Turbos and Temples - Mighty Car Mods Feature Film

Mighty Car Mods: Hokkaido, Turbos & Temples

As we set out on our adventure, I was joined by my mate Marty and our friend Steve King, along with his friends from JTB. We had been making a YouTube show called Mighty Car Mods for the past few years, showcasing people all over the world how to modify their cars. Recently, we received a call from Steve and his friends asking us if we'd like to take a road trip of Hokkaido, the second largest island of Japan.

We thought it was an awesome idea, so we jumped on a plane from Sydney to Tokyo and then a short 1 hour flight to Asahikawa, where we'd begin our journey. Waiting for us at Asahikaa airport were the guys we're gonna be travelling with, including Mr. Sato, who supplied some cars, and Steven, our interpreter. They had organised a couple of cars to take on our trip, including a 1996 Version 3 STI WRX, and a Suzuki Alto works RZR All-wheel drive kei car with a 660cc turbocharged engine.

With all our gear packed, it was time to hit the road, because there was a local car club waiting for us just outside the airport. As soon as we left the airport, we got a taste of just how awesome the driving roads are in Hokkaido. A local car club called the 88's had word that some Australians were on the way, so they met us to show us their rides.

"Hello, very nice to meet you," said Moog, one of the members of the 88's. "That's good English hello!" he added, as we shook hands. "Mad car! Silvia," he exclaimed, gesturing to a sleek black car behind him. "JDM Drift spec," he said, proudly displaying his car.

The 88's were very excited to show Mighty Car Mods inside their cars. Moog: "Drift style gear knob, same as I had in my 180SX." He pointed out the intricate details of the interior, including a carbon fiber trim. "It's incredible, it's very cool - I like that," he said.

Marty was impressed by the variety of cars on display. "How many different cars is this?" he asked Steve, who laughed and replied in Japanese. "About 5 different cars," Marty translated to us. "I love it!" he exclaimed. There was a real sense that these cars were used as an appliance, and it's not uncommon for these guys to go through a few cars a year.

As we walked around the car club, Moog told us about the history of his own car. "Did you do these things?" he asked Steve. "Or were they done already?" Steve replied in Japanese, and Moog turned to one of his friends, asking her if she knew the answer. "Is it Fast?" she asked, and Steve smiled, replying in Japanese.

Marty pointed out some interesting features on the cars, including a Subaru Legacy front bumper that had been transplanted onto another car's body. "Nissan and Subaru," he said, marveling at the engineering. "They normally put a few thousand k's between their Sake and the Australians," Marty joked, referring to the Japanese tradition of drinking sake before proposing marriage.

As we continued our journey, we arrived at the Otokyama brewery, one of the most famous in Asahikawa. Their name appears in many old block prints from the days when men had bald heads and swords. We were eager to learn about their Sake-making process and sample some of their renowned brews.

We stepped inside the brewery and were greeted by Moog, who welcomed us warmly. "We're at the Otokyama Brewery," he said, "and they've been making Saka for over 340 years." He reminded us that Japan has a zero tolerance for drink driving, so we had to hand over our keys to another car.

Moog explained the traditional use of sake in Japanese culture. "They would traditionally used, usually by the ladies, just before they got married," he said. "So they would fill this up with Sake, and take it to the guy's family, and kind of ask for the marriage." Marty chuckled at the idea of an engagement party.

We were offered a taste of their latest Saka, brewed using a 340-year-old recipe. Moog exclaimed, "That's smooth! WOW!" as he took a sip of the liquid gold. "That is probably the smoothest alcohol I've ever tasted," he said, impressed by the brewery's expertise.

