Skyscraper District

Living in Ireland,I dont normally get to see tall buildings,the tallest in Dublin is only 16 storeys. So when I was in the worlds most populated metropolis, Tokyo there would be a few taller ones to be seen, and in particular in the 'Skyscraper district' of Shinjuku where tall buildings are allowed to be built due to planning with earthquakes etc. The Shinjuku Center Building was interesting,as it had an observation deck on the 53rd floor.......


So less than 1 minute later I was up there........

Now this view really was something else,as almost to infinity you cant see any greenspace - which really shows how big a city of almost 35 million people is!


Some smog can be seen in each photo as a mist in the distance


Amazing - and 1 minute later I was on the ground again,the high speed lifts make your ears pop

Later a tiny fraction of the 35 million people make their way home

AE86's in Japan

I never really was a big fan of the Toyota AE86, or 'Twincam' as they are more commonly known in Ireland,mainly due to their stupidly high prices, the fact they have a hooligan image and the gardai (police) and insurance companies here hate them! But that all changed when I visited Japan and a drift practice day at Nikko Circuit

Plenty of AE86's (or Hachi Roku which means '8-6' in Japanese) there, along with some committed drivers and mechanics, all ready to push these RWD, lightweight machines to the limit and beyond


Most weight less than 900kg's so its easier to really throw them around


Got a few laps in this 1,crazy. Rough,rusty,full of welded up panels but still a lot of fun,particularly when the engine is approaching 9,000rpm! Go Shino!!!!
This 1 suffered a blown engine,constantly overheating but the driver just kept topping up the radiator until the headgasket cried enough

I was told at the start of the day 'You will like AE86's at the end of the day' And it was true,now I do,suppose sometimes you have to see them in their real habitat showing what they can really do and not in a carpark doing donuts at a cruise - how lame