軽井沢ロードスターミーティング 2

I arrived at the Roadster Meeting at around 0830 hrs, as half of the parking lot I was assigned to was already filled. On the way, I passed by countless other Roadsters going all over the city. My default greeting to these people was the pop-up trick. The is one of the features that I love about Tackawanna. Instead of fixed headlights on normal cars, Tackawanna's headlights flip up from the edges of the car. This usually happens only when you turn on the lights, but there's a button on the dashboard that will raise and lower the headlamps without necessarily turning them on. I even made sure to do this trick as I passed the many Roadster-owning photographers that parked on the shoulders of the main road going towards the ski area parking lot.

The parking lot was divided into two areas. I was in the first parking lot, which was closer to the main event and tents but had less shade. The actual event started at 1000 hrs, where the organizers gave opening statements in both Japanese and English. (The English, most likely, was for the Miata club from the Philippines, who came to participate in the event, sans car, of course.) There was also a small race about an hour later involving pedal cars and crying toddlers. That was what the Internet likes to call "unhappy adorable." At around 1200 hrs, there was a "talk show" involving certain ambassadors from Mazda who have had experience with designing, building, and marketing the car.

On display under the tents were two different cars. The first was the one-millionth Miata that was carted around Japan and North America for fans to sign, but although there were still open spaces available, no one was allowed to sign it. (Bummer; I guess my name won't be on it, then.) The other car was a totally factory-restored NA Roadster, complete with new everything. In Japan, Mazda is offering a "restoration service" for existing NA models, which is essentially a Mazda-approved restoration and refurbishment back to showroom condition. Representatives for the project were present, and distributing application forms for people who were interested. Mazda is not the only company to take interest in their older cars like this; Nissan is also resuming OEM parts distribution for its R-32 Skyline GT-R, a Japan-only model that is considered to be one of the greatest cars that ever rolled off a production line.

I got a chance to walk around the lot to see the other Roadsters that assembled for the meeting. Over 1300 vehicles participated. I was also assured to see that my car was certainly not the ugliest. Roadsters of all conditions and from all over the country littered the meeting. The people there were also diverse. I pulled up and parked next to a man and his daughter, who looked no older than five, and I overheard him saying that their mother was coming to meet them. The drivers were mostly male, but there were plenty of females, too, including one driving a hot pink NA with those god-awful headlamp eyelashes. (Interestingly, out of all those cars that I'd seen, only one was a Fiat 124 Spyder. Even the Hokuriku meeting had more Fiats there.)

There were various vendors selling parts as well, and some owners laid out blankets in front of their cars to sell parts. The goal was to get a new passenger driver-side mirror. Unfortunately, none of those were for sale. I did, however get my toy car for my Roadster! (Yes! Now I can make the joke!) I also picked up a new oil dipstick, as the old one's ring broke off at some point.

Here's my toy car...

I saw most of my Roadster friends. I met up with Shimizu-san, whom I'd met at the Tohoku meeting in October, as well as Matsuda-san. Fujimoto-san also attended the event, but I didn't see him or run into him. Mizuochi-san was an event organizer, and was too busy to be in one location for a long period of time, so I didn't get to talk to him, either. Regardless, I had fun at the event overall.

Shimizu-san and I in front of his car. He brought his girl with him.

The drive home was nice, too. It rained the day I arrived in Karuizawa, but not going home. The plan was to use my action camera to get the whole trip back home. However, the camera kept acting up because I was using the iOS app to control the camera and not my usual camera remote, which I had lost at some point during my trip. Chalk that one up to a glitch. (The surviving video will come later, after I edit it. You can check out the pictures here.)

So. Many. Group. Photos. Taken.

As for whether or not I'd go to the next meeting: if I stay in Japan longer after graduation, then yes, I'll go again next year. Next time, however, I'm only going for one night. Karuizawa has obliterated my leisure spending for a few months, and I've already seen most of it. In the meantime, there's research and work to keep me busy.

-wp

軽井沢ロードスターミーティング 1

This weekend, I went to the Karuizawa Roadster Meeting, located in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Here's a brief background on Karuizawa: up until the mid-19th century, it was regarded as a simple post town before it merged into a larger district called Kitasaku during the Meiji Restoration. Shortly after the merger, a wealthy British diplomat visited the town and was so blown away by the relatively cool summer climate that he wrote his other wealthy foreign diplomat friends to tell them about this super nice spot he just found out about. Since that time, the town has morphed into a town mostly comprised of second luxury homes and boutique everything. A shinkansen line runs right through the town, and it's two hours away from Tokyo by car. And everything is surrounded by nature.

