My First Trip To Japan – Wendy Brownie - March 2023
As you may or may not know – I am Ben’s wife – he is the General Manager of The Car Company and if you know me well, you’ll know that during the 14 years I’ve been with Ben – I had never been on a trip to Japan with him buying cars. I was very frequently asked the question whenever it came up in conversation that he was off on another buying trip “have you been to Japan with Ben?” “No”, I would say – “one day I hope to though”.
Well, I thought that day would never come but it did and on the 9th of March 2023 we boarded a plane together – destination Tokyo. I decided to document the trip because I wanted to be able to remember it and know all the places Ben visits whenever he goes on these buying trips, so I’d feel like I was with him each time.
So here is a summary of what we did and where we went and what is involved in the journey of importing cars from Japan.
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Day 1
Auckland - Tokyo - Nagoya
It’s 6:30am, the morning of our journey to Japan to buy vehicles and we’ve just received an email from our IBC agent Jojo to say more than 60,000 new and used vehicles are caught up in a quarantine traffic jam in the ports of Australia on a scale never seen before. The culprits are “pests” which have been detected on board a vessel discharged at the Melbourne port which has meant a huge portion of the vehicles stored around them and in some cases the whole shipments are being held while being cleaned and checked by quarantine officers – This process is taking weeks! It is anticipated to take 3-6 months for this bottleneck to be cleared! This means that all the vehicles we purchase on this trip won’t arrive in New Zealand for quite some time.
We board at 9am and arrive around midnight (NZ time) to our hotel, so it’s going to be a long day, but excitement overtakes the thoughts of tiredness. We have Wi-Fi on the plane which I think to myself – Ben will want to work the whole way over as we are currently working on our new website and with me being the Marketing Manager what a great opportunity to finalise some of the editing etc LOL. There’s no escaping work when you are on a plane with your boss!!
3 hours in and we’ve had lunch – me salmon, Ben beef. I started to watch the series “White Lotus” which I had heard was a great series. A bit quirky but it kept my interest until I decided to try and get some sleep. Dinner was served and before we new it we were 1 hour 20 out of Tokyo.
We landed and wow, how organised this place is, I had envisioned loads of people and queuing for some time, but the lines moved swiftly and efficiently and in no time, we were heading to the train station to purchase tickets to Nagoya. We had to take two trains. At one point we were standing looking around for some reference point to the correct train line and a lovely Japanese man obviously saw we were looking a bit overwhelmed and pointed us in the right direction. Arigato!
The bullet train was amazing, it was dark outside, so I didn’t get to see much of the city but certainly saw the city lights and there sure were plenty of those. We arrived at our hotel, checked in and then decided to go for a wander and find something to eat. I couldn’t wait to try some traditional Japanese food.
We stepped out of the hotel door and walked about 50 meters and found this small traditional restaurant just next door. We used google translate to work out what to eat! It was delicious! Sitting at a small bar watching the chef cook, listening to the sounds of the restaurant and the local language, the aroma of the food, I thought to myself, I’ve made it, I’m here experiencing this fascinating country at last. I am happy.
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Day 2
What a great sleep! I did bring my own pillow which probably helped, the bed wasn’t as hard as I had thought after hearing stories about how the Japanese people love their mattress’s extremely firm. I guess when you’re exhausted you can sleep anywhere!
We got up at 5:30am and our agent Kazu picked us up to head out to our first auction at USSR Nagoya. Kazu is quiet and speaks pretty good English so is easy to converse with. I can’t believe how many cars there are at this first auction, just rows and rows as far as the eye can see. Kazu has already done his homework according to what Ben has asked him to target by way of make, model, k’s, condition etc. So, with his list in hand Ben and I follow him to view the cars he thinks Ben will want to bid on. As we come to each one Ben is very quick to decide yes or no – Kazu checks underneath for any signs of rust and inside for any sign of smoke smell. Ben asks what price he thinks we need to pay and Kazu tells him, and I worked out pretty quickly that Ben tells him less than what he suggests we need to pay – LOL they have a system that works.
