Grind Chaos. Slow-mo-Kabukicho. First Sakura of the season.

Work has been hell, and as a result, this is late. Sorry.
It takes a lot to edit anything of my own after wrecking myself editing client work.

Music:
 - Shadows of the Mind
 - Waltz of the Undertaker
 - The Arcade
All tracks from: MachinimaSound.com
 - https://machinimasound.com/



Camera:
 - Sony a7S
 - Sony fs5 (rental)

Car: Nissan Silvia S14 Q's

Social:
 - https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/
 - https://twitter.com/darcnoodles

Passion:
 - http://darc.jp
 - http://bit.ly/darcjp666
 - https://www.instagram.com/darc.jp/
 - https://twitter.com/darcjp666


work:
 - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDYQOcu6MwS-z_gNvYa67Aw

Kitamoto nights, Ikebukuro trips, Shibuya ollies & more... #7Days 7Minutes (2016-06-06)

This one has a fair bit of travel in it.
Kitamoto (Saitama) Ikebukuro, Sugamo & Shibuya (Tokyo) and Shibukawa (Gunma)

Music:
DNA Activation by Jon Andre Lundal
Spontaneous Combustion by iawkwardlobster

Watch: Japan How It Is - Getting a Haircut:
https://youtu.be/swFVUlyTgWw


More of my stuff here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcnoodles

More from the Japanese Underground:
web: http://darc.jp
YouTube: http://bit.ly/darcjp666
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darc.jp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcjp666

Double Trouble #JapaneseRides

With my tax return, I have purchased my third Nissan Silvia. Yet another white S14 Kouki, but this one is a Q's Automatic, not a K's Manual. It's almost certainly going to become my daily driver. The black beast will be relegated to track duty only (as soon as I can actually afford to track it again).

"But wait, you can't even afford parking!?" is what you're going to say, but in a month, things will be a bit different. Soon, I'll be back in my natural habitat, behind the wheel, once more!

Coming of age, Sangenjaya, crows and more #7Days7Minutes (2016-1-11)

First #7Days7Minutes of 2016. Let's see how long I can keep these regular  this year :p

My Japan Story: Driving Gunma

Everyone sees Japan as a destination in which to visit more destinations.

Between from 2008 to 2013, I lived in Gunma Prefecture, I drove a Nissan Silvia S14, and found that the best parts of the prefecture, and in fact, the country, are more often than not, the places that are a bit of a drive past the typical destinations, and the best experiences you can have, are the ones that you share with the amazing people you meet on the long, winding road.

To cap off 2015, I rented a Toyota 86, called on some old friends, made some new ones, and went for a drive through nostalgia.

0:02 Rings Autoshop, Owned by Yoshitatsu Kaneda (0:08), Pro drifter and head of Team YRC (Also my closest friend in Japan)

0:35 Mt. Akagi (Shrine and Lake)

1:06 Shibukawa City (My hometown) Many of my earlier vids were shot here, check them out to see more.

1:15 Rokumonsen -essence- My favourite ramen. The Master's mom is essentially my Japanese mother.

1:43 Mt. Haruna

1:49 Mt.Haruna Melody Road. drive at a steady speed and lines in the road play notes as your tires roll over them. Gunma has a bunch of these melody roads on mountain passes throughout the prefecture.

2:11 hidden lookout on Mt. Haruna no locations to this, I take you there or you find it on your own ;)

2:22 Allen Bo, The man behind the Drift Hunter doccie-in-progress.

2:47 Kusatsu Onsen. It's rated the best hot-spring in Japan, and I do quite like it, but the water is too hot and it's always full of tourists, It's a good place to stop and take a break though.

3:36 Tonya, My favorit Tonkatsu place. Prices are average but value is phenomenal. Tastes bloody good too.

3:38 Shiriyaki Onsen. A few kilometers away from Kusatsu in the middle of nowhere (Kunimura) is a heated river. Yes. The river itself is a natural hot spring. No entrance fees, No time limits, no restrictions and on clear winter nights, an infinite ceiling of stars.

3:49 Convenience store munchies aka a drivers' lifeblood.

4:07 Takayama

4:11 The Nihon Romantic Highway. 350 twisting kilometres of mountain roads from Tochigi, through Gunma and into Nagano. An epic drive,  with almost no public transport access.

4:20 Shout out to MannyMarx, The man who made the music for this vid (and many of my other ones too). Producing Frank Corva's (4:26) new solo album.

4:39 My old place... Now a parking-lot

5:03 I'll be back soon.

Daruma, Gunma, tripping and more... | 7 Days 7 Minutes (2015-06-22)

I went back to Gunma in this week. I missed it so much thjat I flooded this 7 days 7 minutes with footage from there. It's also, one of the most random 7D7M episodes I've ever made.

Music:
"Chillin'" by DJ Russell CrossFire 

 "Illumination" by Little Light 

Yellow RX7 - Mt Akagi #JapaneseRides

I saw this sweet customer ride parked at Rings' Auto Shop on Mt. Akagi (Gunma, Japan)

Halloween In Shibuya 2014 (lots of photos)

There are 105 more where these came from on my flickr profile
click through here and feast your eyes!

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-08-11) Shibukawa Dashi Matsuri, Obon Rituals and more...

00:00 MONDAY Ashes to Ashes
01:00 notTUESDAY Web Surfing
01:22 WEDNESDAY Obon Rituals
02:03 THURSDAY Caffenation
03:22 FRIDAY Homecoming
04:23 SATURDAY Shibukawa Dashi Matsuri - Day 1
05:32 SUNDAY Shibukawa Dashi Matsuri - Day 2

The Great East Japan Tour

I've been busier than a former AKB girl turned hooker over the last few weeks, and the places I've been generally didn't have connectivity or I didn't have the time to use the connectivity to blog. I apologise. 

