Wringing out a wet cloth

At JPC, all the workers clean the office together for 15 minutes from 8:50 on every Monday morning. We vacuum the carpet on the floor, clean the toilet and we wet a cloth and wring it out before wiping our desks. However, I realised that wringing out the cloth after wetting it is not always a standard thing to do. The other day, I asked one of our staff to wipe the desk and found that all the desks were quite badly wet. I did not really notice it at that time but when another staff member did the same job, the same thing happened: the cloth was not wrung properly.

When I was a primary school kid, most children were using cloths at cleaning time, I assumed everyone would wring the cloth out. In some countries they do not use cloth (some non-Japanese staff in our office), and some young Japanese staff have never used them before.

In Japan, now that vacuum cleaners are the norm in every household, I guess not many children have experience in using a cloth at home. Apart from cloth to be used on the floor, the only thing which needs wringing is a rag to wipe the table. So the simple thing of wringing out the cloth is a thing in the past for young children in this country.

When I was a child, because both of my parents were working, I quite often had to help them with cleaning. Also, we visited our neighbours more often, saw their ways of cleaning, and got a bit confused when it was not always the same way as ours. Sometimes I learned a new way to wring out the cloth differently looking at how my friends were doing it. We seemed to have had more opportunity to see how people cleaned.

However, now most young people are too busy playing on the internet or with their mobile phones, they are not watching what their parents are doing. Compared to old times, we have less contact with our neighbours, so we have less chance to see how they clean their houses and steal their technique. Cleaning and other house work are carried from adults to children naturally through everyday life but this seems to be changing now.

Then, is it us adult’s responsibility to teach this to our children? To be honest, I have never taught my children how to wring out the cloth. I guess you have to repeat the same process over and over until they learn how to do housework. Adults have to be patient. It requires great patience on our side.

So I asked my children to wring out the cloth. Because they could not wring it out well, I decided to take this opportunity to teach them how to do it. Unfortunately, with my boy’s lack of grip strength, I got mad and impatient. We ended up in a nasty mood. No, it did not go well. In the end, I yelled to them, “I can’t stand it! I’ll finish this myself. You just go away and finish your homework or whatever!”

Maybe teachers should make this homework, then parents and children will think this is something they have to do?

Sorry, this issue turned out to be some old man complaining…


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

4th generation Honda Stepwagons are now selling

4th generation Honda Stepwagons are now selling

It was when I went to a Honda shop to renew insurance on behalf of a customer in Japan. I noticed a Stepwagon was prominently in display there. People kept coming in one after another to check the car. According to the salesperson there, the car arrived just before opening the shop that day. From middle aged men to young guys, a wide range of customers were looking at the car and some tried getting inside of it, then they left after getting a brochure.

To be honest, I do not remember selling any Stepwagons to overseas customers but this is one of the most popular compact mini-vans in Japan. As a matter of fact, I too am a customer who bought a brand new 2nd generation Stepwagon about 8 years ago. Its selling points is that, it is small enough to be classed as a compact car which buyers can get preferential treatment from the tax department as it is within the size regulation, it expands indoor space as much as possible and still have a high fuel efficiency. When I bought it, my children were 6 and 7 year olds and our old Mitsubishi RVR was getting too small for long distance family travel. The 2nd generation Stepwagon had the automatic sliding rear doors fitted in a compact mini-van for the first time in the history. It also had pop-up seats to improve the indoor comfort, 2nd row seats turning into a table, etc and designed for a family with small children. Our children fell in love with it when we went for a test drive, so we bought it straight away.

The 3rd generation Stepwagon after the 2nd generation model was designed too sporty and lost its appeal as the Stepwagon, was struggling in sales against other compact mini-van competitors such as Toyota Noah, Toyota Voxy and Nissan Serena.

After the important lesson from the 3rd generation model, this 4th generation model is now made with the concept of a mini-van with a comfortable inside space for every member of a family. Its size is 50mm longer and 45mm higher than the 3rd generation model. Thinking about increasing the interior space, the 3rd row seats are not like the last model with flip-up type seats which made the room small, but stored under-floor to make the luggage compartment bigger.