I get distracted by cars I think would be great for us, but some don’t have ESC electronic stability control which is now a requirement for vehicles being imported into NZ. My dream car is an Audi RS6 and as luck would have it, they had one in the Euro section! I asked Kazu if it would be possible to take a look as this is a section. Ben never goes to this section being European and not our target market. The cars were something else, all sorts of luxury cars – there really is something for everyone here, including a classic car section.
Anyway, I digress, we head back to the auction house after we’ve looked at all the cars Ben is wanting to bid on and there are rows and rows of seats like in a movie theatre with a computer screen in front of you where you can watch all the cars going up for auction. The dinging of the bell each time something is sold is constant and you soon get used to hearing it. There are people sitting there working and some sleeping! We choose a seat where the other IBC agents are sitting and set up our laptops and wait for the results to come in. Kazu let’s us know how many cars we’ve been successful in getting and I write them on our running list total which we keep track of so we know what we need more of or less of as we go along. We got 10 vehicles today which was a great result I’m told.
Kazu drops us to the train station, and he takes our luggage in his car to Kobe, which is our next stop, he will meet us there. The train ride is 1 hour, and the car ride is 2 hours. This time it is daylight, so we get to enjoy the countryside. There are so many market gardens by the looks of it, horticulture everywhere. We are meeting Kazu for dinner at 6pm in Kobe.
Dinner was a short taxi ride to a small intimate space after you’d climbed a steep set of steps. At the top we were greeted with a beautifully decorated entrance door – very ornate, through the door and we were faced with a draped curtain, through the curtain and into the restaurant itself, although it felt more like dinner at a friend’s house. The décor warm and cozy and the pictures on the walls resembled family members, so we felt very at home. The food came out at a slow pace across the evening with some flavours and textures I had never experienced before. Kazu ordered and we ate! He made sure he ordered plenty of meat for Ben and seafood for him and I. We taxied back to our hotel after dinner, too tired to venture out tonight.
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Day 3
Rise and shine this morning was at 4:30am, on the computer loading some extra purchases that had come through from the day before. We’re meeting Kazu at 7am in the lobby and he’ll drive us to Kobe where we are going to a small auction. We will be there for half the day and then we’ll have the afternoon to explore.
Kazu drove us to the auction stopping along the way at what I can only describe as a truck stop. It had all sorts including coffee, sandwiches, cakes etc etc. I grabbed a banana which seemed like the most appropriate breakfast food! We arrive at the auction which is located right by the ocean, stunning views and stunning weather today. We headed in and grabbed our desk and set up for work mode.
Kazu and Ben talk about what to target at the auction off the list of cars available and we head out to find them and decide if they are a “yes” or a “no”. After walking the rows and giving Kazu the go ahead to bid on certain vehicles, we pack up and head to Kazu’s favourite lunch spot – a ramen restaurant. Wow so nice! Basically, ramen is a big bowl of delicious soup with noodles and your choice of protein, so chicken, pork, beef, fish or tofu. We also had gyoza (dumplings) delicious! I’m not sure I would ever get used to the “slurping” though which is apparently quite acceptable when eating ramen.
We finish lunch and jump back in the car and Kazu drives us to Osaka. He dropped us at our hotel and we will meet him later for dinner. This hotel was quite a different experience with a language barrier which meant it took us quite a while to check in. We spend the afternoon catching up on some work and updating the purchase list of cars so far. Tomorrow is a day off – no auctions.
We taxi to dinner tonight a lovely place by the river – very busy, with the hustle and bustle of a Saturday night. Kazu met us there…. He’s going to take our luggage tomorrow and drive to Kyoto while we spend the day exploring and then we’ll take the train to Kyoto later in the day.
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Day 4
We had a sleep in this morning – 6am wake up 😊 Opened up the laptop and filled out the details of our purchases from yesterday now that all the emails have come through confirming our bids were successful. Once the work was done, we went in search of some “real” coffee, but as we’ve discovered, coffee as we know it back home isn’t a common thing in Japan. They are into filter coffee more so. We actually stumbled across a MacDonalds and the coffee there was the closest to an espresso for now.
