I heard about this a couple of weeks ago but only found the story recently. It not something I wanted to comment on without seeing myself but now it’s here for all and sundry to take a look at. Those in the diving community know that multiple dives per day are allowed by all major [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Japan’
Okinawan Police Learn Drifting from Tsuchiya
Posted By Dave on January 16th, 2010
One of the biggest motorsports to come out of Japan in recent years is drifting. Everyone is getting in on the action, even the police it seems! These cops in Okinawa had the chance to go up to Nago Circuit in the north of the island and get drifting tips from the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Looks like they had good times and I thought some of you folks might appreciate the video.
November 15th: Omega Drags in Okinawa
Posted By Dave on November 17th, 2009
The Omega Drags was the last racing event of 2009 in Okinawa and unsurprisingly, I was a spectator for this event. And to be honest, as long as I have the Alto Works that’s all I will be. People keep asking me why I don’t pick up another early Evo; a model of car I know quite a bit about and love. But the sad truth of the matter is I doubt I’d have the funds to keep it filled with petrol & oil, nevermind the modifications needed to make it competitive. The time when I have money will come again at some point (fingers crossed), but until then it will probably be watching from the pitlane only.
I got up to Nago Circuit at around 0945, and when I arrived I questioned if I’d got the date wrong for the event. There were no flags up at the entrance and only 3 cars in the parking area. My fears were soon put to bed though when I opened the car door and heard loud engine noise from beyond the circuit wall.
The lack of people watching was matched by a lack of cars taking part. There were only around 20 cars competing which is half of what is usually there. Nobody really knew the reason for it either, and November is usually the best time for the events. Yesterday was no exception, with conditions being ideal. The weather was mild with a bit of a breeze in the air keeping things cool, but the sun made regular appearances to stop people getting too cold. Only two non-Japanese drivers were taking part; a third dropped out 2 days before due to engine block problems which might require a complete engine disassembly.
The lack of entries made the day go by much more quickly than usual, and proceedings ended an hour earlier than usual. The first couple of practice runs were filled with drivers trying to get traction on the launch, and then when braking after the finish line (in the fight between mountainside and car, there is only going to be one winner). There were a couple of pretty hairy moments with some cars locking up the wheels and rear-ends looking a little twitchy, but thankfully no collisions.
Rick, currently holder of the “fastest gaijin in Okinawa” mantle, was looking impressive in his GT-R. His qualifying runs included breaking out of B-class with a time of 5.429s at 164kph for the 150m. To put that in context for the non-racers, that’s a 0-100mph time of under 5.4s. In laymans terms that’s (insert expletive of your choice) fast! The other driver, Josh, was having a tough time bringing everything together in his Mark II JZX90. Traction issues, red-lighting at the start and other little problems made for a very frustrating day. It was a shame for him, as he had high hopes and was taking part in C-class for the first time. Sad to say, but I think yesterday the Alto might have had a chance against him!
Rick managed to attain the quickest qualifying time in B-class, hitting 5.6s for the 150m, which put him straight into the final. The other cars in that class would be racing for the right to race him. Rick’s problem was that he knew if everything went perfectly for him, he had a good chance of breaking out of B-class again which would result in his disqualification from the knockout part of the tournament. The solution was just delaying his launch on the startline a tenth of a second longer or so, to ensure he would remain in his class. And when it came to the final that’s what he did. Both drivers had a good launch but Rick’s GT-R was pretty much flawless and he finished again in 5.6s, 0.3s quicker than his rival.
The final of A-class was won once again by a car tuned by Goyu, which ran the 150m in 5.1s, crossing the line at 179kph. That is a speed and time about 95% of the drivers here in Okinawa can only dream of, and by Rick’s admission is probably out of his league. But something to take into account is the type of cars. The Goyu car that won in A-class is completely gutted, geared for drag racing in Okinawa and even has parts to cut out of the bodywork to save on weight. In contrast, the Gt-R is full-weight with all the sound deadening, stereo air conditioning etc in it. If all of those things were stripped out then he would probably have a chance in the top class here in Okinawa.