Basically put, if you're wealthy and/or from a Western nation, and you have fuck-you-level money, your portfolio should include a house here. I've actually seen American-style houses there; plenty of colonials with American-sized living rooms and garages on relatively small but otherwise spacious plots.

I drove down this past Friday, and the meeting was on Sunday. The meeting would be in the parking lots of a luxury hotel's ski resort near one of the two town centers. (Yes, you read that right. There are two of them.) The hotel was rather pricey, so I opted instead for a bed and breakfast that had just opened the previous autumn. Including breakfast both mornings, it was $130 a night. It was also one of the cheapest places in the whole town to stay. I arrived in the early afternoon, got some rest, and went for dinner at a local yakiniku (!!!) restaurant just steps away from the B&B.

Saturday was when I did my sightseeing. I kicked off the day by visiting the Usui Pass Observation Point. Karuizawa is right on the border of Nagano and Gunma prefectures. The border between the two ran right through the observation point, and the nearby shrine actually had two chief priests because the border also split their shrine.

An 絵馬 (ema) that I purchased from the shrine

"I hope that my car troubles will stop."

Next was the Former Mikasa Hotel. This was one of the earliest hotels for the upper class. Some of the structure was torn down, but whatever was left was preserved in its original condition from its last day of operation in 1970. Single-pane windows had long cracks in them, and paint was peeling from the exterior. The furniture inside the hotel was original, or at the very least period-correct. Overall, even with its aged condition, it really gave off the impression that it was a place of luxury.

Former Mikasa Hotel

Following that was Shiraito Falls. To get there, I had to take the Shiraito Highland Way, a bumpy mountain toll road winding through nature. What makes these falls special is that the water source is from the mountain itself, not a stream. Relatively warm water (around 50 degrees Fahrenheit) spewed out of the ground and down from a ledge into a small tributary. There were lots of birds flying around, even getting close to where people were resting.

Shiraito Falls

From there, I followed the toll road to its end and got on the Romantic Road toll road to get to Onioshidashi Park. It was a park at the base of Mount Asama full of magma boulders as remnants of a major volcanic eruption in 1783. A lone temple with a giant gong stood out in the middle of all the boulders. There was also a museum nearby for the volcano, but I did not visit it.

The last place I wanted to see had two parts, because they were right next to each other. The first part was the Stone Church, a modern-architectural masterpiece. Unfortunately, it was closed off to the public due to a wedding. The second part was the Harunie Terrace, a small but relaxing upscale outlet mall with restaurants and housewares. I ended up buying some French wine and granola, because when you're in one of the most expensive locations in all of Japan, why wouldn't you?

Harunie Terrace

Following that, I went back to the B&B for a while before heading to the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza. Essentially, it's a huuuuge outlet mall with novelty and luxury brands. I picked up some souvenirs for my work and lab, and even those were expensive compared to other places I'd went to. It soon started drizzling and the plaza was closing soon, so I left the plaza and went for dinner at one of the many Italian restaurants in Karuizawa. It's one of the things I've missed about home: not that many Italian places to go to. (Prices were still in line with the Karuizawa theme, though.)

Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza

Sunday morning I had my breakfast and checked out. I was now on my way to the meeting.

つづく

-wp

Review: 1991 Eunos Roadster (Mazda Miata/MX-5) aka Tackawanna

I've been postponing this review for way too long. More than once I've promised this post, and today is the best time to finally post it. So without further ado, here it is: the one-year review of Tackawanna.

One year ago today, I set off for Ayase-shi in Yokohama, a city immediately west of Tokyo and not too far from Camp Zama. I had about $3300 in cash, a dash camera, a regular camera, and a couple of hand tools. I had purchased a one-way ticket a few days ago, which took me from Aizu to Koriyama, then to Omiya on the shinkansen, then south on the Saikyo line to Shinjuku, and then southwest on the JR Odakyuu Line to Yokohama, where I swapped to local railways and a bus to get to a small dealership in a residential area. The goal was to drive home, and I'd be doing it in a car that I had only seen in pictures on the Internet. It had a fresh shaken renewal, and a new AC compressor, as well as plates provided by the dealer so that I could drive it home without shipping it.

It was Tackawanna.

