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So our time in Japan is nearly at an end. After 5 years living in Tokyo we are moving on to the next chapter. I have LOVED living here. As an expat/foreigner/gaijin/immigrant – Tokyo offers so much. I felt it was now time to put my musings about my time in Japan into some written form. I hope its not too crass to divide these into two sections…and do please take these with a large pinch of salt 😉
This weekend we got in our last practice camping mission before we set off for real in 2 weeks time!
We went to Nikkō (日光) and spent a few days randomly driving around in the mountains.
We also got to put in a few flights with our new toy, Brian. We bought him 2 weeks ago, but as there hasn’t been the light, weather or space to try him out he’d been confined to his box. But no more!
For a bit of practice video editing I cut together some of the video we shot on our practice camping trips in and around Japan.
Locations include Tokyo, Saitama, Okayama, Sagaminohara, Boso Peninsular.
Filmed on a hodgepodge of DSLR, GoPro and VHS.
Not wanting to be outdone by arch rivals Frome Times; Frome Standard have stepped up to the plate and published their very own article about Fromeward Bound 🙂
Thanks James!
Read the article at Frome Standard: http://www.fromestandard.co.uk/Local-couple-embark-epic-drive-Tokyo-Frome/story-29355943-detail/story.html
Having worked up a design and installed the battery, isolator and circuit breakers I managed to get the last few bits finished off over the last few weeks.
Inside, the plan was:
• 12V to power our fridge
• 3 x 5V USB outlets
• Mains power via a 300W inverter
• A meter to monitor the battery’s voltage
All this will be powered by an Optima YTS4.2L deep cycle battery capable of delivering 55Ah. Theoretically, this should mean a couple of days of refrigeration without having to worry about charging the battery.
Nestled in-between news about the hospital car park and a local slurry leak, Frome Times have written a lovely little article about us.
Read the article at the Frome Times site.
Thank you!
So having bought a 4WD car we thought it might be a good idea to make sure that the 4WD actually works. We had obviously tested that the switch worked but hadn’t taken Totty over anything higher than the odd kerb or two. After a bit of internet research we found a 4WD centre just an hour or so from Tokyo. We decided to book a place and also to take advantage of the camping that they offered too. The place is called Bronco (ブロンコ) (http://www.bronco4x4.net).
Japanese is a cool language – it looks good, it’s fun to learn and it’s what they speak in anime – but unfortunately virtually no-one outside of Japan speaks, reads or writes Japanese. On that basis, when you plan to take a Japanese car out of the country, a little bit of preparation is required to ensure that you have the relevant documentation in a form that can be read by the rest of the world. The following bits and pieces are required:
In true Japanese style we got some (slightly tounge-in-cheek) meishi made up to hand out to folk we meet along the way. This’ll be a lot easier than trying to find a pen and paper if someone wants our details. It’s also comforting to know that we’ve never had a business card for work…..the first time we get some is when we’re both leaving work. Nice:)
This post is the follow-up to Vehicle electrics: Design….. and I’m afraid it’s going to be equally boring! More of a reference for others trying to solve the same problem, than swash-buckling tale of international travel.
In this post, I’m going to concentrate on the bit that lives under the bonnet….
As the person responsible for the ‘installation’ there were a few questions that immediately popped into my mind:
Continue reading “Vehicle Electrics: Installation under the bonnet”