The platform is improved too. According to the designers, it is “for every generation to get in and out of the car easily and with the low-floor low-gravity technology. Unlike the last generation model’s 2 steps platform, this model only takes just 1 step.” By widening the opening space of the sliding doors, it made it easier for getting in and out. Also by widening the space between the front seats and the second seats, it has wider leg room and made getting in and out easier, too.

I think that this is a good car for people who want to try a mini-van and who has a family. I do not understand why it is not popular overseas but this is one of the cars I strongly recommend to others.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Integration of car dealers

As a channel to distribute their own cars, car manufacturers own shops under exclusive distributor contracts. These dealers sell new cars and provide maintenance services to their customers. Until sometime around 1990, depending on the marketing areas, customer segments, car categories, etc, these shops were following the distribution channels the manufacturers had set. For example, Toyota had 5 different distribution lines and each shop was specialized in:
・Toyota Shops: luxury cars such as the Crown and the Celsior
・Toyopet Shops: middle-class cars such as the Mark Ⅱ and the Corona
・Vista Shops: middle-class cars such as the Vista
・Corolla Shops: low-end cars such as the Corolla
・Netz Shops: compact cars such as the Vitz
Among the shops above, the Vista shops are now closed and changed to the Lexus shops.

Because Toyota has 30 – 40 new models of cars on the market at the moment, it is　impossible for one salesperson to have the product knowledge of all the cars; so by grouping their cars, Toyota was selling their cars from each shop specialising in a certain channel. Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda and other Japanese car manufacturers were also using this channel dispersion strategy.

However, following the bubble's implosion around 1990, sales of new cars has started to decline and the manufacturers have restructured and integrated some of their dealers. Because dealers are individual companies in their own right, so the manufacturers carried out the restructure slowly, respecting the dealers’ own business; but after the Lehman shock, the situation is getting worse. Not only the dealers, but the manufacturers are also having a hard time, which is accelerating the restructures now.

There are a few car dealers around our office but the nearest Toyota Netz shop was closed the other day. As for Nissan, when I rang the usual dealer to inquire about renewal of insurance, I got a recorded message saying that the office had been shifted to another area. When I rang the new number, it was connected to another Nissan shop nearby. I asked for the person I have been dealing with and according to him, the manufacturer is now looking at quick integration and his shop had to be integrated with this shop at the end of last month. Both dealers were separate companies, so he is now treated as a contractor but soon will be transferred. A harsh reality, isn’t it?
For us, the worst thing this kind of integration can cause is that, even if with the same manufacturer’s signboard, they do not always share their policies and price system; sometimes we do not continue to receive the same service. For example, a dealer only charged JPY 10,000 as a fee for a renewal of insurance but his new shop might charge JPY 12,000. Some may not do a free maintenance service before the change of ownership. In most cases, the conditions turn worse for us. This is because the new dealership would consist of new mixed employees and systems who will have to follow their old rules faithfully and recheck their costs and raise their prices.

Each car manufacturer and dealer now has to decide what to do to survive in this ever shrinking market in Japan.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

What to do after having a car for 11 years or more: buy a new one or keep the current one?

I remember writing about vehicle inspection systems in Japan and other countries in my mail magazine. To make sure that each vehicle in each country is complying with their own safety standards, it should be done regularly and every car needs to pass one to be on the road.

It is easy to understand the framework of the inspection but how much does it cost? In Japan, it is expensive. I think the compulsory insurance we have to pay at every inspection (Shaken) is necessary but the cost for the weight tax charged by the weight of a vehicle is too much.

You know, 80% of the money goes to specific revenue sources for road construction projects. Thinking that local politicians create unnecessary road works to drop money to their electorate, I cannot accept that… Oops! It is a bit off my subject.

So, how much do you think it is going to cost you if you keep a car for 11 years in Japan? I tried to estimate the cost for a petrol car and a hybrid car. The engine size of them is 1.5L. Say if they have to go through Shaken 4 times and get rid of it without getting the 5th one. The cost of deregistration and profit from resale are not included because it depends on the condition of the cars.

Other conditions include: annual mileage as 5,000km, cost of fuel, considering a bit of usage incurred by things such as air-conditioners, as 14km/L for a petrol car and 25km/L for a hybrid car, cost of petrol at US$12.50/L, cost of car parks as US$100/month, cost of compulsory insurance as $450/year for a petrol car and $500/year for a hybrid car, thre changes every 30,000km, oil change every 10,000km and US$100.

