanna, in all her JDM glory |
終わり
-wp
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