Shizuoka Hobby Show
As a result of winning the prestigious Master Modeler award at the 2003 Tamiya Con in Southern California in April, I was also awarded an all expense paid trip to Japan to attend the Shizuoka Hobby Show (pronounced Shiz Whoa Ka) and tour of Tamiya Headquarters. This trip was scheduled for the 14th – 21st of May 2003. Unfortunately, I had to fly back two days prematurely in order to get back to sea on my ship, but nonetheless, this trip was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Finally, an award that makes all of the time devoted to model building worthwhile!
My flight itinerary involved a quick flight to Seattle from Victoria and then a long 9-hour flight to Narita Japan, just outside of Tokyo. The journey to the land of the rising sun was rather eventless except for a “Code Red” at the Seattle airport while I was clearing US customs. The whole airport was shut down for whatever reason and all I could think about was being delayed for catching my connecting flight to Narita, but luckily, the event lasted for only fifteen minutes. I thought for sure that my McLaren would cause all sorts of problems while transiting through Canada, US and Japanese customs, so I was pleasantly surprised when nothing was really even mentioned about me hand carrying my Formula One art in a carefully packed plastic tool box.
After collecting my luggage in Japan and clearing customs, I was promptly met by Richard, the Tamiya USA representative and led to the rest of the award winning model builders from the States. In all, there were nine of us that had travelled from North America to attend the Shizuoka Hobby Show. We then met Shin, an employee from Tamiya USA that was Japanese, who guided us on our continuing journey to Shizuoka City. This included about an hour-long train ride to Tokyo Station, and then hopping on a bullet train that would take us to Shizuoka Station. By the time we had checked into our hotel at approximately 9:00 PM, we had all been up for at least 24 hours, but I was still going strong on adrenaline! The hotel name was the Shizuoka Century Hotel and is among the best in the city. I was extremely impressed with our accommodations; this hotel was absolutely incredible…I couldn’t imagine what the rate was for living in such a lavish facility as this was. After taking our baggage to our rooms, we met back down in the lobby for a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. Our hosts now included Shin, Goto and a couple of other Tamiya Japan employees.
I was a little apprehensive about eating Japanese food as I am a picky eater, but, for whatever reason, I decided to go with the flow and tried just about everything that was served, which included some pretty exotic food, but I will get into that later! Tonight’s meal was Sushi. It was a unique restaurant, whereas the food servings were going by each table on a conveyor belt and you simply plucked a plate off the line as it went by. By the time was all said and done, I was quite impressed with the many varieties of Sushi that I tried and was quite proud of myself for actually eating as much as I did. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, this is when the beer drinking started and really didn’t finish until my departure 5 days later!!!
We arrived back at the hotel and I was preparing to catch up on some much needed sleep, that is until we ran into two Kiwi’s (New Zealander’s) on the elevator. They were representatives from Tamiya New Zealand distributors. It was at this time that we found out about the open bar and reception up on the 18th (I think it was 18) floor. It took us all about a tenth of second to decide this is where to go, besides, who needs sleep when there is free booze!!! So, for the next couple of hours, we socialized with the 15 or so people in this lounge that were in one way or another, associated with Tamiya and/or the Shizuoka Hobby Show.
Finally, it was time for bed and day one of my adventure was complete.
The next morning came all too soon, but like I said before, who needs sleep! The first photo I captured of the total 781 photos taken was of all things, the “toilet” in my hotel room bathroom! It was quite the technological “throne”. It featured assorted buttons, dials and lights. I won’t get into the details, but it was indeed a magical experience!!! Yeah, I know TMI (Too Much Information). Anyway, we all met in the hotel restaurant for breakfast for an amazing buffet, which featured an excellent assortment of both Japanese and somewhat, Americanized food. The surrounding aura of the Shizuoka Century Hotel is quite breathtaking and provided a tranquil relief to the typical hustle and bustle of Japan.