We head back to the hotel and pack our bags ready to meet Kazu who will take us and drop us near a good spot for shopping and some lunch. Kazu is going to take our luggage to Kyoto and once again we’ll take the train. Ben has his favourite eating places that he frequents when in Japan and so he took me to one which was by the river and very popular, we got there and had to add our name to the list outside and wait to be ushered inside once a table became available. This is where a sight I had not seen at home was a must take photo moment! A young lady with her bichon frieze in a pram was waiting in the queue for lunch also. I asked her if I could take a photo and she was so excited, she obliged graciously. This pup sat at the table with her for lunch!
We finished lunch and taxied to the train station. We were getting very good at organising our tickets now that we had done the train rides a few times. The train ride took around 20 minutes to Kyoto. We taxied to our hotel which is my favourite so far, a very trendy beautifully appointed hotel with fabrics and wall furnishings to die for. There was even a café/bakery in the foyer which was just beautiful and the coffee we were yearning for.
We got ready for dinner as we were meeting Jojo – owner of IBC, Kyoto is his hometown. We met Kazu and went to an Irish bar where we met Jojo for a drink and then we all wandered to another before heading to our final dinner destination. The small quaint streets are just beautiful and the restaurants are hidden away where you never expect to find such exquisite traditional Japanese treasures. The restaurant we ate at was one Jojo goes to on a regular basis so we were treated like royalty and greeted like long lost friends. The food was exquisite lots of small dishes of various flavours which just kept coming one after another. There was also hot and cold sake of which I preferred the cold. You were offered your tumbler to drink out of from a tray of handmade vessels which was passed around where we were sitting up at the bar overlooking the kitchen – just beautiful. The chef at this restaurant was a Michelin Star chef and his staff work for free to gain his knowledge. I can’t imagine this would happen in New Zealand.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel and ventured up to the roof top bar for one last drink before heading to bed. It was beautiful up there with braziers burning, luxurious lounges and a bar with every drink you could dream of available.
Tomorrow we are visiting the temples and going to an onsen – looking forward to experiencing both.
Day 5
Woke to a rainy day today, but that won’t stop us from exploring some local temples. The temples are a short walk up the hill from the hotel. We follow the groups of people heading that way and meander through the quaint streets filled with small shops selling local wares, mainly pottery and Japanese curios for the tourists. Once at the top the view across Kyoto is beautiful. Lots of greenery, various trees, some of the blossom on the cherry trees is starting to bloom which is what I was hoping to see while in Japan. We wandered back down the hill to our hotel where Kazu picked us up to drive us to the onsen.
The onsen was about a 40-minute drive from the hotel. The weather had turned very cold so I was looking forward to soaking in some hot pools. We arrived and were given a towel and a locker key. There were men’s pools and women’s pools. We went our separate ways and would meet up outside afterwards.
Wow, what an experience. I went in and there were a number of lockers and a beautiful changing area which is where I proceeded to undress and place my belongings inside my allocated locker and then head in through the doors to the hot pools. Once in the pool area, you go into a cubical where you are to shower down before heading into the pool. I proceeded to do this and was quickly and abruptly ushered away by a small elderly Japanese lady shooing me to the side as I’m guessing it was her cubicle! Oh dear, not a great start! So I move to the next one and continue to rinse myself and then head to the pool. It was very hot but nice to sit quietly and just soak. I was the only foreigner in there at that time, so I probably stuck out like a sore thumb! You can’t stay in for long as it is really very hot. I met up with Kazu and Ben outside and we once again hopped in the car and Kazu dropped us at some traditional Japanese gardens for a wander. The gardens were lovely but because it was between the seasons I can imagine in spring when the leaves are on the trees it would have been sensational.
Next stop is back to Nagoya for 4 nights which will be nice to be settled for a few nights in a row. Another train ride for us and Kazu another drive with our luggage. Kazu is great! I realise he’s getting paid for what he’s doing, but he has a great personality, and I can see how Ben has become friends with him.
