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mtbkym01

Japan Visit

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It's all good, most will get (free) freighted, and I'm pretty aware of Australian Customs and Border Protection legislation, in fact it's my job to know it, if you know what I mean ;)

Ahh, nice work gov! :D

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Good luck let us all know what you get and I will be very interested in the customs and how it works as I am off to the USA later this year and was also thinking of doing the same sort of purchases!

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Hay you maybe able too pickup a Nova Fox in japan ? for some thing different .

That would make it special Fox ..

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Well I'm currently right in the middle of my trip and having a ball, been to RC Champ and Tam Tam hobby shops so far, no Bruisers in stock at either though unfortunately. Gonna check out Tamiya Pla Model Factory and also try and find Super Rajikon to hopefully score the bruiser, the Nova Fox kit is off the table as I already got one, so now thinking a Brat and a WW2 (so cheap here). My other issue is the freight situation has probably changed, so I'm limited to 30kgs on the plane home, so I think a Trailer for my Aeromax may just be too bulky to get home this time.

All in all, Japan is an awesome place and somewhere that I will return too in the near future, got some pics I will post when I get home and sort them out.

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That sounds like a hoot! This trip sounds like a bucket list item.. Take lots of pictures and have fun!

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Bin your clothes mate . That lots is far better use of your baggage allowance lol.

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If your over the 30kg's , you can pay more & that will be still cheaper than mailing it ?..

Looks like a great haul you have , Did you get a wildwilly as i see the blackfoot & kingcab in there .

So have you got alot of pic's ?.

A shame that the Egress is not out yet !! , As you could have got one of those :D ..

May you have fun for the time you have left there & remember the pic's for us all :P ..

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I've got a dilemma......image_zps9811130b.jpg

And not much room :(

Why not buy it & then post it ?.
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just pack it to a really high standard ie strong box , polystyrene ect ect and post it to yourself . No Worries Cobber. When will you next see one at that price ? - around £240 give or take .

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I've got a dilemma......image_zps9811130b.jpg

And not much room :(

RC kit is like desert...there is ALWAYS room... just ask any female about hot fudge chocolate cake.

you are there already...go for it, else you will regret later...go the extra mile/yen...give it 110%... be all you can be, now i am sounding like a US military commerical.

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As it turns out, it's not a complete kit (it's actually a pawn broker type store) so I gave it a miss. Another day today, and some more hobby shops (Again, not all mine, I think my team mate has ended with just as much as me ;) )

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Back home safe and sound. Got all my gear home as well, with my Flatbed Trailer to arrive by (free) freight at some time soon, got heaps of photos to sort and will post a selection that's relevant once downloaded and sorted. I must say though, if you ever get the chance you have to visit Japan, IMO, Japan is the greatest place (to visit atleast) in the world, so colourful. Extremely busy, yet such organisation that everything seems to run like clockwork. The rail system is mind boggling, yet so simple to get around. Put it this way, I'll be heading back soon. Stand by for more :)

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Looks like a very lucrative, wallet emptying trip !

:lol: , But we can do this at home :P , I would love to go to japan . I would want to buy everything RC & would not able to help

my self :D .... Maybe next time you go mtbkym01 , let me know & i will look at coming as well :lol: . Then you can hold me back from

buying everything & i will help you buy it instead HAHA ! ...

PS: can't wait too see the pic's . As i'm sure you enjoyed your self .

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Ok, photo time, now there are gonna be a few so I will break them down to different days and visits etc.

I will start with the main reason for visiting Japan and that was accompanying (a group of 6 of us ended up travelling) the Mugen Seiki Australian Distributor (I am lucky enough to receive a bit of support for my 1/8 offroad racing from Mugen Seiki Australia) to the 2013 1/8th IC Track Racing IFMAR World Championships held at the Keitune Speedway about 2 hours train ride from Tokyo. We had a fantastic time as guests of Mugen Seiki.

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An amazing track with a literally sticky racing line

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A couple of world champions in our midst, Atsushi Hara and Andy Moore enjoy a semi final

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Hara on track, this guy is amazing, he just qualified into a semi final at position 20, finished 2nd in his semi to graduate to the final, where he finished on the podium. Watching him construct a race first hand was amazing, especially since this category is not his 1st choice, being the 2008 1/8 IC Offroad WC

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Being allowed onto the track to photograph the finalists was awesome

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All drivers on the stand ready for the 1 hour long final

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A couple of legends come together, yes that is Masami with Hara in this pic

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Now I know this category is not really relevant to TamiyaClub, but these cars are a work of art, and travel at astonishing speeds, first up is Hara's Mugen Seiki MRX5 WC Spec, followed by the speed trap towards the end of the straight

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Yes that is in KM/H :o

Here is the podium with Japanese drivers finishing 1,2,3 (&4)

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Like I said, I know this isn't really what TC is about, but this was a WC and probably the F1 of RC car racing, the atmosphere of just being there with some absolute legends of the sport really did blow my mind, I had an awesome time, and it was just the start to a great week in Japan. More pics and stories to follow in the following posts, stay tuned B)

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Great 1st lot of pic's & at the end of the day it's still RC & this is what we all like :) .

Must have been a fantastic experience .

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Great pics!

Hara did well and I really thought Jilles would have ended on the podium, unfortunately not.

Yes Jilles had great pace in his semi, but ultimately unreliability seemed to let him down at the end of the day

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So moving on it was time to explore Akihabara, to locate some hobby shops. Not only are there the RC shops but also plenty of other smaller static model shops, robot shops, model train shops etc. Name your hobby, and Japan can cater for it, what an awesome place.

First up was Aso Kit City, which had a lot of Tamiya static kits and Mini 4wd kits (Blackfoot & Hilux Monster Racer Mini's came home with me)

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Then we located TamTam Hobby shop, quite a large store over a couple levels high up in a building, This caters for static models and RC, and where I found WW2 for around $80AUD

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Just around the corner from TamTam, is RC Champ Advisor, which I was really looking forward to especially to get a Bruiser Kit, unfortunately I left disappointed as they were sold out, and as the day was ending, didn't get to have a big look around (just had to return another day :P )

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So another day, this time walking distance from the hotel to the most amazing place (and most expensive) being Tamiya Plamodel Factory, if you want to see what Tamiya currently has on offer, this is the place

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The basement level is the RC level, full of kits, XB's and completed display models

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Ah, the elusive Bruiser (approx. 30,000 Yen dearer than I was prepared to pay)

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So, I had to buy something from here, so a Mini Nissan King Cab, a Tamiya T-Shirt, A Tamiya Bar Runner, A Tamiya key ring, and a small Tamiya Draw string bag made the trip back to the hotel with me ;) (for some reason I only took a photo of the bags)

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Later on this same day, it was back to Akihabara, stay tuned B)

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