The quintessential sake experience was complete. We sampled some more of their delicious brews and enjoyed the company of our new friends from the 88's car club. Our journey in Hokkaido had only just begun, but we knew it would be an adventure to remember.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enJTBZenith IncProudly PresentA Mighty Car Mods FIlmBlair JoscelyneMartin MulhollandSteve KingWritten by Steve King, Martin Mulholland and Blair JoscelyneCamera and Editing by Blair Joscelyne and Martin MulhollandSoundtrack by Blair JoscelyneDirected and Produced by Blair Joscelyne, Martin Mulholland & Steve KingMighty Car Mods: Hokkaido, Turbos & TemplesThis is meand this is my mate martyand for the last few years we've been making a youtube show called mighty car mods, showing people all over the worldhow to modify their carsRecently, we got a callfrom this guy, Steve King and his friends at JTBwho asked us if we'd like to take a road trip of HokkaidoThe second largest Island of JapanWe thought it was an Awesome idea, so we jumped on a plane from Sydney to Tokyoand then a short 1 hour flight to Asahikawa, where we'd begin our JourneyWaiting for us at Asahikawa airport, were the guys we're gonna be travelling withIncluding Mr Sato, who supplied some cars, and Steven our InterpreterThey'd organised a couple of cars to take on our tripIncluding a 1996 Version 3 STI WRX, and a Suzuki Alto works RZR All wheel drive kei carwith a 660cc turbocharged engineWith all our gear packed, it was time to hit the road, because there was a local car clubwaiting for us just outside the airportAs soon as left the airport, we got a tasteof just how awesome the driving roads are in HokkaidoA Local car club called the 88's got wordthat some Australians were on the wayso they met us to show us their ridesMoog: Hello, very nice to meet youvarious hellosMoog: That's good english hello!Moog: mad car! SilviaMoog: JDM Drift specThe 88's were very excited to show Mighty car Mods inside their carsMoog: Drift style gear knob, same as i had in my 180SXMoog: and there's kind of more electronics in there than the tatus reallyMoog: Its incredible, its very cool - i like thatMarty: the headlights need a little..Marty: Ahh, a front mount intercooler!Marty: Cool! I like itMarty: Carbon FibreOh wow, thats awesome!Marty to Steve: How many different cars is this?Steve: (Japanese) laughtsSteve: About 5 different carsMarty: I love it!There's a real sense that these cars are used as an appliance, and it's not uncommon for these guys to go through a few cars a yearAs they get more and more beyond repairMoog: Did you do these things? or were they done already?Steve: (Japanese)Girl: No no no, HeSteve: He's the tech guy for themMoog to girl: Is it Fast?Steve: (Japanese)Girl: Yes!Marty: That front bumper is off a Subaru Legacy, the worlds have joined!Moog: Nissan and Subaru Martin!Marty: Yeah! its possible, how good is it?!After having a good look through their cars, the 88's decided to take usfor a drive, and show us some of the awesome back roads around BieiWe made our way up to a peaceful lookout in the mountains, but the only thing we really had to look out for wasbears.Steve: you gotta watch out for bears! they are dangerousThe mountain roads of Japan, are just as you'd imagine themBeautiful.. Peaceful.. TranquilAnd full of drifters!!This kind of driving is not just for the boysThe girls are also keen to give their cars a good thrashing!If anything falls off your car.. its just a matter of picking up the broken piecesand using a cable tie to stick it back on, so you're ready for another runDrifting on a private road like this, is really the only safe way to do itWhile there was still some tread left on the tyresThe 88's took us for a drive through the mountains, and show us their favourite thing to doAfter a big day of drivingLavender ice cream is a favourite with the drifters, and it's a specialty of BieiProduced with Fresh Lavender thats farmed from the areaWe made sure everyone had Mighty Car Mods stickers, and they were put to good use, straight awayWe said goodbye to the 88's, and hit the road againThis is the Otokyama breweryThe most famous in Asahikawa, their name appears in many old block printsfrom the days when men had bald heads and swordsOtokyama Sake is made from rice, and pure underground water that runs from the Tyzetsuan mountain rangeThey only make it in winter to keep the flavour consistent, and it's won them international awards for 30 years straightThe brewery gets thousands of visitors per year, and they export all over the world, so it was time for us to check it outMoog: We're at the Otokyama Brewery, and they've been making Sakafor over 340 years. Now the important thing to remember is that Japan has a zero tolerance for drink drivingso the keys to the Subaru, are going to someone else, Because Marty and I, are about to get stuck into itSteve: They wouldtraditionally used, usually by the ladies, just before they got marriedso they would fill this up with Sake, and take it to the guys familyand kind of ask for the marriageMarty: like an engagement party?Steve: Exactly, yeahThey normally put a few thousand k's between their Sake and the Australians, But today we're gonna try some in the actualbreweryMoog: The quintessential sake experiece, 340 year old recipeMoog: thats smooth, WOW!Moog: That is probably the smoothest alcohol i've ever tasted, I'll have some more thanks!Moog: That ones Japanese for \"how ya going?!