The first event of the day was to proceed to Tamiya HQ with our models to be afforded some time for assembly and repairs if needed. The Tamiya HQ building(s) were absolutely incredible, impeccably maintained and a visual wonder. The first item that you see as you ascend the front foyer staircase is an Isuzu Formula One engine on display. That is no typo, it was Isuzu…and what and where it came from is still a mystery to me. Then, “It” came into sight, the elusive Tyrrell P34 Six-Wheeler Formula One car that was owned by Mr. Tamiya and displayed proudly in the immense front hall. There were other Formula One cars on display as well as two Grand Prix Yamaha Motorbikes and other full size vehicles, but…we were whisked on by to proceed up to the room to make repairs, so it was only a quick glance that I was afforded to these beautiful historic race machines. My blood pulsed and could not wait to give these showroom cars the attention they deserved!
The large room that that we were escorted to in order to unpack our models and effect repairs was actually some sort of storage room that was packed to the ceiling with a huge assortment of Tamiya items. Everything from thousands of R/C (remote control) cars and parts to large display cases consisting of hundreds of built up models simply collecting dust. There were Tamiya boxes of everything you could imagine everywhere. It was just so overwhelming for the model enthusiast to take this all in at once! I unpacked my McLaren expecting to have to make some repairs, but amazingly, it was perfect, all it needed was a quick polish and it was good to go. Tamiya provided essentially any tool and/or supplies needed to effect repairs, still in their respective brand new packaging. The large Master Modeler trophy was then unveiled and it was my duty to screw the 2003 Master Modeler plaque onto this gorgeous award. What an HONOUR!
It was then time to proceed to lunch, but not before stopping in the main showroom to admire the full size cars on display. Now that I had a few moments to snap some photos, I came to realize what full size cars were being exhibited. There was of course the two Yamaha GP bikes (2002 and 2003 (I think) versions), the P34 Six-Wheeler, a Lotus 102B F1 car, a Lotus John Player Special era F1 car, an assortment of other street motorcycles that Tamiya had reproduced in scale, the Tamiya sponsored SUV that ran in the Paris to Dakar Rally as well as a couple of other full size cars that I really didn’t pay much attention to that I should have. Amongst the full size cars and bikes on display were display cases with some very unique built up models that I would pay more attention to latter on when we returned to Tamiya HQ. My head was in full overload and just could not comprehend all of the treasures that were in front of me!!!
After lunch we loaded up into the Tamiya vans to proceed for a little sightseeing. We found ourselves driving up a winding mountain road that would take us to a Sky Tram that transported us over the most incredible valley to another mountaintop which would be the location of one the most famous temples in Japan. The 1184 large steps would eventually bring you to the grave sight of a historical Japanese Emperor (?), but along the way were many ancient buildings and structures that were impeccably maintained to preserve the highly valued Japanese history. The museum on these grounds provided artifacts, warrior armours, swords and traditional Japanese headdress for the preservation of Japanese culture. It was well worth the visit to learn some history of the Japanese people.
Next stop…Rainbow Ten. For those of you who do not know the significance of Rainbow Ten, this is the Hobby Shop that I have an account with that I conduct most of my online mail ordering with. What a great surprise this was. Upon entering this wonderful hobby shop, I instantly came to the conclusion that this place is going to take quite a while to see everything; this place was huge with an upper loft stacked with model kits. The first item that was of interest to me was Volume 17 of F1 Modeling magazine, which was the latest issue. I have a subscription of this publication through Rainbow Ten, so I asked if I could buy this issue now instead of them mailing it to me, but the first employee could not understand me, so another came out to assist, I explained what I wanted and then he disappeared into the back room. Moments later he returned with an envelope addressed to me all ready for shipping…I couldn’t believe the coincidence; I walk into a hobby shop on the other side of the world to have a package handed to me with my name and address all ready to go. That saved me the shipping charges. Now, the next order of business was to find the aftermarket parts and decals section. I started loading up with many various parts and quickly realized I needed a basket to contain my findings. I was like a big kid in a candy store, filling up the basket with all sorts of goodies. I emptied the rack of Sakatsu turned aluminum parts, all of the Modeler’s carbon fibre was now mine as well as all of the new Studio 27 carbon fibre and Kevlar decals. I wasn’t too interested in the model kits, as I knew we would be shopping at the Tamiya HQ as well as the free kits that would be given to me. I then proceeded to the paint and modeling tools area, which was very extensive and I loaded up with various paints and tools that are either unavailable or were just to darned expensive to buy in North America. For those of you who may stop buy my house, you’ll see the treasures that I acquired. If by chance you ever get an opportunity to visit this awesome hobby shop, don’t pass it by, you will not be disappointed…just make sure you get there ahead of me, cause there’ll be nuthin’ left!!!
