What IS up with that, eh? I guess I should take it as flattery, but what a nusance. Anyways on to cooler things like my car!
So this is my car. It rocks. It isnt the best on gas, but it is still pretty good by North American standards. I know gas is expensive at home because of the hurricane, but it has always been high here. It is up to 130 Yen a litre...thats about a buck fifty...so all gas price complaints can be directed to my trash can! Ha!
But back to my car! It is a Nisan Rasheen. As far as I know, it doesn't exits in North America. It is about the size of a station wagon, but as you can see it's boxy. It has the cool deer guard with fog lights, and the spare tire on the swing arm. It also has a sunroof. The trunk has a hatch and a tail gate. It came with a roof rack but no cross bars, so I picked a pair up as well.
I think the car is 8 years old, but I'm not postitive, and the sales staff didn't speak English. With my broken Japanese, and a little help from my supervisor, I managed to do most of the buisness. The car was a 135000 KM when I got it, but it still runs great. Apparently it has a timing chain, not a belt. I dont know exactly what the exact purpose of that is, but I can deduce that it lasts longer...which saves a costly repair!
The car is 4wd, so it will be good for when we get feet of snow overnight. This is also the first manual transmition car that I own...I have driven stick before, but never had one to myself. Boy, they are way more fun! It will also be the car of choice to hit the ski hills. More than anything it looks super cool.
I guess the biggest thing of note is the steering wheel. Not the fact that it isnt built for my thighs, but that its on the right! Its kinda funny, because I didnt event think to mention that until I looked at the photos. It actually comes really naturally to drive on the right...I have no idea why though. The only difficulty, and its minor at that, is to make sure you dont drift too far left. The roads are narrow and people drive a little crazy at times. A strong set of wits, and experience driving a big truck are 2 things I recomend before attempting the roads in Japan.
Well that is all I have for now, enjoy these pictures and I have also updated the last post and given the pics some captions!
Cheers all for your continued readership!
9 comments:
Nice ride. Felicitations. Gotta have a stick. Seems like the sort of thing you will be able to recoup some of the cost when or if you go.
Are you wearing your seatbelt???
I second that. glad to see that my car was a good training ground. =-P
Hey Adam!
Nice car! :)
Katrina
p.s. I got those ad comments as well. You can turn on "word verification" to prevent spam comments. (I can't believe spammers even use comment boxes!)
yo Adam - nice ride! you're a rich boy, being able to afford a car and all.
hope you're having fun in it ;)
and btw, you're converting the Yen and CAD wrong. I did that all year too, thinking that everything in Japan was that much more expensive, but it turns out that it wasn't so.
Sooo, 130 Yen would be like a buck 20, which is pretty much the same as the gas price here now. Scary huh.
anyway, keep it comin! :)
oh wait, nevermind. you're right, and i was originally right too - Japan is fucking expensive!!!!
Nice car dude. Timing chains and timing belts serve the same purpose, but a belt is good for 90'000km, and a chain is good for 200'000+. How do you go from no car to super car.
Sweet Wheels!
Ted
Wow! Aren't I the popular one! I guess posts with pics generate many comments! I will try to do a weekly pic from now on!
As far as shifting with my left, it took a bit of getting used to, but now it comes quite natural. The wierd thing is that the petals are still the same way. What is more difficult than left handed shifting is that the wipers and turn signals are reversed. I am good with the turn signals, since I use them all the time, but today when I put on the wipers I accidently put on the turn signal. HA!
As far as recouping cost. I should beable to get someback, but used cars here dont carry much value. This is mainly due to the "Sha-ken" inspection that all cars over a certain age must go through. Imagine aircare for the whole car, that is done to the finest point of detail. They even inspect the spark plugs. This inspection is between 1000 and 2000 CDN and must be done every 2 years. My car luckily had Shaken included in the cost, and it is valid for 2 years now!
Yes I am wearing my seatbelt Mom. I always have. And yes, you car was great training Liz. The clutch on this is less touchy than yours, but the clutch point is much higher. The other thing is that it isnt made for Gaijin legs, so I always hit the stearing column when I clutch...or I kinda drive bowlegged. And come on, my car is cool, but it is no Bug!
I have turned on word verification. I will make a new post on this point.
Claudia, How did you ever doubt that I was right? Hahaha! Japan is bloody expensive for somethings, but if you try hard you can find a deal here and there. In Nakano its pretty easy to get cheap produce, since most of it is grown here. I am sure that a box of peaches would cost much much more than 2000Yen in Tokyo. I am not really rich, I spent my enitre first months paycheque on the car, then more on insurance. It is more a need than a want when I am living out here in 'inaka' (the country side, if your Jisho isnt handy). Besides, screw paying 900 Yen for a train ride into Nagano...the damn Nagaden Trainline is the most expensive in the country!
Ted, thanks for the knowledge on the difference between a timing chain and belt. First I will answer your question, then I will ask my own. I had a car in Canada, but ICBC sucks my balls and settled a claim against me out of court, because it was cheeper than defending the fact that I was not responsible. Consequently my rates went sky high. That is why I didnt drive in Vancouver for the last while. Bastards! Now my question: Why and how do you know the difference between a timing belt and chain? Also, how did the Stallyns do this weekend (I know that this will be posted before the game, but tell me after).
i think your car is pretty.
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