If the cost of a new petrol car is US$16,520 and US$22,190 for a hybrid car, the total cost of maintenance is estimated as US$38,419 for a petrol car and US$36,762 for a hybrid car. The average annual maintenance cost is US$3,492 for a petrol car and US$3,342 for a hybrid car. A hybrid car is only slightly cheaper but at the annual mileage of 5,000km, there will not be much benefit in the fuel costs.

As a conclusion, whatever car you have, it costs more than 5 million yen to keep a car for 11 years and it costs twice as much for maintenance than the cost of purchase. Because the budget for car maintenance is limited, to reduce family spending, getting rid of a car seems the best way.

However, if you buy a car cheap through JPC, you can keep the cost of purchase low. So, please think about using our service.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Tokyo Motor Show 2009 (2)

This is the second issue on the Tokyo Motor Show.

After checking the Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi booths, I moved to Honda’s booth. As I was walking, I noticed a big display hanged from the ceiling which said “Make something that has never existed”. It looked promising.

I also saw many people disappearing into the space surrounded by those display boards one after another. Within a second or two, their show started. It was about a future city with hybrid and electric cars. The theme was a bit uninspired but when the human-shaped robot “ASIMO” came out half-way through and started dancing with people, I quite enjoyed it.

Next, I moved to Suzuki’s booth. The main attraction there was the launch of their staple car “Alto” with a new concept. The main changes are the new large meters, user-friendly floor shifts, larger luggage compartments, etc. To show the differences, they displayed the first generation Alto next to the newest model to make the evolved one look more attractive. However, I was too busy looking at the beautiful model coming on & off in front of the old model who was the most or the second most beautiful among all the models at the motor show. To be honest, with her rather classical appearance, the contrast between the classic Alto and modern beauty, the old model looked more attractive with the girl as the title of the Suzuki’s legend car.

I checked Mazda, Subaru and Daihatsu after that but they all had similar displays of hybrid and electric cars as well as small demonstrations; was not really impressive. Because of the recession, imported car manufacturers decided not to participate in the show, the size of the show was about half of the last show and only attracted about the half number of people.

To me, the most interesting thing was the exhibition of the 30th anniversary of Japan Car of the Year. From the first winner Mazda Familia to this year’s winner the Prius, they were all on display and they all brought back memories. “Yes, I’ve seen this car!”, “Oh, my friend who had this car looked incredibly happy when it won the Car of the Year”, “Yes, I borrowed this car from an older friend to take a girl out”, etc. There were so many things that came up in my mind.
There were more things there such as Yamaha and Harley Davidson motorbikes and parts manufacturers’ booths but I was running out of time so I quickly checked them.

Most manufacturers were concentrating on eco cars like electric cars, not flash in size and display, the whole show was less costly and eco-friendly. We could clearly see that there would be a big change from petrol cars in the near future. I love cars but I felt a bit worried if there are going to be any attractive hybrid / electric cars come into our life. What do you think?


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Tokyo Motor Show 2009 (1)

Last Sunday, I went to biennial Tokyo Motor Show. From past experience, I decided to leave early to get there at 9:30 and have a look at the main booths while it is less crowded.

Before leaving home, I checked the train schedule and calculated the time so that I could get there at 9:30 but the train I was on had trouble. I had to wait for 20 minutes on the train, so I only got there around 9:50.

When I got there, I went straight to Toyota’s booths. They had a Lexus and a Toyota booth next to each other. In the Lexus booth, they had their new super car “LFA” for the first public display in the most prominent spot. Its maximum speed is 325km/h and the price is eye-popping at US$375,000.

At the show, Toyota’s president Mr Akio Toyoda was saying “We tested it on a race circuit so many times even down to the sound of the exhaust. This is our super-sport car with the taste of Lexus.” This was his baby. He was there from the early stage of the development. The numbers produced is limited to 500, so this is a real premium car. During the world recession, I wonder how they go.

Another main product from Toyota was the “FT-86”, nicknamed as “Hachi-roku” (eighty-six in Japanese) and a remodelled popular old car “AE86”. We still get orders from some customers in Europe and although they are more than quarter of a century old, you can hitch JPY 1 million at auction if it is in a good condition. They are still popular. At the show, it was displayed next to the Lexus LFA. When I got there, it was already crowded with people, so I decided to go back later and forgot to take a photo of it. (Damn!)