It was now time to pick up our models at Tamiya HQ and drive to the Shizuoka Hobby Show to set up. The show was closed to the public when we arrived, so we had a quick opportunity to see the elaborate displays set up by the many manufacturers that were present to showcase their newest products and current catalogue of goods. The booth that was going to be used to showcase our models was not yet set up, so we ensured a safe place to store the models overnight and we would return early the next morning to set up the 2003 Tamiya Con winners booth that stood predominately in the area where the Japanese Model Clubs would display their creations. It was now time for dinner.
Tonight’s feature dinner was a traditional Japanese seafood restaurant located across the street from the Hotel at the Shizuoka Station. I’m not a big fan of seafood, so again, I was a little apprehensive but nonetheless, the dinner was delicious for the most part! The only part of the meal I declined to eat were these 4-inch long whole fish, which meant eating the head, tails, fins…everything. I just couldn’t get past eating these little guys when they were looking right back at me! Again, the beer was constantly flowing, and I must say…Japanese beer is very tasty! The whole bunch of us guys that attended this trip were great, everyone got along very well, each with their own unique identity and humour provided a foundation for a knee-slappin’ good ‘ole hoot! We all had a magnificent time throughout the whole trip. It was probably around 10:00 PM by the time we all headed back to the hotel for some well-deserved rest.
Finally, the big day had arrived, the Shizuoka Hobby Show. The show formally opened at 09:00 AM and when we arrived at about 08:15, there was a very long line up of people waiting to get in. We picked up our models from safekeeping and then proceeded to the Tamiya booth to set up. The plan for the whole day was to remain at the show and we had free reign to explore the two super large buildings that housed the Hobby Show. The one complex contained basically all of the plastic model companies such as Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Aoshima etc. The second building housed the R/C (remote control) and diecast manufacturers as well as the multitude of Japanese model clubs that were on hand to display their creations, from cars, figures, armour, aircraft, ships and everything in between. This was by far the largest collection of built up models I have every seen in one place, without a word of a lie, there had to have been over five thousand models on display…it was absolutely incredible, and I would have to estimate that 90% of the models were of the highest standard of model building. It took literally hours to look at just the automotive subjects, let alone every model. After a quick walk around of the model club display, I headed to the other building; straight to the massive Tamiya display area, of course, the new 1/20 Williams FW24 Formula One car was the first item I wanted to check out. The presentation display for the new Williams was incredible, and was a sight to behold. I could not wait to get this kit into my collection, but soon enough I would be handed one by Mr. Tamiya. The Tamiya area contained a large R/C track, a Mini 4WD track and also a Dangun Racers track. In one area of the Tamiya display, they were selling most of the current Tamiya catalogue items at a very reduced rate, including tools, shirts, etc. For example, the 1/12 Ferrari 312T was selling for the equivalent of $25.00 Canadian, that’s about 60% off the regular price. Most other items were 30% off. I could have bought so many kits for dirt cheap, but…how on earth would I be able to pack them all up to fly home? Yes, I know, you all are grieving for me!!!! I also saw the new pre-decorated 1/24 Tamiya kits that feature the bodies completely painted and decaled including window trim. On display representing the pre-decorated kits were the Original-Teile CLK DTM, Porsche GT1, and Opel DTM. They were quite impressive and with the addition of clear coat, these are items that will have to be watched out closely for on the contest table. They retailed for 4400 Yen, which is about $45.00 US, so they’re not exactly inexpensive. I can’t describe every detail of the show, as it would take a novel to do that, but take it from me…the manufacturers display was just amazing. I almost forgot to mention, the 1/12 Revell Ferrari F2002 Formula One car was also on display, but it was probably just a test shot, as only 4 or 5 sprues were laid out including the main body parts. I can tell you this, it is not Tamiya quality and the fidelity was not there, but it may build up to a reasonable representation of 2002 F1 championship car. The price indicated…28000 Yen, which works out to about $280.00 US…definitely not cheap. I guess I’ll have to wait and see when the model is actually released to the public.
