Thank you Tokyo Motor Show. Been there. Done that. Never again.

Started out the day with the typical Toyoko Inn breakfast, although I must admit it wasn't quite as good as the Toyoko breakfast offerings in the Toyoko Inns in Osaka. So much so that Charlotte and Angela didn't eat anything, and we went next door to the Lawsons mart to grab breakfast for them (and me) before heading back to the room to get ready for today.

We headed out at around 9:30am, headed for the motor show, which meant backtracking through the frustrating, although increasingly familiar journey from Shin-Yokohama --> Shinagawa --> Shimbashi --> Odaiba. Thankfully we've now done that journey for the last time (although we said the same thing 2 days ago). Firstly though, sustenance! We experienced the unrivalled magnificence that is hot chocolate from a vending machine, on a breezy and cool train platform in the morning. Hot chocolate in a bottle from a vending machine may sound weird (and lets face it, it is) but damn it was good.

Compared to the last few days, the weather was absolutely glorious. So much so that I only had a t-shirt on (and pants too, obviously) with no jacket. It was such a clear day, that the train ride from Yokohama all the way to Odaiba gave clear views of Mt Fuji. The first time I've seen the mountain in real life, albeit from quite a distance away, was pretty cool. It absolutely dominates the mountain ranges in the distance when looking from Tokyo, and it is pretty easy to understand why it is such and important symbol to the Japanese. I sort of regret not going to somewhere like Hakone today which is at the base of Mt Fuji. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Once we arrived at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre (http://www.bigsight.jp/english/), we knew it was going to be an interesting day. I use the term "interesting" very very loosely. The number of people, all moving as one giant black haired mass towards the entrance to the exhibition centre was astounding. And disappointing. And aggravating.

Considering:

* This was only the 2nd day of the exhibition
* It was a Sunday
* It was absolutely beautiful weather-wise
* Yesterday's weather was so bad that the opening parade (whatever that entails) was washed out

I probably should have been surprised at the crowds. Still, why couldn't they have all gone somewhere else? I hear Disneyland is quite uncrowded this time of year.

Still, we joined the human glacier and proceeded to shuffle towards the entrance. Why oh why didn't I pre-purchase and print out tickets instead of purchasing at the gate? The pre-purchase lines were practically sprinting through the gates like marathon runners passing a drink station.

Once inside, we made our way into the first hall, and the fighting began. The typical Japanese politeness and courtesy that we have become so used to was nowhere to be seen. Pushing, shoving and general rudeness were the order of the day. So, considering I was at least half a foot taller than most of the other attendees, when in Rome.....

Veronica got very sick of it very early, and bailed outside with Angela to find somewhere quiet to sit down. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. Charlotte and I went exploring.

Firstly to Porsche, then Audi, then VW, it became quickly apparent of the layout of the day. There seemed to be 4 levels of car display, probably proportionate to the value of the vehicles:

1. Any cars that are bog-standard production models were unlocked, unguarded and generally available for anyone to open, close, prod and play with.
2. Cars with a little more prestige and/or value (all Mercedes, Porsche, Audi production models for example, plus the more expensive models of the other car makers such as Subaru, Nissan etc) were all available for the attendees to walk around, press against and get finger prints on, but were locked.
3. Cars of significant value, as well as some concept models, were roped off to prevent grubby finger prints, scratches and snapped aerials (I actually watched a 5 year old boy pulling pretty ******* the aerial of a Daihatsu while his dad was looking the other way. I was sure we was going to snap it. I would have said something except a. I don't speak Japanese; and b. It was only a Daihatsu).
4. Some hero cars are put up on pedestals or on stage, roped off, and guarded. These seemed to be the rarest of the concept models, and they usually had some scantily clad Japanese hostess who didn't look a day over 17 standing in front of them grinning with their best cutesy pose that they had obviously practised extensively to enable them to hold the expression for the hours on end that was required.


I realised 2 things very early on. The girls standing beside the cars serve absolutely no purpose, and only get in the way of a decent photograph. I don't know the Japanese phrase for "move your half naked torso out of my shot" or I would have had plenty of opportunity to use it today.

Secondly, the cars that were behind the barriers gave a much better experience, because you could actually see the whole car at one time. All of the cars that weren't roped off had so many people surrounding them that you could only view each car one small bit at a time, through the wall of people surrounding it. When you managed to push your way to the front, you were so close to the car that you had no chance to view the car as a whole, and you only got to appreciate the bit that you were uncomfortably or at times inappropriately pressed up against. All pointless. From very early on I avoided trying to see cars unless they were cordoned off, unless it was a model I was really, really interested in.

All in all, I was very surprised at the attendance of manufacturers at the show, and it is probably one of the main reasons why I wouldn't bother attending again. While I expected the Japanese manufacturers to be a dominant presence at the show, I expected more of a showing of international manufacturers than what was present. International manufacturers such as Porsche, Audi, VW and BMW were there, but missing were the big 3 of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, as well as all specialist Euro manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Zonda etc.
The reason why these companies were not present I don't know. Perhaps there is some embargo on the attendance of these cars so as not to overshadow the Japanese offerings perhaps? A handful of the Japanese cars could be considered exotic, but put in the same room with the likes of Ferrari or Zonda and they would pale in comparison.

As the day wore on, the crowds increased. And with more crowds came more agro, pushing and general unpleasantness. I was already sick of shuffling through the sea of people, when I felt a hard push in my back. Not particularly bothered I kept moving, because it wasn't the first time. Another push. Then another, turning around, some Japanese guy, about my age, was attempting to push both me and the guy beside me out of the way with both of his hands, inexplicably trying to make a hole between us for some reason. There wasn't anywhere to go, but that didn't stop him trying.

I was unable to turn around because there were so many people, but I slowed my pace just a little to test the theory that he was just being a deliberate jerk, and I was pushed again, this time with both hands, in the middle of my back. The guy then stepped to the side to go around me to fill the very small gap that had formed at the front of me due to my slowing down. The guy had one last lunge beside heading for the gap. As he lunged, so did I. My shoulder, in the middle of his chest, and over we went. Very satisfying. Another patron half caught him and helped him back to his feet. By this stage I was now facing him with a look that would have let him know that it wasn't an accident. At this stage I didn't know what to expect, because after all it is a documented and undisputed fact that all Japanese people know Karate. Once back on his feel he looked at me, but quickly turned away and diverted his path to a different traffic stream, so I think he got the message. I don't get angry like that very often, but I wasn't happy. General pushing and jostling for position I can handle (I was doing it myself after all) but blatant aggressiveness I couldn't take. This was the only example of it that I saw however, so I guess I can't complain. After that little incident, I was sufficiently disgruntled that it was time to find the exit.

We made a pointless diversion to the Western wing of the exhibition centre, which housed a bunch of smaller parts manufacturers and one-off vehicle manufacturers, and electro-hydro-solar-lpg "the future of motoring" demonstrations, after which it was time to get the hell out of the insanity. The only thing I would have liked to see was the Gran Turismo 5 setup, but it was so stupidly crowded that I simply gave it a miss entirely.

If you want a quick view of the highlights of the show, with better photos than I had the opportunity to take, have a look at http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/01/we-o bsessively-covered-the-2011-tokyo-motor -show/

Outside the exhibition centre at around 3pm, it was a relief to be able to take more than 3 full sized steps in succession, without running into someone in front of you. Back to friendly Yokohama, exhausted, for dinner, and rests, ready for the long journey into the mountains around Takayama tomorrow.