Honda Heaven...

WARNING - Engineering Nerdiness Ahead!

So to kick start my tour of Japan, I figured what better place to go than to Honda's Twin Ring Motegi race track. Built in 1997 in an effort to bring the Indy Racing League to Japan, it features two race circuits (hence the name), one of which is the only oval super speedway in Japan.

But that's not all. The entire Twin Ring facility actually houses myriad other things including the Honda Collection Hall with its own vehicle restoration facility (seen above), a dirt bike track, driver and rider training courses, a go-kart track, kids' rides, and the Fan Fun Lab which showcases Honda's technological advances.

It's found in Motegi, Tochigi which, despite being home to a motor enthusiast's mecca, is rather uninteresting. I was expecting some massive city fit for a giant race track but it's actually just a small town in the mountains.

This, however, makes the Twin Ring track even more impressive. The glassy smooth asphalt is backed up by rolling, forested mountains and bird chirp in unison with the wail of race engines. In fact, the entire facility is gorgeous, with lots of colourful plants lining the road that services the buildings (above). The natural calm of the area seems to somehow perfectly balance the chaotic race action at the track. It's serene...

But before all that, I should mention a few things about the Shinkansen- it's surprising in typical Japanese fashion. What I mean is that it seems entirely uninteresting at first (like when I first rode it 5 years ago) until you consider just how much effort it takes to make it that uninteresting.

The silky smooth ride? That's thanks to the millimetric precision with which the tracks are laid and joined, coupled with the high-tech computer controlled suspension.

The soothing quietness? That's from the thicker cabin walls and train aerodynamics.

It's even impressive in punctuality; I was quoted an arrival time at Utsunomiya Station of 8:36am and when I stepped off the train and looked at my watch, it said 8:36 on the dot. It's not news that Japanese trains are timely, but local Tokyo trains have so many stops so close to each other that it seems rather achievable. But to time an accelerating and decelerating 200+kmh 16-car train down to the minute?? That's some precise driving...

Anyway, back to the Twin Ring. Once you arrive, you pay a ￥1200 entrance fee and that allows access to everything the place has to offer. I headed for the Honda Collection Hall first.

This museum is an absolute must go for anyone even remotely interested in cars or bikes. When you enter, you're greeted with some of Honda's most important products that have shaped the company, like the Honda S600, Honda Cub, and one of their very first generators (above, L to R, respectively). From there you continue most or less chronologically up the floors to their most recent race cars, the 2002 Jordan-Honda EJ12, 2005 BAR 005, 2006 Honda RA106, and the 2007 Honda RA107 (below, L-R, respectively).

But even more than that, the 3 floor, 5 exhibit museum (quietly playing its generic classical music) is everything I approve of in a museum. It's comprehensive in scope, articulate in explanation, and thoughtful in organization. It's also respectful, displaying a fair number of non-Honda models that have inspired Honda's development. With few but steady visitors and a very friendly (and pretty!) all-female staff, it's a great place to slowly see how things have progressed over time, which isn't easy for museums to do.

There was also a special exhibit called 世界のかわいい乗り物たち (sekai no kawaii nori mono tachi) which translates as "The cute vehicles of the world". Umm.... right..... I was ready to skip it but then I read Honda's translation which said "The lovely vehicles in the world". Peering into their special exhibit hall, I found out the aptly named exhibit had some of the quaintest and quirkiest old cars and bikes from around the world. I don't know where they got them (probably very generous owners loaned them to the museum), but it included very rare yet innovative cars from all corners of the globe, including a 3-wheeled Messerschmitt KR200 seen above.

It also held some very early pieces of Honda history, including this "Auxiliary Engine" attached to a bicycle produced by Honda R&D in 1946 (above, R). Using post-war radio generator engines hooked up to bicycles, it provided the war stricken Japanese with cheap, powered transport.

Next to that display was this, a replica 1885 Daimler Reitrad, the world's first motorcycle. Built by the company Daimler Benz (aka Mercedes-Benz), note the test model's "training wheel".

One interesting point is that scattered across the museum are various innovative non-Honda machinery from around the world. Soichiro Honda was keen on buying some of the best machinery in the world in order to study them closely. As a result, while similar looking vehicles followed a few years later (L- 1953 Honda Benly J, R- 1950 NSU Fox), it helped Honda rapidly develop technologically.

Not everything was copied though, like these 1975 Roller Through Gogo's. Note the big pedal in the back; pushing it backward would make the Gogo.... go =P

Of course, it includes important milestones in Honda's automobile history, including a personal favourite of mine, an original 1992 NSX-R.

Lastly, a great touch in all the exhibits is a timeline of all the products in said exhibit. The racing halls even show which race series the vehicle competed in and whether they won the series championship that year.

And as Honda has always been heavily involved in competition, the results are seen in the dramatic difference between the high-tech 1998 Honda CBR900RR Isle of Man racer and the vintage 1960 Honda RC143, both race winners of their era.

Bored as some of you may be, stick with me cuz we're almost done =P...... once finished with the Collection Hall, I wandered towards the racing circuit which was holding short sprint races (5-, 7-laps) all day. Best of all, there was no entrance fee so I was free to take in an Elise Cup race, a Civic 1-make race, and a Formula 4 race. And ample opportunity to see their pace car (above) as well as practice my panning photography skills (the last one is a personal favourite of mine)...

With the race cars come guys who want to drive race cars. But because some can't, they spend their money on great road cars instead. Seen around Twin Ring all day include an Audi S5, a BMW E92 M3, GT-R's (R32 through R35), a Lancia Deltia Integrale, NSX's, a Porsche 911 GT2, and Lotuses (Lotii?) including the Elise (SI and SII), Exige, Europe, and Sport 2-Eleven.

Of course, only I call paying ￥1200 to stand amongst ear-bleedingly loud race cars under a boiling hot sun a good day out =P...

But that's not all. A quick drop into the Fan Fun Lab showed the biggest secret in the entire facility. What is disguised as a children's play area is actually a marvelous collection of Honda's technical ability including their recently released FCX hydrogen fuel cell car, a prototype of their HondaJet private business jet, and ASIMO!!

Even better was a 15-min ASIMO Live presentation which showed just how far Honda's "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility" has come in the past 20 years. No only can ASIMO walk, he (it?) can move all the same joints humans can, stand on one leg, kick a ball, pick-up/carry/place a tray of drinks, walk backward, and run. And it's real running, as high-speed film have shown that ASIMO is completely airborne for a brief moment with each stride.

Oh, he also dances, doing an entire routine rather well...

(L to R) Go ASIMO, do the mash potato, peanut butter jelly time, do the... umm... robot?

If you stuck with me the whole way through, I applaud you. If you just skipped my blabbing and just looked at the pictures, I totally understand =P...

It's a good thing I don't live in Motegi otherwise I'd spend all my weekends driving around the track and visiting ASIMO... actually, I do wish I lived near there, so I could spend all my weekends downshifting in braking zones and winding out an engine on corner exits... anyway =P...

In the end, Twin Ring Motegi turned out to be more than just a little hole for car nerds to go to. It's actually an in depth look into the past and the future of technical ability. And not just Honda's, but the world's.