Going back to the other complex, the R/C display was just as outstanding. I never knew there were so many remote control products available on the market. Everything from cars, trucks, helicopters, aircraft and watercraft were on display to the R/C enthusiast. The most impressive items were of course large scale, some of the helicopters were as long as six feet long, there were ¼ scale R/C cars that just blew me away and yachts that were so incredibly realistic, you could have sworn they were taken from the harbour at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Exoto diecasts are a force to be reckoned with, so highly detailed that it would be hard to separate them from a high end build from a, oh, let’s say a Master Modeler!!! The Ebbro diecasts were also very nicely done, but I don’t believe they are available in the North American market. They mostly specialize in 1/43 and have a vast amount of subjects. There was also a real IRL (Indy Racing League) car and a Formula Nippon (looks like an F3000) open wheeled racecar on display as well. Also representing the full-scale cars was the real Mad Max black Interceptor (???), which was pretty darned cool.
The main attraction for me, other than the Tamiya exhibit was the Japanese Model Clubs display. Visualize the size of a hockey arena; this would probably be the approximate size of the club display. I can’t even start describing the vastness of subject material that was replicated in scale; it was truly a model builder’s dream to witness this remarkable event. Again, for those of you interested, I have hundreds of photos that cover this display, so just stop by my house.
The Shizuoka Hobby Show closed to the public at 5:00 PM. The next event for the day was the Modeler’s Party that was held between the two exhibit halls and was for the model builders only. This is when I started to get butterflies, ‘cause this was the time and place that I had to speak in front of these multitudes of people from the small stage that was set up. First, Mr. Tamiya spoke, and then the five winners from this years Tamiya Con (Master Modeler from North America and Master Modeler from New Zealand, Director’s Choice, Best Finish and Most Creative) were brought up on stage and each one of us introduced ourselves. It was then time for my speech. I tried to prepare something before hand, but I couldn’t quite get anything jotted down, so I decided I would go by the seat of my pants and go impromptu. I started off by saying hello in Japanese and the sound of my voice being projected over the loudspeakers really kinda freaked me out and I suddenly paused, but to my surprise the audience started cheering and clapping, which gave me a moment to compose myself and get my thoughts together. After all was said and done, Mr. Goto, one of our Tamiya HQ representatives, then translated my speech into Japanese. Soon after we were dismissed and the eating and drinking commenced. I was so nervous and thought that my speech wasn’t very good, but all of our crew congratulated me on such an excellent delivery and that I represented North America perfectly…Whew, what a relief!!! After downing a few quick beers, I was encouraged to start mingling in with the crowd so that the Japanese modelers could speak with me, but before I had a chance to do that, I found myself signing autographs. It sure felt flattering, yet very unusual to be signing my name for others, but nonetheless, I might as well bask in the glory while I can! After about an hour or so of socializing with the masses, it was time to go. We made a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up and then it was time for dinner, and this dinner would be one that I will never forget.
Apparently, this restaurant was one of Mr. Tamiya’s favourite places to dine, so you know it had to divine, considering he is a multi-millionaire! The servings of perfectly prepared food never seemed to stop. It was by far the best meal I have ever had. The highlight of the dinner was the Kobe beef. At approximately $75.00 a pound, this was a rare opportunity to eat like the rich. My taste buds had never before been in such a heavenly bliss; words alone cannot describe just how delicious this serving was.
After filling up and enjoying everyone’s company and cheer, it was time to head back to the hotel after experiencing an extraordinary day.
The plan for the next day was to spend the forenoon at the Hobby Show, then another quick stop at Rainbow Ten, get some lunch, and then proceed to Tamiya HQ for their open house.
Today we actually got to sleep in; our Tamiya Van was picking us up at 09:00 AM instead of 07:30 or 08:00!!! Up until lunch, we spent our time at the Hobby Show to leisure around and check out the bits that we may have possibly missed the previous day. I was introduced to one of the most famous Japanese Model Builders, but I unfortunately, don’t remember his name, but he is well respected though. Prior to lunch at a local family Japanese restaurant, we once again stopped in at Rainbow Ten, I’m not sure why, maybe it was to see if I could drain my wallet some more, which of course I did!!! I’m just so weak when it comes to Japanese hobby shops!