Usually Toyota had some kind of show, spending quite a bit of money using a famous model or young actor but this year they had none. As well as these cars, they had a Prius, a next generation plug-in hybrid car and an electric car on display. It was just a quiet show booth for display only.

Then I checked the Nissan booth. They had a similar size booth as Toyota but they, too were only displaying their cars. According to the TV, there was going to a demonstration of the car crush using their new safety technology but the staff member there told me that they could not finalise the development in time for the show so they canned it. Sad… The only thing to mention was two GT-Rs, which were the main attraction at last year’s show, were in display next to each other so we could see the the length of the last two years. There was no stage show or anything and less there to see than Toyota’s booths, I quickly walked away.

I also checked the Mitsubishi’s booth next to the Nissan’s. They were having a stage demonstration of their new electric car “i-MiEV”. They are confident that this car will sell. This is an electric car we can actually drive on the road and by showing that you can even charge the battery using a household power outlet, they were making an appeal suggesting a new lifestyle taking the car into everyday life.



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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Which car breaks easily?

When we buy a car, one of the worrisome points is what sort of services are included in their warranty. When we buy a brand new car in Japan, they usually come with two different manufacturer warranties at the manufacturer’s dealer’s: 1) General Services: 3 years after the first registration (or under 60,000km) and 2) Special Services: 5 years after the first registration (or under 100,000km).

General Services apply to almost everything including electrical components for free repair. Special Services are only for the engine, transmission and other major components and of course the repair is free. Imported cars such as Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi usually covers everything within 3 years of the first registration (no millage restriction).

Like this, when you buy a new car, you get all the protections so you can relax but there is no set guarantee for second-hand cars. Normally, if you buy them from a dealer, they provide their own services under their own policy which set the time and mileage as they choose. So, as you can guess, the limitations of warranty vary depending on the dealer. On a 5 year old car or a car with the mileage more that 100,000km, there will not be any warranty from the manufacturers, nothing will be covered for repairs and of course there is more chance of having something go wrong than brand new cars. I personally think that each manufacturer should report their failure rates for the cars past their warranty time but apart from when they do a recall, I have never seen such information. Each manufacturer makes great effort in design and production so that their cars will not have a break down within the warranted time (5 years after the first registration or under 100,000km) but after that, their ways of thinking are different between them.

This is more obvious when you compare the policies between Japanese cars and imported ones. For Japanese cars, compared to imported ones, as you know, it is not so likely to have a breakdown or a problem which requires a repair even if you have it for a long time. Even if your car needs a parts change or repair, it is carefully designed so that you can change parts easily. For example, to change the battery, it is well placed so that you can take an old one out easily but in some imported cars, you require a special tool and need to remove the bits and pieces around it before you take the battery out. Some imported cars have really complicated layouts. Also, for a simple parts change, where if it is a Japanese car you only need to replace a rubber part, for some imported ones they require a whole shaft assembly change where the rubber part is attached. Sometimes for a similar repair, the cost can be 10 times more than fixing a Japanese car.

However, even Japanese cars, well-known for their hardiness, are only machines. They do break. So which models break more easily? Makers never publicly report this (or they might just not have the data) but the other day I asked the insurance company we always use. Here you go. Insurance company disclose these data as much as possible to car dealers to draw our attention and reduce customers claiming insurance.

(Failure rate ranking)
1) Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear (PD6W, PD8W, etc)
2) Mitsubishi Chariot Grandis (N94W)
3) Mitsubishi Lancer (CE9A, CP9A, etc)
4) Nissan Largo (W30, NW30)
5) Nissan Skyline (R33 series, R34 series)
6) Nissan Primera (P11 series, P12 series)
7) Subaru Legacy (BH5, BE5)
8) Nissan Gloria (Y33 series, Y34 series)
9) Toyota Harrier (SUX series, MCU series)
10) Mazda MPV (LW3W, LW5W)

Some cars listed here include the ones which had problems as a car going on the road, sport cars which went through too many conversions and not in the original states at all, and of course the drivers’ bad driving habits also play a part, so please do not judge the cars on this list as bad: but if you are buying a car now, please check this list to choose the best one for you.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Fixing your car with second-hand parts

When there was something wrong with their cars, most Japanese drivers take the cars to the dealer’s maintenance shops to get them fixed at dealers such as Toyota and Nissan. When a mechanic gives them a quote, most people just accept it without even a glance and book their cars in. In this case, the parts they use at dealer’s shops are usually brand new.

