Bolwell Ester 2013 - Albany Day 1

Firstly, thank you to all those who arranged and helped to arrange the weekend, it's been a great start so far to the Bolwell Easter Meeting, 2013.

So we had cars from around the southern half of the country head to Albany for a couple of days of mutual adoration, plus the people get to catch up with each other, renew and make new friendships, and generally all behave like teenagers with toys again.

Cars were brought to town on trailers and behind vans.

And as we love our fiberglass cars, we're not too picky about who joins the gang.

a J&S Hunter

a GT 40 replica

In the Bolwell range a nice selection, though not complete (but a November Celebration of Motorsport will hopefully have such)

a Mark 4 (with night cap on)

A couple of Mark Sevens

And the Nagari

Plus the new Mark 10 Nagari

But with the door sill (though not as wide as the GT 40), it's still not that much easier to get out of than a normal Bolwell.

People needed to road test the cars to make sure everything survived the trip down.

There were cars of passing generations

Some cars (well most Bolwells really) still have the odd improvement/adjustment still to be completed.

And some just needed to be pondered over.

Once everyone had sorted out their cars, a little tlc finishes off the serious part of the day.

 Before we can hang out and do what we've apparently always done, eat, drink and be merry (and say what we'd like to still do to the car).

 And I apologise to the car or two that isn't shown. But I'm sure that'll be rectified when we have our Concourse event tomorrow (today).

Hooray, I can take more photos :)

Mundaring Motorkhana

The Mundaring Motorkhana will be on April 21. If you want to play you need to register by April 8th. It is run by the Sports Car Builders Club of WA if you want some more information. If nothing else I reckon it'll be a load of fun to go and watch as there aren't enough of them around anymore.

Fuji-san

So today I joined a tour group to go and see Mt Fuji. This was an excursion I was really looking forward to and I have to admit, Mt Fuji is certainly something to experience.
Boarded the tour bus mid morning, a time designed I assume so the tourists could sleep in and the weekday tours avoid some of the traffic. Our guide/announcer has a name that means Spring and she was quite well versed with not just English, but keeping the group entertained. During some of the travel legs her humor had the bus laughing and the constant repeating to make sure she was understood lead to a few snickers down the back of the bus as well.
So on to Fuji. The first stop at the Mt Fuji visitor centre about 90 minutes after leaving Tokyo had four bus loads of tourists jostling for space to take a photo of the mountain partially obscured by the bare winter trees. So many chose to see the rest of the centre, browse the gift shop, or stand and chat before finding some space to try some photography again.

Back on the bus.
As winter has just ended much of the mountain is still snow bound. As a result it had been deemed to dangerous by the park to have the road open beyond Step 4. No worries, we made it to here instead of another 300m altitude to Step 5 for another photo opportunity. This time the aim wasn't for pictures of Mt Fuji, we were to far up to really photograph the summit. Instead the view was back to the mountain range to the north with its snow capped ridge.

Back on the bus.
And away from Mt Fuji. That's ok, we were now on our way to Hakone which is in an old caldera at about 900m elevation. On our way up to gain entrance into the caldera, there were some amazing full mountain views of Fuji-san from the bus. If only we had stopped and been allowed out for a minute to take advantage of this. But into the caldera and a late lunch at what appeared to be a hotel. As the only tourist bus it was a surprise that some people were still waiting for their food 40 minutes after arriving. Not so surprising was the sub standard quality of the food. Having eaten nothing but good food between back alleys and higher end locations, to remember that a tourist destination will always cater to a lower common denominator was a shame.

So I didn't get enough photos of the mountain (and I like taking photos), and the food wasn't so good, and at half past two in the afternoon I'm beginning to get a little disappointed at wasting my money and vowing to do it properly with my own transport next time.
Now after lunch the bus load of people joins a massive line to board a pirate styled boat for half an hour on the central caldera lake, Lake Ashi. There is nothing like some fresh air to cheer the soul. Finding a spot on the boat in the cool air made for a relaxing half hour. Watching the local fishermen cast either wading from shore or from little boats, the scenery, a swooping hawk. And all on a clear cool day just helped immensely.

Back on the bus.
This time back to a gondola ride which would take us up near the rim of the caldera to active steam vents. The air became sulphurous and out into the wind we went. The area itself is famous for the cooking of eggs in the boiling water at the vents. This gives them a black shell due to the sulphur and iron in the water.

But a decent engineering project is also underway as a large landslide a few decades back moved a lot of dirt down the hill. So they are trying to make sure the existing infrastructure, tourism and most importantly people remain in place for a long time to come.

Back on the bus.
And the bus ride back down the outside of the caldera rim to Odawara where we boarded the bullet train back to Tokyo. The half hour trip certainly beat taking another 2-3 hours on the bus back to Tokyo at the end of the day.
Next time it will need to be a summer trip when the hiking trails are opened allowing for summit hikes. And hopefully the opportunity to also take a full mountain photo :)

So, eating out in Tokyo, Japan? Well I hope you like seafood. It is good and fresh and they certainly know how to cook it, or at least present it nicely if you're in the mood for sushi and sashimi.

Before first thing in the morning the markets are well and truly active. If you're looking for freshly de-boated fish, vegetables and flowers then the Tokyo fish market is where to source your product. Not only for the wholesalers and wholesale buyers, but an extended market industry has placed itself around this location so the common and not so common can purchase second hand as well. The amount.of different species of swimming and growing entities is mind boggling.

The smells of the fresh food cooking and the squabble of bartering in the market along with the sights fills the senses. In the wholesalers auctions take place over the aquatic product in a sing song way that is very melodic to the ear. Preceded by the bells and followed by more bells for the next specimens to go under the proverbial hammer.

Move away from the market places and take a step each side of the tracks. It really is a division in the Ginza area of Tokyo. To the north side of the railway is the high end shopping district with cafes and restaurants to match. And all the name brand stores, Mont Blanc, Prada, Louis Vuitton to name a few.

South side and it becomes the worker district, even more neon just on a smaller and messier scale. But the alleys become narrow, the stores small and noisy, the food cheaper but no less for it.

The quality of the ingredients is exchanged for a different experience, where shoulders rub and the tables are worn. But most importantly the taste doesn't suffer. You still choose noodles or rice as a base or as the bowl of food to accompany your main meal, plus miso soup and some pickles or similar to help round out the flavor. Both sides have people lined up outside the doors for the places offering good value and good fare. The restaurant serving coal grilled fish in the back alley or the high spending place where the dress is sharper and the people more well defined. They all have a reason for waiting and it's called good food.

The chances are you are still being served fish, chicken or pork. Though beef is almost common and lamb not so much. Likely soy on the table, a serving of green tea provided, and the mastery of chopsticks is required. But a few meals in and the hand knows what to do.

It makes for an enjoyable experience eating in Tokyo. Choosing where will always leave the palette happy, its the remainder of the dining experience that changes with the location of the time. I for one certainly can't complain.