\"Steve: So he said this is quite a nice pure oneMarty: Smells WineyMarty: they don't normally give out samples this big, but they know we're from Australiaand.. its in our culture so, bottoms up! (cheers)Marty: oh.. this is even better! They get better as you go!Marty: haaa. Sake bucket!! (drunk)Moog: No no no no, Marty, Sit down dudeMarty: (slurring) it'll be funny man!!!Moog: Are you drun...?Marty: Arigato TAXI!!!Moog: No.. That means \"thankyou taxi\" Okay, we need to go now!I think they took my behaviour as a complement as their amazing brew, because they asked us for our autographson the way out, and gave us some tee shirts!We left the brewery, and Mr Sato kindly drove us to the city of Asahikawa to our HotelA few hours later, we headed back into townMr Sato took us to his favourite resteraunt, called Kisweete in downtown Asahikawafor some authentic Japanese CuisineHokkaido is famous for it's seafood AND farm produce, so you can eat some of the best Japanese Food, and its cheaper than in the big citiesMoog: Oh wow!!We also brought some cuisine of our own, and an Australian icon, that was probably made in JapanThankyou!Moog: This here is Tako San WeinerMoog: this is traditional Japanese fish sausage, sounds wrong...Moog: it tastes good, it tastes really goodMoog: it's very spicy, Arigato!It's a delicious fish sausage!Moog: I highly reccomend you try itMarty: this is one of my favourte cars..Marty: I'd love to know what you guys think of it...Mr Sato: Scrap..Mr Sato: Scrap!Marty: Scrap?? Scrap!!?!Marty: they said my old car is scrap!!Steve: (Japanese)Steve: So in Japan, you'd only get what its worth for the actual metalSteve: so you're looking at about $100Your show, is now playing in the big screensSteve: and everyones watching it and they know who you areSteve: so there's all these people waiting for you guysSteves friend Yoshuke, had arranged for us to meet some of the locals, at a 1970's style disco bar, that plays Mighty Car Modson their screens on a Tuesday NightMoog: (singing) \"I wanna get a bigger exhaust...\"Marty: look!Moog: Oh yeah dude! Mighty Car Mods Action!This is one of the coolest bars, complete with graffiti on the wall, disco ballsand a whole bunch of Japanese girls who'd come out to meet usMoog: Whats your name?Girl: MamiMoog: Mami?! hahaI had my birthday on the flight overSo they organised me a birthday celebration compelte with cake, and songsWe did such a good job of the dishes, that they offered us a job, and then asked us to sign the wallWhen you're in Asahikawa, make sure you come and say Hi to this guy, at BiBianTime for us to get some snacks for our road trip1Moog: Dude, bowl of squid flavour!Want bowl of squid?Moog: Umm. Hotpot of cheese?Marty: NoMoog: Thats whale flavourMoog: this, is a bag ofMoog: chocked full of Japanese Snacks, all of that is going to beIn us, over the next few days.. (laughs)The next morning, Mr Sato, Yoshuke and MitsuriTook us to Asahikawa Jinga TempleThere are many religions practised in Japan including Bhudissm, and Shinto and Asahikawa Ginga is one of the Shrinto shrines in JapanJapanese people traditionally visit shrines on New Years Day to prayfor good fortune for the coming year, but also at other times, to pray for good luck or fortune inbusiness, marriage, university exams and other such major life eventsIt's also quite common for Japanese people to take their car to the shrine, to have the car blessedto ensure safe driving, free of accidents. And as we were about to take a road trip around HokkaidoWe decided to get our little Alto blessed.Steve: So, we've gotta park the car just therenear the white sign, the cars not allowed on there because that's where the gods walkSteve: we go up there, walk up the temple, and do the initial part of the ceremonySteve: and then the priest is gonna come out with us to car, and he's gonnaMoog: Bless The car.Steve: for safe driving for the rest of your Hokkaido tripWe were introduced to Mr Daiki Ashihara, who is the Kannushi , or head priest, at the shrine, who took us through the ceremonyMr Ashihara: (Japanese blessing)After the 30 minute ceremony, our little Suzuki was suitably blessedand Yoshuke had arranged for us to meet up with Hiro Ishikawa, a professional calligraphy artistMr Ishikawa had agreed to teach us the basics of Japanese CalligraphyAnd with his deep knowledge of Kanji, he'd write out our names, and we'd try and copy it the best we couldSteve: So hold itMoog: Like a chopstick almost?Steve: Exactly what he said..Mr Ishikawa: (Japanese)Moog: So Mr Ishikawa has just down our names in KanjiMoog: And what we've gotta do now, using the very limited skills we have, we're going to try and recreate our namesMoog: In Kanji, so that is the compeition right nowMoog: Martin, I'm going to honest with you because you're a nice guy, these are terrible!Steve: It's interesting, it has very artistic feelMarty: That's a nice way of saying it's crapMoog: And our score out of ten?Mr Iishikawa: (Japanese)Steve: Seven!Moog: And our score out of ten?Mr Iishikawa: (Japanese)Steve: Seven!Moog: Ah hai!Steve: Excellent!Steve: this one's very smartMoog: oooh!Moog: that's very apt actually for usMoog: and a score out of ten for Martin?Steve: (Japanese)Mr Ishikawa: (Japanese)Steve: 8.5!Moog: oh wow!Moog: Okay Okay!What we weren't told, is that whoever losesMoog: The caligraphy compeition, will actually be taking on the Japanese kendo masterMoog: in a fight to the deathMoog: what you can see up on the wall here, this signifies that he is aMoog: 6th dan Kendo master, but as i am guest in his country and his dojoMoog: I'm sure he'll be very kindMoog: so it's actually a little bit claustraphobicMoog: in the helmet, makes you feel a little bit spacy, it's so tight and is pressing against your earsMoog: so it feels like you're wearing earplugs, and you can hear everything that's going on in your bodyMoog: I can imagine if you got hit in the head while wearing this helmet it would be pretty loud(screams)(more screams)Mr Ishikawa was really nice a few minutes ago, but no he just kept screaming at me and trying to chop my head off(screams)(laughs)Moog: aaaarrrrrggghhhhhhMarty: You alright dude?Moog: aagghSteve: So bow againMoog: He's a scary dude!!!As a storm brewed over AsahikawaIt was time to Modify our little carThe reason we chose this car for our road trip, it because it's turbo, small, all wheel drive and heaps of funThe yellow number plate signifies that its a Kei Car, which has to be under 660cc's and enjoysmany benefits including cheaper rego and running costsMr Sato was kind enough to let us use his workshop at Car Shop Zenith. Which was lucky because the skies opened upYou can't get these cars in AustraliaSo we're really excited to be able to work on the car in it's home country. We brought with us a feAustralian made turbo components to raise the boost pressure, and squeeze a little more performance out of this tiny engineWe fitted a boost gauge, so we could monitor the changes, to the delight of our local fansMarty: we've got a couple of fans in Japan making their own behind the scenes documentaryMarty: there was a 400m long car partMarty: out the back of the garage where we could test out our modsMoog: with the most important mod done, we've just had word that i'd been invited to get my ass kicked AGAINMoog: this time at the local Aikido SchoolAikido is a Japanese martial artThat harmonises with the motion of an attacker, to redirect the force of their attack, rather than opposing head onAikido is one of Japans grappling artsand it's very effective at breaking armsMoog: Oh yep, thats not pleasant at all!This school is run at Asahikawa's medical collegeso all the practitioners are doctors, and they train three times a week, for three hoursThe next day we set off in the WRX, Alto and Golf with Mr Sato, Steve and Mitsurito check out the Sapporo Car AuctionsMarty was in the Alto, making sure all the mods we did yesterday worked as they shouldMoog was in the WRX, making sure it's mods worked tooAnd Steve was in his golf, making sure my mods, were better than hisThe country side AND driving in Hokkaidoreally is amazingMoog: I'm quite proud of myself, my sunglasses broke on the plane, and i added this eye mask thing to itMoog: but the problem is....... it hurts!Marty: it's really really bright around here, so we had to err.. sample the local fashionMoog: haha! yours a terrible dude!Marty: What do you mean!?Moog: what did you do to the front of them?Marty: I melted themMoog: gimme a look..Moog: marty used a cigarette lighter to modify the front of his there..With our sunglasses and the TV on, it was time to take off at a leisurely pace up the highway to the auctionsSapporo is around 1 and a half hours from AsahikawaMoog: this is corn, onion, cheese...Moog: and mayonaise, on a donutMarty: oh wow dude!Moog: we've just pulled