Classic Automobile Tour to Japan with Warren Brown

Today we board our flight to Tokyo.

On arrival, Warren will take us to visit the Honda Collection Hall, a transport museum housing a collection of Honda consumer and racing-oriented artefacts. It is on the grounds of the Twin Ring Motegi race track located at Motegi, Japan. The Hall displays approximately 350 restored automobiles and motorcycles, and illustrates the history of Honda and the technologies that Honda has developed over the years. We then visit the Mahojin Super Car Museum that houses a collection of European and Japanese supercars in an old station. We then travel to our northern Tokyo hotel.

This morning Warren will take us to visit the Subaru Visitors Centre. We have a tour of the factory to see how these vehicles are manufactured. Afterwards we visit the Subaru museum to see their collection of vehicles. We then travel into central Tokyo and visit a model shop that displays a vast collection of model cars. We then check into our hotel. This evening enjoy a welcome dinner in Tokyo.

There aren't many places on Earth that blend ancient tradition and the ultramodern quite like Tokyo. Centuries-old gardens and cobblestone laneways live in perfect harmony with soaring skyscrapers and dazzling neon lights. We will visit the Asakusa district, well-known as a region of Old Tokyo, the Asakusa Kannon Temple, a Buddhist temple also known as Sensoji, built in 645 A.D with the finest Japanese architecture. We see the famous Ginza shopping district, renowned as the most expensive real estate in the world which also has several premium car showrooms. This afternoon Warren will take us on an exhilarating experience of driving a Street Go-Kart on a pre-determined route on public roads in Tokyo. Drive under the Tokyo neon skyline on this unique activity.

Today we travel south to city of Yokohama known as the port city of Tokyo. We visit one of the Nissan plants and have a guided tour of the factory. We also visit the Nissan Engine Museum. We then visit the Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery which contains all current models and a number of classic models on display.

Today we first visit Tressa Yokohama. It is a gigantic 'mega-mall' owned by Toyota, and houses dealerships for all of Toyota's marques, which in Japan is more than just Toyota and Lexus and includes Toyopet, Corolla, Netz, and subsidiaries Daihatsu and Yamaha. It also houses auto-related shops including Tamiya, the famous maker of scale model cars. Tamiya has a factory store in the mall, where you can not only choose from a massive range of the company's latest and greatest models, but also watch the sculptors creating Tamiya's next line of model cars. We then visit the Nismo Omori Factory with its showroom full of race cars. We see ASM Autobacs with its famous wall of Recaro seats, Warren will then take us to the famous Daikoku "PA" Parking Area. It is a parking lot in the middle of the ocean. It's meant to be a rest stop for truck drivers. It has been the main place to meet for car groups for decades. We will hopefully see a vast collection of cars here. We will also see tons of vending machines where you can buy snacks and refreshments.

This morning, Warren will take us to visit the Nissan Heritage Museum in Zama. The facility houses more than 450 cars dating as far back as the 1930s and features a wide range of competition cars such as the R390 Le Mans race car and the Fairlady Z. The museum focuses on restoration and safekeeping of Datsun, Prince and Nissan cars, and is curated by former Nissan career employees. We then visit the Fuji Motorsports Museum. This museum explores the history of motorsports from the perspective of the role that they played in "car making." The museum introduces a history that spans 130 years of racing, including roughly 40 exhibits systematically presented. Exhibits include legendary vehicles that have taken part in the highest level of racing, as well as cars that have been unveiled in Japan for the very first time.

Today Warren will first take us to the Yamaha Communications Plaza. It is a three story museum that showcases the many racing bikes and the handful of cars Yamaha has produced. We then visit the Suzuki Motorcycle Museum that presents the many motorcycles and some cars produced by Suzuki. We then transfer to our hotel in Nagoya.

Today we will visit a Toyota plant for a guided tour (subject to Toyota confirming). Later we will visit the Kaikan Museum. We also visit the Toyota Automobile Museum which not only contains an interesting collection of Japanese vehicles, but also European cars and a fascinating annex, which contains over 2,000 "cultural goods" detailing the social history of Japan through the automobile.