However, recently, some dealers started recommending the change to second-hand (recycled) parts. Recycle parts are taken out of deregistered cars and stocked by recycle parts traders. They have a wide range of parts from exterior parts such as door mirrors and doors to machinery parts like drive shafts. For dealers, selling new parts is definitely more profitable and better financially. So, I was wondering why they recommend using second-hand parts to their customers.

I found the answer the other day when I visited a car dealer near our office. Inside, I saw quite a few brochures recommending parts change with used parts, clearly in display. So when I found a mechanic who I sometimes do business with, I asked him the reason behind this sudden change. According to him, among the people who bring their cars in to his shop, more of them tell him that they want to reduce their maintenance cost. After checking the quote, they specify the parts they want him to fix. From the dealer’s stance, when he writes up the quote, he does not add any unnecessary services on it; thinking about safe driving in the future, he recommends the parts changes or the services. So when there are so many bits overlooked by the customer, it means that it will not be safe for the car going back on the road. However his customers only want him to fix the urgent problems and now more cars are brought in straight after the service with other problems where he knew would be the problem sooner or later. Even if it was his customer’s decision, dealers want to avoid big accidents later on because of that. That is why he recommends them not new parts but reasonably priced second-hand parts to save the cost so that all the problems would be fixed altogether. Dealers also think that even if they cannot make much money from parts, they can make profit from their maintenance services, so it is still profitable.

Lately, some large insurance companies gives their customers 5% discount in their car insurance premium under the condition that they preferentially chose used parts for maintenance.
Using recycled parts means using our resources again. It is good for our environment and for our wallet. At JPC, for customers from certain countries, we started selling “half-cuts” by cutting cars in half to send in a container from the dash board to front bumper only. In this way, you can use many more parts as parts, such as the engine and other front parts. If you are interested, please send an enquiry to our staff.



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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Summer holiday 2009: Day 5

After driving a total of 600km drive within three days to yesterday, we were a bit tired so decided on an easy sightseeing day in Hakodate. Thinking about the location, we booked a city hotel near the Hakodate railway station as it has easy access to most places.

After a buffet style breakfast, we checked the morning market in front of the station. Here, we saw people selling fish and other seafood, fruit & vegetables, dried food, confectioneries, etc. About 450 stall holders were crushed together from early morning and yelling to tourists in brisk voices. I felt like eating Sushi there but I was still full from my breakfast, so we were just walking around, enjoying the atmosphere.

Straight from there, a walk along the port took us to the waterfront warehouses, one of the famous tourist attractions. The red brick warehouses were making the port attractive. They are now used as bars & restaurants and a shopping mall. Shops of different sizes were attracting the tourists. Among the shops, there was a musical box museum and my daughter spent a great time making her own music box.

After wandering around the shops, it was almost lunch time. We decided to go to the original “Lucky Pierrot” hamburger shop to try their hamburgers. The “Lucky Pierrot” has 14 shops in Hakodate. They boast that all the ingredients are from Hokkaido. They do not stock their food: they cook it after each order. They are famous as a place you can get hot-from-the-oven hamburgers. I had a “Chinese chicken burger”, the most popular on the menu. It was very nice with the combination of slightly sweet fried chicken and thick bun.

Hakodate is also well-known for slopes. From the centre of the city, they had about 18 slopes towards Mt Hakodate. To do some exercise after lunch, we walked up the famous “Hachiman-saka” which was used in a TV ad. At the top, there was a high school. It was supposed to be a great panorama overseeing the whole port but it was raining all morning, it was blurry unfortunately.

Within a short walk from there, we saw the Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward, the Old British Consulate building and other historic buildings of Meiji era. We were impressed with their great architectural skills.
After sightseeing of the port area, we went back to the railway station. Luckily it was time for a bus leaving for Mt Hakodate. Because the rain had stopped, we decided to jump on the bus and headed toward the mountain. It is a small mountain with a height of only 334m but is famous for its breathtaking night view which is said to be one of the three best in the world with Naples in Italy and Hong Kong.