off the highwayMoog: we're on the highway for about 1.5 hours in the STIMoog: we've got Steve in the GTI and the Alto is behind us, and we're about to..Moog: to go into the auction house and check out some of the mad cars for saleUSS Sapporo is a massive car auction houseand around 5000 cars go through these auctions, every single dayMr Sato is the elected vice chairman of the Hokkaido Chapterof the Japan Association of used car dealersSo he pulled a few strings to get us access to the auction house, as these are restricted areas as only professional dealers get to seeJapan has an incredibly strict quality control system for cars at auctionThe inspectors fill out detailed forms which are then scanned, so the dealers in the bidding roomCan get information on each car that is for saleWith such a huge variety of cars for sale in Japan, We've imported 6 over the years for our showWe even found a Daihatsu that is exactly the same model as our show carMoog: that is awesome!That is SO awesomeMoog: okay so everybody wants a cheap carMoog: they want something fast, for not much cash, this RX7 here..Moog: three hundred dollars, not three thousand.. 300 dollars!Moog: for this RX7 - unbelievable!Moog: i was getting excited about $300 sports cars, while Marty was gettingexcited about this thing, which was only $250There was a heap of Kei cars for sale, and it made us realise just how small our little car wasThere is such a huge range of cars for sale, almost anything you can imagineAnd a lot of them can be imported back to Australia, for around half of what you'd pay locallyMarty: we've found another Alto here at the auctions, looks somewhat cleaner than ours!Marty: it's newer, it's got airbags, it's all polished upMarty: and it's got a boost gauge and tacho just for the passengerIt was time to say goodbye to Mitsuri and Mr Sato and continue on our tripBut not before we released a few more kilowatts from our Alto with a brand new air filterMarty: filthy... wow!With a little bit more power unleished, it was time to get back on the roadMoog: you're a bogan dude!Moog: you are such a bogan dude!Moog: you are from the sutherland shire, you are frodo the bogan!We're back on the Highway, heading towards Lake ToyaWhich means a couple of hours on some of the best roads we've seen so farWe got off the highway, and soon after that a dirt road that led up a mountain, so we could get a few over the top of Lake ToyaLake Toya isten k's in diameter, and is a result of a volcanic eruption, thousands of years agoThis is mount Utsuand we've organised to get a cable car, to the crater at the top(Japanese)Our guide explains to us that this mountain has been slowly moving over the last 35 yearsand it used to be to our left, but now its to our rightMoog: this is actually a live volcano behind us, and it last erupted in 1973Moog: what you can see down there, used to be a lake, but when the volcano erupted it actually blew the lake awayMoog: and now there's nothing left but this huge craterMarty: and apparently it goes off once every 30 or so yearsSteve: Enjoy the roomSteve: the nice hotel, the nice food and the nice outdoor bath .. have a relaxing timIt was time to jump back into our super economical Kei CarOur boost controller had made it faster, but also more thirsty for fuel, as we later found outA service station in Japan is just thatnot only do you not have to hold the fuel nozzle lever, your car is emptiedof rubbish, fluids and tyres checked, and your windows cleaned all while being refuelledWe kinda felt bad just standing around and watchingMoog: relax, it's all goodMarty: Japanese accuracy!That evening we stayed at the Sun Hotel, which has rooms right on the banks of Lake Toya. Every night during summer they put on a fireworks displayfor the guestsThe hotel has it's own indoor water park, along with a tradition Ohn Senwhich are hot baths that use water directly from the Volcanic springsThe next day, we decided to take a jet boat out onto Lake ToyaMoog: okay so we're about to jump onboardMoog: the F14 Phantom Marine, Jet BoatMoog: so in the middle of the lakeMoog: it's actually so shallow, that the water is only waist deepMoog: and we're right in the middle of the lakeMarty: what we're actually sitting in right now, is a volcanic caterMarty: and while it's only a metre deep here, if you go a couple of meters that way, it drops off 170 meters straight downWe're heading to Oshimaa picturesque in the middle of the lake, which has a huge population of deerMarty: arigatoSo these are a biscuits you feed the deerMarty: and if there's any left over you can eat them yourselfMarty (to deer): one for you, one for me!Marty: they brought 3 deer here, they got together, and now there's 250 of themSteve: so there's some really nice englishSteve: what it actually means is, they don't want you feed the deer with salty of deep fried sweetsMoog: would somebody feed the deer deep fried food?Steve: they might do! you never know...We swapped a business card for an ice cream, which was a pretty good dealand then we were back on the boat, this time with me driving, and everyone else terrified!Moog: I'm driving a 200 horsepower JetboatMoog: 3.6 litre turbo dieselMoog: So over the last few years there's been a lot of rivalry between..Marty and me, and the whole Nissan and Subaru thingMarty: But we have finally found a way... to settle it once and for allSo marty jumped into his Subaru swan with launch assist, and headed out onto the race track...Moog: and i jumped into my Nissan swan, and took to the waterMoog: Nraaaaaagh!(Marty chopping Moog...)Marty: I am victorious!Marty: Subaru wins, on the road, and in the water.... in a swanSteve: It's just not got the power it should haveMoog: what's going on dude?Marty: Steves car isn't making the power it should, it's making some weird noises... We're gonna throw in a GFB Afermarket Blow off valve... It's gonna hold the boost and its gonna his car faster for free!With Steve's car running right again, it was time to de-sticker his rideand add some of our own vinyl so it actually gained some more powerMighty Car Mods style..Moog: so it's a modified hatchback, and we're from Australia, so you know we've gotta do thisWith our P Plate representingIt was time to hit the road again, this time heading through the mountain roads to Sapporobut we wanted to do it in a clean car..Moog: we're getting a car wash... Mighty Car Mods Style... not really, someone else is doing it..With the little car clean we took the alto worksfor a spirited drive through the mountain passThe roads of Hokkaido, feel like they were made for turbo cars, with tight corners..... smooth surfaces and fast straightsAlong the way, we stopped at the famousNakayamatogeMoog: (Japanese)Moog: Arigato (more Japanese)Moog: it's a potato, inside a donut..Moog: you'd think the Americans would have thought of that already..With my stomach full of donut and potato, i met an eligable young ladywho was a big fan of my headbandSteve: Is this cool?Eligible lady: Yes!With numbers exhanged it was time to hit the road again..\\We stopped off at this beautiful lookoutwhere we could enjoy some peace and quietI'm so glad we just washed the car!A couple more hours on the road, and we started getting into the outskirts of Sapporo cityMoog: we've just stopped in at Area 4 by 4, which is a used car dealership in HokkaidoMoog: And i thought i'd show you just how cheap some of these amazing cars areMoog: so behind me here, this pewter R33 skyline, that's around $3500 Australian DollarsMoog: now next to it, one of my favouritesMoog: SR20, 180SX also around $3500Moog: now there's a fully pumped S15 Silvia here, thats probably around $10,000Moog: but thats a proper worked car, that ones out of controlMoog: now over here, this ones pretty cool, we've got the massive arches on the Mr2Moog: thats about $5000Moog: very serious S15, apparently this one will beat a porsche, any porscheMoog: thats $10,000Moog: GTO, one of Japans, well, not as popularMoog: supercars, but definitely a fast car, thats around about $5000Moog: comes with this incredibly ugly kit as well but it is very JapMoog: it shows you just how cheap these cars are, considering by the time they get to australiaMoog: they are considered specialty, and probably cost 4 to 5 times that muchMarty: so this, spec'd out Legacy, is $25.5Marty: in Japan, this tiny little Suzuki Kei CarMarty: with less features, less everything.. is another $2000 on top of thatMarty: and the reason is..Marty: Less tax, less rego, less petrol... cars are expensive to runMarty: so there's more demandSteve: so he was just telling me why cars like the Legacys are dropping so much in price...Steve: one reason is the price..Steve: they cost to run the cars, it costs a lot more like the legacySteve: than it does to run the Kei car, so thats one of the main onesSteve: the second is the Eco car thing.. Which is basicallySteve: you know, the Hybrid cars and electric cars..Steve: those are REALLY popular right noWe made our way to the Hotel, just as the sun was going down over the citySapporo is the 5th Largest city in Japan, that around two million people call homeIt's a hugely popular centre in the winter for the ski season, it boast the Sapporo brewerybeautiful mountains, rivers and parks and is a thriving Arts hubIn winter there are snow sculptures right through the center of the cityAnd a beer festival where all the major beer manufactureres in Japan display their stuffWe headed out for dinner with some of the people who helped make our trip possible..Marty