I left for Shibukawa, Gunma on the 9th, and rode the 50cc 6 hours on the backroads to get there. I stayed with Yoshitatsu that night and the next morning we pulled out at 2am to go to Nikko Circuit for the DRiFTWiRED1 drift event. 

When I got back The Cat told me that her grandfather wasn't doing well and the next morning I got the call that he passed away. I met up with her and her sisters in Takasaki, Gunma we went back to Nagano for the funeral and proceedings.

After the funeral, I hopped the shinkansen back to Gunma and participated in the Shibulawa Dashi Matsuri. Which is and was one of the highlights of my life when it comes around every 2 years. It was good to be home. 

After 2 days of festival and a day to replace the Chain on my bike, I rode back to kawasaki and barely had a day to recover some semblance of sanity before hopping a Shnkansen for 5 hours to Akita in the far north.

I interviewed the heads of the Yamamo Soy Sauce company and a maker of Inaniwa Udon (one of the best known types of udon in Japan)

Back on the shinkansen to Kawasaki where I had a night in my own bed before heading west to Nagahama, in Shiga Prefecture, on the shores of Like Biwa, Japan's largest lake. 

The work was to interview the management team at Top Seiko, one of the world's most precise ceramic and tungsten machining companies. 

I then tool a look around the Kurokabe area, near Nagahama Station, where one of Japan'a oldest downtown shopping areas has been preserved and still serves the same purpose. Lack of money prevented me form taking too much time there. 

I hopped back on the shink and finally headed back home where I am now putting together a craptonne of articles, images and videos  over the next 2 weeks before getting on more trains and heading to more exotic destinations.

not my actual route or transport method but accurate sense of scale

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-03-10) Shibuya, a bird, Gunma and more...

00:00 MONDAY Shibuya Crossing
01:00 TUESDAY Freelancer Woes
02:00 WEDNESDAY Bird
03:00 THURSDAY GTO
04:05 FRIDAY Home (related blog post)
05:00 notSATURDAY Rage Mode!
06:00 notSUNDAY Ring's Auto Shop

Going Home

東京で人は多いけど人間は少ない。
In Tokyo there are many people but very few human beings.
~me

That's what I said over dinner the other night in Shibukawa when explaining to my mates why I was so unbelievably overjoyed to be there. In the 2 days back home I had more meaningful conversations about life, history, politics and cars with more different people than in the previous month the zombie apocalypse that is the capital. 

One truly doesn't appreciate how awesome a place is till you leave it. The people, honesty, generosity, delicious food, clean air, hot springs , driving, scapes and fact that it is all true and real. I love that little town on the confluence of the Tone and Agatsuma Rivers. It has truly become my home. More than anywhere else, It is there that I want to return.

7 Days 7 Minutes (2013-12-09)

I’ve been busier than a cop in Hillbrow on New Year’s Eve.. this is a week late... but better late than pregnant.

MONDAY 00:00:00 - More Shibuya
TUESDAY 00:01:00 - WORK! (Not a Job)
WEDNESDAY 00:02:00 - Best friends are best.
THURSDAY 00:03:00 - Home
notFRIDAY 00:04:00 - Driving in Gunma
SATURDAY 00:05:00 - Bang the Drums
SUNDAY 00:06:00 - Hot Pot

One Day back home.

I had a freelance job that sent me to Gunma. It gave me the chance to recharge my mind and give me a much needed boost to get through my new life in the capital cesspool. I stayed the night with Yoshitatsu and managed to meet up with Tatsuya and Tsubasa. Talking cars and shooting the shit till 2am in the freezing cold brought back so many good times!

Shots #101: Unimpressed Cat is Unimpressed

7 Days 7 Minutes (2013-09-30)

00:00:00 Monday - Train-ing
00:01:00 Tuesday - just doesn't feel right.
00:02:00 Wednesday - Finally. Some Luck.
00:03:00 notThursday - Maximum The Hormone @ Ozzfest 2013
00:04:00 Friday - FollowFriday: gnrocks91 https://www.youtube.com/user/gnrocks91)
00:05:00 notSaturday - I Miss Shibukawa
00:06:00 Sunday - TrueFriendship

Shots #97 Shibukawa Sunset

I am going to miss these…

7 Days 7 Minutes (2013-07-01)

Monday: JDM 0:0:00
Tuesday: Rooibos 0:1:00
Wednesday: Cat! 0:2:00
Friday: Shibuya 0:3:00
Friday: Pale Ale 0:4:00
Saturday: Ignorance 0:6:00

Hitachino Nest White Ale:
http://www.kodawari.cc/?en_home/produ...

It's Not Sushi - Cat's Paws

I picked up 3 bags of Cat's paws for 105 YEN. They are surprisingly good. A bit weird... but good.

Japanese Box Cars

Japan loves cars. Japan has given rise to some of the greatest names in automotive history. The GT-R. The NSX. The Supra. The LFA. The S2000. The AE86. The Lancer EVO. The Silvia. Hell even the WRX STI is a great name (though it is sullied by the idiots who drive them.) Basically. Japan does cars well. Japanese cars are also known for their tuning ability. you can unleash their power and dress them up to make them perform/look any way you could possibly want. The results of which (when googled) will yield a never ending selection of automotive eye candy for you to drool over. Two cars that will not come up in that search however are, the Nissan Cube and the Daihatsu Mira… And that is because they are (usually)Fugly.