When we got there, the sun had not yet set and it was too early to see the night views but with the evening sun peeking through the cloud, we enjoyed the fantastic scenery of the city illuminated by the setting sun.

As the sun went down, the city was lit up; there appeared beautiful scenery right in front of us. You know, I was expecting much because a night view is not anything new for us who live in a big city watching it every night. However, I was taken aback with the unimaginable beauty and the scale of the view. Unknown to us, it was the anniversary day called “Night View Day” and to celebrate 150 years after their opening of the port after the period of national isolation of Edo era, there was an event in which fireworks were set off from 15 different places around the city. This made our visit there more exciting. We felt really lucky with this whole trip. Thank you, Hokkaido!

Starting from Hakodate, everything in our trip was 100% satisfaction. A summer trip in Hokkaido, it is a bit far from Tokyo but I would recommend it to everyone.



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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Summer holiday 2009: Day 4

The whitewater rafting yesterday was a great fun but I had some muscle pain on my old body. It is pathetic for me to be left with sore muscles after playing on the water. Anyway, I could not stop there: today we were to climb Niseko Annupuri (1308m).

There are 3 routes to the top and two of them use gondolas (lifts). Wondering how we should go up and thinking that coming all the way to Hokkaido to do mountain climbing, using a gondola seems like cheating, I decided to use the pure route without one.

We drove to the entrance. The entrance was at a height of 750m, so the actual height we were climbing was 558m. And it was a straight track. To be honest, it was more like trekking rather than mountain climbing but for my wife and I, who do not exercise regularly, it turned out to be a hard enough climb (Yes, to me it was proper mountain climbing!) According to the morning weather report, it was supposed to rain the next day, so it was cloudy. I thought it was a bit disappointing not to have clear sky but some locals told me later that the sun would be too strong and we would be sweating like pigs if it had been sunny at this time of the year, so we were lucky.

After signing our names in the visitor book at the entrance, we left. At the beginning, we were talking and joking together but after 10 minutes or so, a gap started to open between our children and us. The children kept walking ahead of us. But we could not give up then, so we kept our pace and walked step by step. At a certain height, we started seeing Mt Iwanuopuri, massive in scale behind us. As we were walking up, Mt Iwanuopuri got lower and lower. Being encouraged by that, we kept going by having a break now and then.

There are quite a few bears in Hokkaido and some live in Niseko where nature has not been spoiled yet. Among some local climbers, we saw some carrying bells to scare bears away. When our children disappeared out of our sight, my wife was worried they would be attacked by bears. However, I did not have time to worry about others: I had to worry about myself, whether I was going to make it to the top or not. Not even sparing a thought for their parents, the children were there at the top looking a bit bored from waiting.

At the top, we saw Yoteizan. We could not see it until we got there because it is right behind the mountain we were climbing. Without a cloud, it was towering up grandly. We did think about climbing Yoteizan instead but we gave up after checking that it would be an all-day walk and would need proper preparation. Watching it from there, I thought Yoteizan was not a mountain to climb but one to watch from a distance. Taking a few family shots at the top, we decided to go back quickly because it was quite windy. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to go up and 1 hour and 10 minutes to come down.

When we got back to the car park, we had some rice balls for lunch and decided to hop in an Onsen somewhere to relieve our worn out bodies. Around Niseko, it is a volcanic area and I heard that there are lots of famous Onsens and you can be satisfied whichever one you hop in. Driving around deciding which one, I saw a “Koikawa Onsen” sign at a Japanese style inn and went in to use the Onsen only.

Not knowing anything about this Onsen, we just went in but the car park was full even though it was daytime on a weekday. The inn was an old wooden building and you could easily guess it had been there for a long time. At the entrance, we saw a lantern with a print of “Japan Secluded Hot Spring Association”. At the end of the wooden corridor, straight from the entrance, there was the Onsen. In it, the bathtub was yellow. A lot of hot water was coming out of a tap and when I saw it closely, I saw some particles of iron in it. No wonder the water was brown. Because of the amount of iron contained in the water, even the tiles of the bathroom were brown. This indicated that the source of the hot water was spring. Beside the outdoor bath, there was a waterfall. Surrounded by the woods and looking at the waterfall, it was very pleasant. In winter, it would be even better with snow added to the scene and just imagining it, I felt great. While I was in the water, more and more people joined us.