To see all the photos I took at this event, take a look at my gallery here. So a year of drag racing in Okinawa has ended and the first event of 2010 will be in March. So until then, keep warm in the winter months and take good care of your cars.
Note: Apologies for the lack of quality in the photos this time. I was trying to add a bit of motion blur by taking down the shutter speed on my camera, but I took it down way too much, meaning most of my shots were good for nothing except throwing away. Will try harder next time.
JICA International Conference in Okinawa, November 14/15
Posted By Dave on November 11th, 2009
A few of the readers of this site are living in Okinawa, so I thought I’d throw this out there for those of you that like to get out into the community. The annual JICA International Festival in Okinawa will be taking place this coming weekend (November 14th & 15th, 2009) at the JICA Centre in Urasoe City. JICA is a Japanese NGO and the Centre in Urasoe has people there from a number of different countries (mainly, but not limited to, developing countries). At the festival they have presentations about their countries and areas, talks on global issues, free trade and all that kinda stuff. There is also music and events going on during the day. I’ve taken part in the conference for the past 3 years with my school as they have held a Model UN conference there, and a good number of people attend.
I’ll probably head there on the 14th, but wanted to let people know about it as the advertising isn’t what I would call “extensive”. Below are the flyers for the event.
Posted in Japan stuff
Nice Slow-motion Video of Drag Race Launches
Posted By Dave on November 7th, 2009
This might only be of limited appeal to those who read the articles I post, but I thought this was cool and worth writing about. As the more perceptive of you may know, one of my current passions is cars, despite having absolutely no luck with them in the past 12 months. But when I have a car that will move under its own power, I like drag racing.
One of the most vital points of the drag race is the launch, and it’s easy for people who haven’t done it to underestimate how much there is to think about. Staging, getting the rpms held just right, keeping the clutch and gas at the right points so you don’t wheelspin or bog… it really is a hell of a lot, and the quicker the car the more you have to think about. But the launch itself lasts a fraction of a second and then it’s onto flying through the gears and heading for the finish line.
This video that I came across on one of the forums I frequent shows those fractions of a second, but slowed down so you can really see what happens to the car. Even if you’re not into racing, it’s still a pretty cool video to watch. If you are into racing, it’s fascinating to analyse the launches and what is or is not going right.
The New Ride: 1993 Alto Works RS-X
Posted By Dave on August 27th, 2009
After the Evo met an untimely death I decided it was time for something a little cheaper to run and maintain. A bit of looking around later, and a slight rush to become a non-pedestrian again (a $20 round trip to work each day when it was only a 15-20 minute drive was a joke) and I found what I was looking for.
All hail the 1993 Suzuki Alto Works RS-X. Although the RS-X is 2WD, it does have a DOHC engine which is a bit of a positive over the standard Alto Works. Picked it up from a garage close to me and it’s in a not too bad condition. Needs a bit of love and care in some areas (car windows definitely need some new film, and wheels aren’t going to win me any awards), but it’s a solid base. Paintwork isn’t showing too much rust through though and no big dents in the bodywork.
Open the hood and you’ll find the beating heart of a beast of an engine. These are words I would like to be able to say about the car! Unfortunately, you know that with a 660cc engine it’s a pretty far stretch of the imagination, even if it is turbocharged. Needs a clean in there and also an aftermarket air filter of some regard to open up the airflow, but other than that it seems in decent condition.
I have to say the car has been fun to drive over the past 24 hours. It’s a huge step down in power and handling from the Evo, but that’s a given. Already have my eyes on some upgrades though, and brakes are first on the cards. The brakes are pretty mushy and so am gonna get a set of Acre pads all round and some Dixcel front rotors. Rear rotors are actually in worse condition than the front, but aftermarket ones seem to be a little tough to find. The normal Alto Works I believe have rear drum brakes but this RS-X has disc brakes and I can’t find anyone supplying rotors for them.
Will then get a set of Advan Neovas which will come to about $280 for all 4 (one advantage of a small car with small wheels) and a cheap-ass bigger exhaust and I’ll be good to go. Might throw in my stock passenger Recaro from the Evo in there on the driver’s side. Only other current issue is that the horn doesn’t want to work but am going to the garage to pay the rest of the money tomorrow so will get them to look at it before money is handed over.