We arrive at our hotel in Nagoya which is very nice. The rooms have mostly been great but are a lot smaller than we get in a hotel at home, so it’s a case of opening the suitcases and climbing over them to get to the bed. The rooms are extremely tidy and clean though you can be sure of that.
Kazu arrived around 7:30pm with our luggage which we took straight to our room, had a quick change and then hopped into a taxi to dinner. Ben’s choice – Korean BBQ – meat, meat and more meat which you cook yourself over hot coals in the centre of the table. The seating is in separate cubicles, shoes off and feet under the table, another experience to tick off. Back to the hotel and off to bed, another full day of adventure!
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Day 6
Today is going to be a long one, as it started at 3:30am with Ben unable to sleep, up, working on his laptop next to me! Once I’m awake I’m awake, so no going back to sleep for me. Kazu is picking us up at 7am and we’ll head to our auctions for the day. Two different locations for today’s auctions, both fairly small, so we’ll be finished by lunch time.
Finished and off to have some lunch, we found a small café that had espresso and so we enjoyed that had also had a bite to eat. We headed back to the hotel for the afternoon before dinner at 7pm. It’s just the two of us tonight, Kazu is spending time with his wife as Nagoya is his hometown.
Another of Ben’s favourite restaurants – a tempura restaurant and another new experience for me. Wow it did not disappoint, it was outstanding. I feel very lucky to be in Japan with Ben and experiencing this most amazing culture. Eating way too much but hey! When in Japan? LOL. Another big day of auctions tomorrow, time for some sleep.
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Day 7
Up at 5:45am and off to two more auctions today. We had to drive a bit further out of town today, Kazu once again our chauffeur. We managed to secure another 10 vehicles to add to the list yahoo! We’re heading to a fish restaurant tonight, Kazu and his wife are joining us, she doesn’t speak English so good old google translate comes in handy! Kazu orders the food for the table a great mixture, something for everyone. One of the dishes came out that looked a lot like karage chicken – Kazu said to Ben “fried chicken” I thought to myself, I’m not so sure that looks like chicken, I’ll wait until Ben tries it first before I dive in. Sure enough, it wasn’t chicken 😊 it was in fact PUFFER FISH! Yes! Apparently it needs to be prepared in a certified kitchen because of the poisonous glands it contains, so filleting it has to be done by a professional. I wasn’t game to try it hahaha.
So far we have purchased 44 cars with 5 auctions to go! Back at our hotel after dinner, loading the new purchases then off to sleep. Tomorrow I’m going to give the auctions a miss and have a wander around the shops.
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Day 8
Ben is off to the auctions today and I get to have a day of exploring. I headed out at 9am and wow the shopping it out of this world, I just enjoyed looking rather than buying to be honest. It was overwhelming, beautiful clothes, shoes, everything! I did make one purchase, a Marc Jacobs handbag, a memento of my first trip to Japan. The shop assistants were outstanding with their service and attention to detail, they made me feel so special, bowing to me as I was leaving the store. The people are dressed immaculately everywhere you go. Kazu had booked a massage for me which was the best massage ever. Very different to ours, there was no oils or touching directly on the skin, everything was done with a towel over my skin, but it was just awesome. I will return if I get to go back one day.
Dinner tonight is out with some other New Zealand dealers who buy cars over here too, but before that I need to load the cars Ben has purchased today, another 13! It was lovely once again, a bit more of a westernised vibe but still very nice. There was a dealer from Hamilton and some of the other agents from IBC.
Day 9
Back to USS Nagoya for our last auction here and then of to Kyushu this afternoon for the night and one more auction. The auction went well today with another 11 cars to add to our total! Looks like we are heading to 80 in total for the trip which is a record Ben tells me – I must be his lucky charm!
We head back to the hotel to load up the cars onto the spreadsheet and catch up on emails, it’s my Mum’s birthday today so I’ll give her a call to wish her a happy birthday. Kazu is meeting us at 6:45pm for dinner.