After lunch, we proceeded back to Tamiya HQ for the Open House. All the guys except me were on there own to check out the Tamiya HQ at their own pace, whereas I was given a formal tour of the facilities because I was leaving the next day due to my commitments back home with the Navy. I was shown the various floors that contained offices for Customer Service, R&D (Research and Development), general offices etc. Notable interest was the area that the Tamiya model builders spent their days constructing Tamiya models for a living for catalogues, presentations and promotions. This of course would be my dream job; every tool and/or paint ever required was on hand for these professional builders. Although, it would be quite hard for me to build box stock models, I would be just aching to add extra details here and there! The lower levels of the Tamiya Building was the production facility, where the intricate and complicated molds are created and utilized to produce the finest model kits in the world. There were machines in operation actually pumping out model sprues, which was very fascinating to watch. I saw the actual molds for the new Williams FW24 and Enzo Ferrari to name a couple. The molds themselves are pure art. The clay molds were on hand for display too. The whole operation from initial design to the finished product was shown and explained to me by my personal tour guide. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed in many of these areas, and you can probably understand why. The slide molds are the latest technique for producing unusual plastic model shapes and intricacies, and the whole process that these molds are utilized is very interesting. I was shown the process of the actual production of the metal molds. Believe me, it is very complicated and the multi-axis CNC machines are incredible to watch as they work their magic carving away the solid metal blocks to produce the molds. Up in R&D, I watched as the engineers worked on their 3D CAD computers designing Tamiya’s latest creations, again, photos were not allowed here too. I also watched the Tamiya artists designing and painting the newest box art masters. It was sure was a memorable experience to see the whole Tamiya HQ facility in operation. After my tour was completed, I had about 45 minutes left to wander on my own to see the Tamiya Museum and the Tamiya in-house shop. The museum had essentially every item that Tamiya had ever produced, right down to the original wooden model cars and ships that started it all. Some of the original models were still sealed…I wonder what the value of those items would be on EBAY? In the shop, you could purchase basically ever item that Tamiya is currently producing, most items being 30% off retail price. You could also shop for what was know as the “Junk box”, which was many crates of individual sprues of hundreds of models, decals, tires, etc., at a great price. I sure wish I had prepared a wish list of the certain parts I needed/wanted prior to flying over. I did purchase a number of tires for 1/24, 1/20 cars and 1/12 motorbikes as well as some wheel and tire combinations. I loaded up on Tamiya enamels, which of course are not available on our shores, but what I really wanted to stock up on was Tamiya spray cans, because at the price they were, I could have bought dozens of cans, but unfortunately, you cannot transport these items on the airplane. There was also a section that you could buy 4 brand new Tamiya models for 1000 Yen, which is roughly $10.00 US, but…like I said earlier, where would I pack all of these kits for the return flight – what a shame, eh? I sure wish I had a little more time to spend finding more bargains, but that’s the way it goes!
Once again, we were on our way back to the Shizuoka Hobby Show to pack up our models, as this marked the closing of this year’s annual show. We made a quick stop at Tamiya HQ to drop off the models that were staying in Japan, and then proceeded to the hotel for a few moments to change and/or freshen up. Tonight’s dinner would be at a Japanese Bar-B-Q restaurant.
