The Good Ship No Name

Graceful curves it lacks; high tech gizmos and fly rims too. Its engine is only 2/10ths of a liter larger than my motorcycle. It's an automatic and the steering wheel is on the wrong side. Still, I've bought a car to call my own in Japan!



The Honda Logo is a model we never got in the States in the mid-nineties, probably because it's only just a tad smaller than a Civic and fills a similar market segment. Surprisingly though it's a fabulous little car with exceptional acceleration, ride comfort and fuel consumption. The thing's a bucking bronco at red lights where I can out-drag aggressive Japanese drivers and torment old ladies trying to cross the street. The best thing about this buy though has to be its price--I snagged the bastard for only 100,000 J-bucks Less than $1,000) from an outgoing JET eager to sell, which was 1/4 what he paid for it a couple years earlier. He took great care of it and she's flawless other than the inevitable faded paint. Actually, that brings up another great thing about this buy, the paint job. Exposure has stripped the car of its glossy texture and now it's an absolutely perfect platform to paint on. Nothing huge, just doodles every here and there. Or maybe something huge. Maybe I'll turn it into an art car. There's a store in Fukuoka that sells Lego men so hey, maybe I'll diorama the roof. The possibilities are limitless and that's the way I like it!

Anywho, I took a day off today to head into Oita City and change the ownership on it, spending about an hour at the Japanese DMV, a.k.a. rikuunkyouka. Got that? I'm feeling pretty good about that whole experience despite how exciting your mind's eye might be picturing it. Sure, it's a dull, soul-sucking place (or places, actually) and process, but the guy who sold me the car played up the level of Japanese skill needed to complete the process and I seemed to pass the test well enough. Nothing like a trip to the DMV to stroke one's ego, eh?

--Matt