When I got back home, I checked this place on the internet. It was the oldest Onsen in the area and for people who are mad about Onsen, it is one of the best Onsens in Hokkaido. After 3 nights of using a bath in modern hotels, it was nice to experience an old real Onsen. Feeling refreshed inside and outside, we went back to Hakodate.


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Summer holiday 2009: Day 3

After hopping in the Onsen the first thing in the morning and a buffet style breakfast, we left the hotel at 8:30. The main attraction for the day was to travel to Niseko for whitewater rafting as a family but in the morning we were going to Shikotsuko which boasts one of the few lakes in Japan with clear water. The weather was great so we could not miss the Shikotsuko sightseeing on a tourist boat.

It was about an hour drive to Shikotsuko and it was really a smooth drive on the roads without traffic jams in Hokkaido. When we got there, we went straight to the tourist boat ticket office. Checking about this beforehand, I knew each boat leaves every half an hour. I had to buy the tickets so that we did not have to wait too long. If we had to wait there, we might not be in time for the water rafting at Niseko and we would have to give up the idea of going on the boat. At the ticket office, while some visitors were taking time to buy theirs, I bought 4 and this was a success! We were the last to get on the next boat.

Shikotsuko is famous for the water clarity. To see the bottom of the lake, the boat had a glass bottom. Looking through it, I saw some fresh water fish such as rainbow trout swimming slowly in the cobalt blue water. Getting off the boat, we saw incredibly blue sky above us and similarly blue water on the lake; we felt “Yes, we are in Hokkaido!” We felt great. It was a half an hour ride on the boat but we felt it was shorter because we enjoyed the scenery so much.

For the water rafting in the afternoon, we had an appointment to meet a staff from the adventure company first. We did not have much time and although I thought it was shame finishing our sightseeing of Shikotsuko just after the boat ride, we got back in the car and headed off to the next destination.

Having mushroom soup for lunch on the way, we got there 10 minutes early after exactly a 2 hour drive. There was a young Japanese man waiting for us with rubber boats on top of a dark blue Toyota Hi-ace. (We then found out that he was the company director.) At the same time, two couples from Sapporo arrived and joined us. It was about a 15 minute drive to the bank of the Shiribetsu River. (Until the year 2007, Shiribetsu was ranked as the country’s best limpid water and still a class A river with great water quality. ) There was a tent already set up for us and another staff member was waiting. We changed into wetsuits and life jackets there. Although it is not that hot in Hokkaido in summer, after putting a wetsuit on, I felt sweat shooting out of my body. Looking at us, the staff member yelled “Let’s go! Jump in the water!” and started running towards the river with everyone hand in hand. I do not think my children had ever jumped into a river like this, but they did not hesitate. They looked happy in the cold water of the Shiribetsu River. This spot was going to be the end of the rafting. So we all got in his Hi-ace and drove to the starting point.

At the starting point, we met more families from different agents. There were a numbers of non-Japanese instructors, most of them were Australians but there was a Nepalese instructor who cultivated his skill in the Himalayas. I remembered watching TV when they were saying that Niseko has so many tourists from Australia coming for its powdery snow. Some of them then fall in love with the natural beauty of Niseko and decide to live there and set up companies selling resort villas. Checking it later, I found that there are some water rafting companies whose directors are Australians. No wonder there were so many non-Japanese staff there.

After a lecture of all the notabilia and how to control the boat at the starting point, we were off in the river. Our family were on an 8-person boat and the couples were in 2 different 2-person boats. On our boat, we had a staff member with us so we had to row as instructed but the people on the 2-people boats, although another staff member (the director) was following them on a separate boat, had to row by their own judgement. So it was full of thrills but they were struggling when their boats went on rocks and falling out of the boats in the rapids. The amount of water in summer is stable and was good for beginner rafters like ourselves. River Shiribetsu runs around a beautiful mountain called Yoteisan, which looks like Mt Fuji; we enjoyed the great scenery of the mountain and the river at the same time. However, we could not always watch the scenery: at the points where two rivers met and curved, the stream got very strong. It was quite scary. The staff member who was with us hit rocks intentionally and put the raft upright so that we all thought we were going to be thrown out, my children were having a great time. Half way through, we had to jump off a 3 metre high rock, something we cannot normally do. Because of these sideshow acts and happenings, we got to the final point after 2 hours and 15 minutes, way over the planned time of 1.5 hours.