So pass me a wave when you inevitably overtake me on the roads!
Posted in Cars
2009 Eclipse Report: Okinawa
Posted By Dave on July 22nd, 2009
Solar eclipse has just passed the Ryukyu islands and it was a pretty good event. The students were let out of classes for 30 minutes so they could damage their eyesight permanently at will, and some of the teachers had made viewing devices or bought the special glasses. Me, being the cheapskate, opted for 2 pieces of cardboard in front of one another, the first one having a tiny hole in, to make a pinhole camera to see it through.
By 1040 the air had got noticeably cooler although it was still pretty light outside. In fact, that was one of the surprising things during the whole eclipse – despite having over 90% coverage, it was still obviously daylight outside. Kind of makes you think maybe you don’t need that much sun!
Students soon came out to join the teachers which cued cries of “suuuugoooiiiiiii!!!” (“Wow” in Japanese), especially when some dark cloud passed overhead and allowed everyone to see it. As 1055 approached you noticed the birds quieten down as if they were ready for the end of the day and dusk approaching. My cardboard viewing contraption was providing possibly the smallest image of the eclipse that anyone has witnessed, but I could see something at least.
At 1055 something pretty cool happened that, as an eclipse virgin, I didn’t know about. A complete rainbow around the sun (about 6″ away) appeared in quite vivid colours. Not sure what caused it but it’s something I might research a little later on this afternoon. More cries of joy and screams were heard from students and then the sun & moon continued on their merry way and things began to get brighter again.
I have also managed to take a completely abysmal shot of the eclipse with my camera phone! The only thing worth noting on it is the rainbow that you can make out around the sun, but I include it for completion.
So that’s it for the 2009 eclipse. Head on back in 2132 when I’ll be covering the next one that’s this big!
Posted in Japan stuff
Let’s Enjoying Solar Eclipse Together!
Posted By Dave on July 15th, 2009
Seven days to go now until the longest solar eclipse that will take place this century, and I’m not too far from the ideal spot to view it. This event was just brought back to my attention today by much excitement in the staffroom when a long cardboard box was proudly placed onto the table just behind me. My first thought was that it was the first periscope the school had made so that teachers can catch students smoking even when stood behind a corner. But there seemed far too much excitement for that. Soon dawned on me with other small variants of this bigger design that I was mistaken.
A little research on this eclipse brought me to the Nasa July 22nd solar eclipse website at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009.html. Lots of good information although I have to say the “Detailed Maps of the Path of Totality” does sound a little final! Sounds like we’re reparing for the sun not to reappear again once it’s gone behind the moon. While the Okinawan mainland is going to be just south of the area experiencing a total solar eclipse, we should still get a good 85-90% of it according to the maps. This is providing that it’s not cloudy, which could rain on everyone’s eclipse parade (pun intended).
I’ll be making some sort of sun viewing device using a complex system of mirrors and pulleys (or more realistically, a couple of pieces of cardboard with a hole in the middle). Will also give a report next Tuesday once the eclipse has passed over, hopefully with a few pictures and comments from other people too.
Posted in News
This is REAL Gymkhana
Posted By Dave on June 5th, 2009
Over the past few days you’ve seen a couple of Ken Block’s gymkhana videos (the original is here, and the latest one in HD is here) and been pretty impressed at his driving skills. If so, then quite a few people around the world are watching this video and sharing your opinion. But theere are also a fair few people who are not too fond of his driving, and specifically beucase of the use of the word “gymkhana”. Gymkhana is very technical driving around a relatively small and tight track, requiring great handling characteristics over raw speed. Wheelspinning and sliding loses you time on the exit of corners and it is a timed event so milliseconds mean everything.