I’ve noticed the buildings here are all very much the same in colour – very mono tone which works with the landscape – even the high rise buildings are the same maybe it’s so they are less obtrusive on the environment.
The cherry blossom is coming out and looks beautiful, would be even more beautiful in another week I would say.
We’ve had a delicious meal tonight, sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by many Japanese businessmen all smoking and laughing with great gusto! At first I was sceptical of sitting there surrounded by the smell of cigarette smoke, but it actually made the atmosphere – this is true Japan! I just sat and took in the whole experience, this is so cool. The food was incredible we had it all, raw fish, karage chicken, tempura prawns, beef neck, dumplings! Delicious!
With tired eyes we head back to the hotel for our last night in Nagoya, we head to Tokyo tomorrow after our last auction in Kyushu. Up at 5:30am tomorrow, Kazu picking us up at 6:30am.
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Day 10
Well today didn’t go quite to plan, we got picked up by Kazu and Shoji and head to the last auction location, stopping on the way at the convenience store for our last Japanese convenience store coffee and breakfast LOL. When we came out of the store Kazu was on the phone and was sounding like there was an issue.
Kazu said he’d just received an email from Jojo to say halt all buying at the auctions as the problem with the shipping and the backlog of vehicles was just too huge. We were ok about it actually as we’d hit 81 cars in total so we weren’t desperate to buy any more.
The cars we’ve purchased will go to the inspection centre at the port and then those inspection sheets are emailed to Ben showing any defects, external, internal or underneath, also anything structural that could stop him from wanting to confirm the purchase. If something is found Ben is not entirely happy with then this is the time he is able to cancel the purchase. Otherwise if all is ok it gets checked by MAF for any bio hazards then it gets another check at our New Zealand end at compliance to make sure the vehicle is safe for our roads.
So we all jump in the car and head off to the airport. We went to see if we could get an earlier flight to Tokyo, lucky we had Kazu with us so he could talk to the airlines and work out our best and cheapest option. We ended up paying another $900 to change our flights but that was better than a 5 hour train trip or waiting 5 hours for our original flight. We arrived in Tokyo around 12:30pm and took a taxi to our hotel.
We chilled for a bit and then went out for a look around the city. Kazu had booked our dinner for us already and also chose the food so all we had to do was turn up and enjoy.
We found a cool bar that had oysters and champagne advertised on their board on the footpath, say no more! We headed in and sat at the bar, we were the only ones there and had their full attention. We were tempted to stay here but I’m glad we didn’t because the teppanyaki bar we went to was outstanding. The food, the atmosphere 100% a few more champagnes later and we wandered back to our hotel.
Day 11 - Final Day In Japan
We are heading home tonight so before we go we want to take a look around Tokyo. We started our day with a swim in the hotel pool, what a beautiful complex, everything is so clean everywhere you go. The pool rules were no showing tattoos and you had to wear a swim cap. I managed to swim 20 lengths and then we hopped out, wandered to find a coffee and then headed back to the hotel to change and pack our bags ready for our departure. We left these at the hotel while we caught a taxi to Shibuya Square which was incredible to watch – so many people all crossing the road at once. There is a Starbucks right on the crossing so we headed upstairs and looked down to see the action – people everywhere but all very calm and walking without pushing or shoving, typical Japan very orderly and considerate. Being a Sunday I guess there may have been more people than usual.
The people are all dressed immaculately, the stores full of beautiful clothes, shoes, jewellery, I’m in heaven just looking.
We taxied back to the hotel to collect our luggage then onto the train station for our ride to the airport. This was about a 45 min trip. The transport system here is amazing, the trains are all on time to the second.
We arrive at the airport and get checked in, we also managed to get an upgrade to premium economy which will be nice for the flight home.
I’ve been so lucky to have been able to experience this most amazing country and the Japanese culture first hand which is second to none I’ve experienced. New Zealand could definitely learn a thing or two from the way they do things here in Japan. Thanks Ben for sharing this part of your world with me – I’ll be back – if you’ll have me…… LOL.