I've never really explained why I named the car Tackawanna, so I'll take the time here to do so. I am a major fan of The Roots, a very talented, live instrumentation hip-hop group that you may know from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The band is from Philadelphia, and there is a multi-ethnic working-class section of the city called Frankford where there is a main street called Tackawanna Street. I first heard about the name from the second track "Respond/React" off their 1996 album, Illadelph Halflife:

Brody with my man Miz-Moose and Hakeem
My squad from deuce-four up to West Oak Lane
All the way to Tackawanna and Frankford they know the name
It's like that... M-Ill-itant

The name sounded really cool, and it has stuck ever since.

Tackawanna is the NA, or first-generation, model. She came from the factory with the NA6CE motor, a 1.6L inline-four mounted longitudinally, which at the time put out 118 hp. I made sure to buy a 1991 to avoid the short-nose crankshaft issues that came with model years before that. Tackawanna is a "normal base," which is the lowest trim level available. This version doesn't have power steering, but it does, however, come with stock power windows, which I think were an option as some Miatas had crank windows at the time. Tackawanna is also rear-wheel drive with a stock Torsen differential and a five-speed manual transmission connecting it to the engine. Even though she's almost four meters long (think of me standing on top of me), she actually manages to hide in a parking space if she's parked between two cars. Her curb weight is just under a metric ton, or 2100 lbs. These proportions and drivetrain setup allow for a sporty feeling when driving.

Since owning Tackawanna, I've only put on about 8000 km (5000 mi) on her. This is mainly because I live and work on campus, so I don't have to commute. Because of my busy schedule, I only really take her out on weekends or when I'm running errands. It's also important to note that since Japan has more "compact" cities, it's not necessarily a requirement to drive as far. I commonly see 10-year old cars for sale here that have only gone about 90000 km (less than 60000 miles)! For comparison, I purchased Tackawanna as she went over 129000 km (around 80000 miles), with her original, stock engine.

And because of this, if I sat down and truly tallied up every single purchase I've made for Tackawanna, I'd have probably seen a cost per mile that in the states would make me shit my pants. Since I first purchased her, I've done this much work to it, either by myself or by passing it off to someone else: （斎藤さん、いつもありがとう！）

• the foamectomy on the driver's seat
• new battery
• removing the side door panels, spare tire, and visors
• making new pull straps to replace the door handles using a belt I bought from a discount clothing store
• new Walbro fuel pump
• new fuel filter
• new speakers in the headrests of both seats
• new winter and summer tires
• two oil changes, plus new diff and transmission oil
• new radiator
• cleaning out the contacts for the window switch
• new head gasket, water pump, timing belt, and thermometer
• paint touch up (really did a shit job) on passenger-side door
• replacing the driver-side seatbelt buckle
• repainting the hood to replace rapidly peeling paint
• repainting the windshield wiper arms (just yesterday)
• replacing the door window trims (parts in the mail now)

(By the way, I've also had to pay taxes, optional insurance, and registration fees, which haven't surpassed the car's value when summed together, but gets pretty high up.)

So as you can see, I've done a lot of work to her, and there's plenty more [non-crucial] things that can be done. All of this on a car that can only seat two, and that doesn't have room in the trunk for any of my suitcases. In the winter time, it gets SUV mileage due to stop-and-go in the snow and cold. Parts of the trim look kind of worn, and because of the absolutely poor paint job done by a previous owner and the fact that it's a normal base, resale value on its own is about $1000 and a sad handjob.

And yet, I fucking love this car.

It truly is the greatest purchase I've ever made in my relatively short lifetime. Tackawanna is absolutely fun to drive, especially in nice weather. It doesn't go fast, but Japan's rather low speed limits and my insurance company's aversion towards mechanical mods mean that for my purposes, I have enough to get the car moving, but not enough to get into real trouble. Cornering is pretty good, especially with all the twisty mountain roads around here.

And then there's the soft top. Two clips in the front, and it retracts back, giving you excellent visibility of behind. When the top and windows are down, you hear some wind, but you can also hear everything else, including the solid click of the transmission as you put it into gear. If it gets too hot, the A/C actually runs so strong that sometimes the lowest setting of the A/C is too cold for me. If it gets too cold, the heater is actually strong enough to keep my feet and legs warm with the top down.