learnt the Japanese art of pouring beer for everyone, i ate a huge amount ofHokkaido Crab, which is a local delicacyAfter the amazing dinnerI happened to mention that Blow Off Valves are illegal in Australia, and they laughed about itfor the next two hoursIt was a great way to end our last night in HokkaidoMarty: here's a good travel tip, when you leave your car overnight.. turn the light off!We got our asses kicked by a little Daihatsu, on our way to Super Autobacs, which is a hugecar parts and accesories chain store, which is literally the size of a factoryEven the car park was awesome!We're on our way to Up Garage, which is a second hand parts storeThey've got every car part you can imagine, and they only sell second handAmazingly everything is around 25% of what you'd pay in AustraliaMarty: Legacy wheels! $100 for a whole set!Moog: so if you want a spoiler, they start at ten bucks!Moog: you want bass, you want sub? we got it! 24 inch!Moog: wow thats really really heavyMoog: okay so we've been looking for someMoog: rims for our little show car, and we've just found some RaysMoog: versus turismo, these are 20% off...Moog: around about $139 US Dollars, so its gonna beMoog: less than $150 Australian dollars, for a whole set of 4!As a quick demonstration of just how small our little car is..we decided to drive around the city on the footpath.. until someone asked us to stopso we took a break, and got a hot lunch, which you can get at any7/11 or convinience store in JapanMoog: now the Japanese are very goodMoog: at making things small, and they've managed to 50 lemons...moog: inside this tiny bottle, i don't know how they did itMoog: but they managed to fit Marty and I in a tiny car for the last weekMoog: and i'm going to drink, 50 - lemonsHere we go..Moog: that was 25 lemons...Moog: BLAAARRRGGGHMoog: blaarararaThat IS 25 lemons!!(BUUUURP)Moog: excuse me!Moog: we're heading towards Chitose Citytrying to see how far we can get without our hands on the steering wheel...Just kidding...We're actually trying to line steve up to beat his golfMoog: alto works dude!Marty: that was a good launch!Moog: we're catching, we're catching!Marty: that was a good launch manMoog: thanks mate!Marty: you had him in the first 5 metres...we're heading to Hokkaido Offroad Park, which is Japans best.. with over 7km of dirt tracksthis is the place that Japanese motorbike manufacturers bring their new models for researchbefore they export them all over the world...They've got a whole fleet of dune buggiesthat you can race, but we came up with another idea...Moog: so after all this rivalry, it's finally time..Moog: for the ultimate Japan Battle..Moog: I am in a dune buggy, and Marty..Moog: is in the Suzuki Alto Works AWD turbo...Moog: on a rally trackMarty: and i'm gonna destroy you!Moog: i'm gonna destroy you dude, i'm gonna pump you hard!(beep, beep, beep..)The dune buggy was faster in the corners, but as soon as we were on a straightthe turbo power of the Suzuki couldn't be beat, P Plate and all..Moog: aw man! you owned it dude!!Marty: i know!Hokkaido off road park, is also home toJapans best motorcross trackMoog: dude i am having the best time, this is just AwesomeMoog: i'm very glad that i didn't break my wrist out there, because i hadMoog: nightmares as i was going around ofMoog: sitting on the plane with that bit of my forearm sticking outMoog: at a 90degree angle.. but definitely next time when i come back here, and it will be soonMoog: we are going to bring all our gear, and we're gonna go nuts out there..Marty: because Steve drives a Golf..Marty: he's never done a burnout, or got sideways, or driven on Gravel..Marty: so i decided to take him on one final drive, in the little AltoSteve: !@#$Check out the look on Steves face!Marty: yeah!Steve: Gonna Vomit!!!Marty: he's gonna vomit..Steve: i'm gonna VOM. awwwMoog: thank you! Koala Hug!Moog: we had the best time in Hokkaido, with this guy and our AltoMoog: going crazy on the trackMoog: thank you..WOOOOOOOOOOO!We made our final trip to the AirportAnd realised, it doesn't really matter what kind of car you've gotUltimately, its all about the people you meet along the road...(music builds..)We would like to thanks JTB Hokkaido and JTB Australia for arranging our travel and accomodationThank you to Zenith for providing us with some amazing cars, for letting us hijack their garage, and to Tom Sato for his constant generosityAnd finally a huge thanks to Steve King, whos Interpreting, deep knowledge of Japan and good humour gave an extra layer of understanding on our tripToo book your own tour, visitbfh.jp/toutr/enThank you to everyone who appeared in this film and all the friends we made along the roadto find out more about our trip go to:www.mightycarmods.com/japantour\n"