Upon entering the restaurant, we were directed to remove our footwear prior to closing up at our floor level table. In the middle of the tables were built-in circular charcoal BBQs. I guess we would be cooking our own meals! Before you know it, the beer and Sake was flowing and once again, the fun had begun. (Actually, the fun never stopped.) The waiter brought out plates of raw meat and we would simply cook it up to our own taste. Of course, it was delicious, but unbeknown to me, the exotic meat was still to come. Goto, who was sitting at our table, (we had three tables which took up the whole front private room) said, would you like to know what you are eating before or after? Suddenly I was like, oh great, now I know something’s up! Mark and I both agreed that it would be best to know after, but Bruce, who was sitting across from us, piped up and announced that what he was looking at was raw beef tongue. All I could think about now was going to the grocery store with my Mom when I was a kid and looking at all of the different meats which included this huge tongue of beef. After the tongue was cooked, it looked quite good, so with my built up beer nerves, I decided to try it, and low and behold, it was great. I ended up eating quite a bit of this delicacy, but knowing what I was eating was still putting a bitter taste in my mouth! At this point, I thought I was doing very good, eating all of these foods that I normally wouldn’t even consider, but the worst was still to come. The final plate of “meat” was simple outrageous. I just about lost it when I found out that the next entrée was cow intestines…no, I’m not kidding. Now remember, the food is brought out rare, so it was not visually enticing to see this big plate of uncooked guts, and I have a weak stomach to start off with, so naturally, I was quite disgusted and simply would have no part of it. The intestines were then “poured” onto the BBQ and the smoke and flames erupted. Once fully cooked, and I emphasize, fully cooked…Goto dove in and ate it like it was nothing at all. Then Mark decided to try it and said that it was edible although it was like rubber and took time to chew. I still wanted nothing to do with it, but…I was pressured into trying this exotic “meat” from Mark and Bruce, even though, I don’t think Bruce tried it. So, trying to put the thought aside in my head as to what I was actually eating, I picked up my chop sticks, picked a piece straight off of the BBQ, closed my eyes and indulged. I can’t say that it was delicious, but I also can’t say it was revolting, to be honest, it was all right. The hardest part was the two minutes of chewing to get it down, and let me tell you, I could not let go in my mind what was in my mouth, so the more I chewed, the worse it got! It’s a good thing I had a full beer to wash it all down. I have a photo of me eating this rarity and I don’t look pleased! But, I did it, and I’m glad I did. Just don’t tell my Mom, now she’ll make me eat all of my green peas at Christmas dinner! We stayed at the restaurant for several hours; it was an excellent night out and will never be forgotten.
We got back to the hotel, but some of us weren’t quite ready to retire, so five of us decided to find a bar for a few nightcaps. We ended up at some Irish pub – go figure – but, the beer was cold, and that’s what counted. This was my last night in Japan, so I might as well enjoy it…and I did. I’m not sure what time it was by the time we arrived at the hotel and I still had to pack all of my luggage, because I knew I would definitely not feel like performing this task early the next morning. I had to do some creative packing to get everything in, and I still had some more models to put in that I would receive the next day. I flicked on the tube and found the Austrian Grand Prix, albeit in Japanese…good enough for me though! I fell asleep before the race ended, or was that passed out – one or the other!!!
After checking out of the hotel, we drove back to Tamiya HQ. Mr. Tamiya’s office consumed the 8th floor, and this is where we proceeded for our formal meeting with Mr. Tamiya in his boardroom. The gift exchange was the next event after the big guy spoke with us all. I brought Mr. Tamiya a Native Canadian wooden box filled with smoke salmon as well as a glass Maple Leaf bottle filled with pure Canadian Maple Syrup. In return, I received the brand new 1/20 Williams FW24, the 1/24 Opel Astra DTM (the one with the gull wing doors) and a letter signed by Mr. Tamiya indicating that Tamiya would sent me the new 1/12 Yoshimura Hayabusa X-1 Motorcycle when it would be released in August ’03. I finally had this new Williams in my hands, and to go one step further, I asked Mr. Tamiya to sign and date the box top, which he dated 19 May ’03, the kit’s official release date was 20 May ’03 in Japan. Soon after, everyone was going to be given the full tour that I was given the previous day and I still had an hour or so to kill before I made the journey back to Narita airport, so I tagged along the tour once again and actually saw some stuff that I didn’t see the first time. I ended up having another Williams FW24 given to me by Goto, so not only did I have the first two Williams in North America, one was signed by Mr. Tamiya. What an honour this is!!! I sure wish I could have spent the last couple of days with the rest of the group to tour Tokyo, but at the same time, I was completely satisfied with all that I’ve seen and done already in Shizuoka City. I said my good byes to everyone including a personal goodbye from Mr. Tamiya and was rushed into a cab with Mark, a Tamiya HQ employee who hails from France (he speaks and reads Japanese fluently). He would ensure that I caught the correct trains back to Narita. It’s a good thing too, because if you have never been to the Tokyo Station, you would never believe how massive this facility is.
The trip home was again, long and uneventful. So…overall remarks about this trip to Japan…It was by far, the best trip I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I thank Tamiya Japan and Tamiya USA for providing the best hospitality one could ever ask for. Just think, all of this because of a last minute decision to attend the Tamiya Con down in Southern California. Thanks Phil!