So creating as much smoke as possible while you’re sliding around corners at an impressive rate of knots is still not the quickest way to get around the corners. Gymkhana purists are talking about the “Fast and the Furious” effect that this video might have on the import car circuit. By that I mean the misconceptions people had about drag racing after the had watched The Fast and the Furious (injecting nitrous into your engine does not cause everything to suddenly go blurry as if warp speed has been reached). They think that people are going to start treating gymkhana as an event where you just go at top speed and slide your car around everywhere, trying not to it anything.
If you want to see real gymkhana, then a great place to start would be this video below of the JAF Cup here in Japan. Some excellent technical driving on show here by a guy in an Evo.
As for me, I like the video and the MTV-ness of it all. It’s meant as a promotion, and it does that very well. I know it’s not indicative of gymkhana driving and that may mislead some people, but it’s entertaining and fun to show people.
Posted in Cars
Gordon Brown Nazi photo
Posted By Dave on May 8th, 2009
I usually stay away from things outside of Japan unless they really interest me, but I saw this 
photo and it made me smile a little wider than normal and I thought some of you would get a rise out of it too. According to BBC picture editor Phil Coomes’ blog, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has recently hired a woman called Nicola Burdett and given her the task of making sure that the PM does not appear in any embarrassing photos. But it looks like isn’t doing her job too well, with the PM looking like a fully paid-up member of the Nazi party!
Maybe it’s just because I’ve watched Valkyrie at the cinema, or have seen a few WWII documentaries recently, but this picture is an absolute gem I think, especially with the UK in the current climate socially, politically and economically. With the UK possessing 25% of the world’s CCTV cameras, policing tactics getting more heavy-handed (an example being the potential manslaughter case being brought against the police officer involved in the death of a newspaper seller during the recent G20 conference), and the government being seen as more dictatorial than ever, then maybe this picture is more appropriate than it first appears.
Here in Japan, North Korea continues to make Taro Aso’s popularity rise. Should be noted that the less he says and does, the more popular he becomes. His popularity has just risen over 25% in the past week, making his attempt at becoming the least popular leader ever in a democracy in tatters. He’s really going to have to pull something out of the hat to get that mantle before the election in September, but if anyone can do it, I feel he can.
Blog Review: I’m a Seoul Man in Tokyo
Posted By Dave on April 10th, 2009
Got a little time free today so decided to devote a few minutes to continue my “You Leave a Comment, I Review your Site” feature. Next up is Jon Allen’s nicely titled, “I’m a Seoul Man in Tokyo“. I don’t exactly go weak at the knees at a Blogger-produced blog, but they are popular so who am I to judge? Actually, I’m the person reviewing the site, and so I will!
Clean looking site with just a plain white background. Most people on a Problogger poll said they preferred a white backdrop for websites, but maybe a dash of colour wouldn’t go amiss here. One of the first links I will check out when I review these sites is the “About Me” section. It helps me to get to know the author of the site and who they are behind the posts. I was interested to read about how Jon went from the UK first to South Korea and now to Japan. The profile link just provided a list of further links to other sites. To use a fishing analogy, he’d got the bite on the profile summary on the front page, but then failed to reel in the catch in the full profile.
While the front page is easy to read, the sheer number of links on the right hand side can be pretty overwhelming. I counted over 200 text links ad that is before we start at the social networking links. While a number of links is good, readers tend to just start skim reading after the first 10-20 if nothing so exciting initially catches their eye.
Jon’s IT background is evident in his writing content, with the topics frequently covering technology in some aspect. But non-technical minded folk shouldn’t be scared as he does a good job at explaining things. There’s a lot of linking to other sites, but is sticking with the rest of the site and most of the time it is not so excessive. The rest of the articles mention recent and upcoming social events in the Tokyo area, and I can imagine is pretty useful for someone living in Japan’s capital.
The site has some good information on it, and probably just needs to cut down on the number of links. The categories are good, but consider putting the top 10 or so sites up there – the ones you really recommend to people. Oh, and a bit more info in your background profile. Nice work though, and I enjoyed reading through the articles.
Check out I’m a Seoul Man in Tokyo here: http://www.seoul-man.blogspot.com/
If you want your site reviewing here with no catches whatsoever, then leave a comment below or check out this post for full information.
Posted in Reviews
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