In addition, Tackawanna is pretty practical if you figure out your loads and plan accordingly. At the sacrifice of an extra passenger, I have transported multiple saxophones, shelving, and even a giant cabinet. (That last one was pretty difficult and uncomfortable, though.) A trip to Costco during Golden Week (still need to make that post) could fit entirely in my trunk.

And despite her age and exterior condition, Tackawanna is well received by both people I know and total strangers. Here's just a sampling of the acclaim I've received:

• A friend last year saw me in Tackawanna for the first time last year and said 「うおぉぉ！イケメン！」
• One summer evening, I returned to the west parking lot where I normally park, and a group of elementary school boys were playing in the lot. One particular boy saw me in the car, and actually said hello to me as he walked past it. I then heard him mutter 「カッコイイ」 to his friends.
• I have actually been downright flirted with in this car at a rest stop in Miyagi Prefecture.
• There's a local kindergarten on the road heading towards the main road. One time, the teacher had brought out a large group of kids to stand outside the sliding door facing the road. I drove past them to the stoplight on the corner, which was red. I looked back in my rearview mirror, and most of them were still looking at Tackawanna. (They did not do the same for the two cars in front of me.)
• As I was waiting to turn onto that road from the main road, a young man, looking about high school age, was standing on the corner waiting for the crosswalk. He saw my car, and kept staring at it even as I drove away and he crossed the crosswalk.

You can probably see two trends here. The first trend is related to attraction to the driver. The second trend is related to fascination with the car. I receive both of these kinds of attention at a rate low enough to enjoy the attention without feeling annoyed or disturbed by it. While I don't have any opinions or explanations about the former, I can tell you about the latter.

First, the Eunos Roadster is an オープンカー (open car, convertible). Regardless of its age or condition, a convertible is 50 times more attractive than a car with a fixed roof. When you think of a convertible, you think of wide open roads along some coastline on a summer's day with the wind in your hair. Hell, I can remember when I was younger being amazed by my uncle's red Mustang convertible. Yes, it was an ST-95 automatic, which is considered the least cool Mustang in car culture, the trim was shot, and it smelled a bit of cigar smoke on the inside, but it was a convertible. If I had the chance to be inside one as it moved, I could live with the secondhand smoke risk.

Second, the Eunos Roadster is a friendly car. At least in Japan, very rarely are they hacked up into hellaflush moving light displays (*cough* Civic *cough*) or tire-smoking sideways-drifting scream demons (*cough* Z-series *cough*). Roadsters have soft edges, and their exhaust notes are soft and inviting unless you really, really try with a special exhaust system. A Roadster doesn't storm onto center stage; it gracefully and nonchalantly wanders there. When other people see a Roadster with the top down, they don't think 「ああ、やべ！暴走族だ。」, but rather 「何それ、あの車？ちょっと可愛いよ。」I can usually tell when these people look that they are imagining themselves, if even for a moment, in the driver's seat of one of these cars. To them, the Roadster is an invitation to something nice that you could experience, and like, without anyone giving you shit for it.

Finally, the Roadster community in Japan is largely comprised of people who truly love others just as much as they love the car. These people aren't vape-huffing tryhards or posh pricks; most of them are actually well mannered. They're older gentlemen, or they're young/middle-aged families with young kids, or up-and-coming professionals looking for a reliable car to get them around. I've been to two Roadster meetings, and even with my ugly car and shit Japanese, I'm warmly welcomed. They're so welcoming to other owners that no one even lodges a complaint if you show up with an automatic transmission. That kind of energy, in my opinion, also radiates from the car as they drive. When you see someone like this in this kind of car, you're inclined to think that this person is a sensible person who wants to have sensible fun in a sensible car. You care about your happiness, but not to a point where it starts to come at the expense of others' patience. So when people see a Roadster on the road, they don't think as much about the car as what it would be like to have one; on the surface, it makes you seem like a happier person. And who doesn't like happiness?

I'm still on the fence about a lot of my future. Do I stay in Japan and work for a Japanese company? Do I go home and find work with an American company? What about my dream of starting my own business? But regardless of all these questions, there is one constant: Tackawanna. If I stay in Japan, I'm keeping her. (Taxes won't go any higher, I've cleared the initial hurdles of ownership costs, and my insurance gets even cheaper the longer I stay out of trouble.) If I go home, I'm putting her on a cargo ship, and I'll register it as a second car at home. (My 3 must be getting lonely without me.) If I can be that confident about Tackawanna, then it must be because she's truly a car worth every penny.

Or as this guy says, because it's the best!

-wp