This morning we will visit the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry And Technology. It gives you a complete history of the weaving machines and automotive technologies of the Toyota Group. We then visit the Mitsubishi Auto Gallery in Okazaki. The gallery showcases time-honoured cars, ground-breaking cars that have made great achievements in history, competition cars that have been active in motor sports, etc., and the concepts that have been handed down in Mitsubishi's history of creating cars and the modern concept it introduces.

Today we visit the Suzuka Motor Circuit. It is an international standard motor racing circuit that hosts the Japanese F1 Grand Prix each year. It is more than just a Grand Prix circuit. We will experience the Circuit Challenger and feel the exhilaration of driving in an electric car on the Grand Prix Circuit. We then visit the Racing Theatre where we experience the overwhelming speed and power that the racing drivers actually watch and feel using the sensory sound system that conveys the sound with the vibration, sound effects and the 19m-widescreen. We then visit the Dachi Old Car Museum which has a collection of Japanese classic as well as some overseas exotica.

This morning we travel to Komatsu. On arrival we will visit the Motor Car Museum of Japan with over 500 vehicles displayed in a 12,000 sqm exhibition hall. Cars from various countries and eras are exhibited, with sections dedicated to certain manufacturers or categories. In particular, there is a section dedicated to several Japanese made commercial vehicles on display. We then check in to our nearby hotel.

This morning we travel south to Kyoto. On arrival we meet our guide for an overview sightseeing tour before transferring to our hotel in Kyoto. We will visit the Philosopher's Path, a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district that follows a canal, lined by hundreds of cherry trees (we might see early signs of cherry blossom: cherry trees bloom in April). Later we visit the Imperial Palace, which was the residence of the Imperial family until the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1869. Within the Imperial Palace grounds, which are enclosed by a roofed earthen wall, are the Seiryo-den (Palace Hall) and the Kogosho (Minor Palace), reminiscent of the dynastic age.

Today our sightseeing tour of Kyoto commences at Kinkakuji, better known as the Golden Pavilion, a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will, it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. We then visit the Ryoanji Temple, the site of Japan's most famous rock garden. Originally an aristocrat's villa during the Heian Period, the site was converted into a Zen temple in 1450 and belongs to the Myoshinji School of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Later we visit Gion, Kyoto's most famous geisha district made famous from the novel and film Memoirs of a Geisha. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geisha and maiko (geisha apprentices) entertain. The afternoon is free for independent activity.

Today Warren will take us to attend the Concorso d'Eleganza Japan in the grounds of the Yakushi-ji Temple, one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto one of Japan's most prominent UNESCO Heritage Sites. The Concourse has an Italian name because the event focuses on Italian cars. Legendary vintage cars, award winners of many Concours events throughout the world, and precious cars which might only be seen once in a lifetime, will be exhibited. A highlight of the tour!

Today we are transferred to the railway station for our exciting Bullet Train ride on the famous Shinkansen train, travelling up to 270 kmph to Hiroshima, the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. On arrival we visit the Mazda automobile manufacturing complex in Aki for a tour of the facility. Producing over one million vehicles each year Mazda is one of Japan's leading manufacturers and is an innovative player in the Japanese auto industry. For instance, in 1991 Mazda became the first and only Japanese company to win the Le Mans Grand Prix. Continuing efforts to create more efficient vehicles include improving its version of rotary engines. The Hiroshima complex is also the global headquarters of the company. Following the tour of the plant we will visit the Mazda Museum. The museum offers an overview of Mazda's history, a look into the technology of its automobiles and the prospects for its future developments. We then check in to our hotel.

This morning we visit the Peace Memorial Park and Peace Museum in central Hiroshima where the world's first nuclear bomb detonated in 1945. We see the Genbaku Dome, the surviving portion of a structure that was badly damaged in the explosion. This afternoon we take the short ferry ride and visit the Itsukushima Shrine, a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima, best known for its "floating" torii gate. We then return to the hotel. This evening Warren will host us for a final night dinner to celebrate our tour of Japan.

This morning, we travel to the airport for our flights back to Australia.

The group arrives in Australia and tour arrangements conclude.