After getting back into our own clothes, the director handed me a CD. He was taking photos of us on the raft with his digital camera while he was following us closely and put the data on the CD. There were about 150 photos. It was a great souvenir for our family.

For your reference, I will write the link to the adventure company we used this time. For half a day course for 4 people family, it was \16,800 including hiring wetsuits, helmets and life jackets and a photo CD. There are many different companies providing similar services but not always including the wetsuit hire, a photo CD and they are more expensive. They usually tie up with travel agents and hotels, they usually have more people and their services are more mechanical. On the other hand, this company only has 2 to 3 members but they were all friendly and entertained us depending on our experience level. I really recommend them. If you visit Niseko, try them!

NISEKO WHITEWATER COMPANY
http://niseko-ukka.com/wear.html



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Summer holiday 2009: Day 2

I was worried about the weather but the next day, it was blue skys all over. Getting up early, I went to have a bath. Whenever I go to an Onsen, I have a bath twice a day, in the morning & in the evening to use the opportunity fully. The first bath of the day outside is amazing. Having a bath while watching the blue sky and the blue ocean in front of your eyes is the ultimate luxury, isn’t it? However, I knew I would be driving all morning, I made it short, had breakfast with my family and travelled to Hakodate railway station by bus.

Arriving at the station, I went to the rental car company to get the car. The car we booked in Tokyo was a compact car, but we were given a new Nissan Wingroad 1.5L. The engine displacement of 1.5L was a bit unsuitable for driving on the long straight roads of Hokkaido, but you know, hiring a bigger car with a bigger engine displacement is more expensive. Thinking about the fuel cost and the size of the car being big enough for 4 people, I signed the form and we were on the road!

The destination was Toyako (lake). It was a 3 hour drive. It was the first time I have driven in Hokkaido but there were no traffic lights! There were some at the big main intersections, of course, but once we were out of the city, there was no big intersections thus no traffic lights: we did not need to be stopped by them and we drove normal roads smoothly like motorways. When I checked on the internet, I had read that you did not need to use motorways in Hokkaido and it was true. It was like when I was a student (oh, about 20 years ago), when I travelled from Miami to Quay West by a rental car while I was travelling the USA on my own. This time, because I did not want to waste our time, to make sure, I used the motorways. You can drive easily without traffic jams. Thanks to that, we got to the lake half an hour earlier than planned.

Toyako is a caldera lake which was made after a few volcanic eruptions about 100,000 years ago. On the skirt of the lake were the two active volcanoes Mt Usu and Showashinzan. It is one of the main tourist spots in Hokkaido. As I told you before on this blog, last year’s Summit was held here and this wonderful scenery was introduced to the world.

Because my daughter (2nd grade at junior high school) chose volcanos as the theme for her independent research for the summer holidays, we went to the Volcano Science Museum for her preparatory study and visited the actual site of the large-scaled eruption in the year 2000. My daughter seemed very impressed by looking at the tragic site which still preserves the horror of the natural disaster, but I was worried because she was just standing there, without taking notes or doing anything; but all of a sudden, she grabbed my camera and to keep the data, she started to take photos of the place. I was wondering if she would finish the research successfully once we got home.

We then went to her next research spots: Mt Usu & Showashinzan, which was only 5 minutes drive. Showashinzan is a lava dome that appeared on the side of Mt Usu after the eruptions. This was a suitable example for volcanic study. You can still see the smoke coming out everywhere and real volcanic activity. Because of the beautiful appearance, it is designated as a protected area of Japan. After taking a photo with the mountain behind us, we got in a ropeway to go up Mt Usu.

Mt Usu is a very active volcano and four eruptions were recorded within 100 years during the 20th century. They walked to the mouth after getting off the ropeway following the mountain’s ridge line and saw some big smoke coming out. It was a 2 hour walk. I said “they” because I did not go there. I was going to come with them but it was too hot and watching all the ups & downs of the mountain, I decided to change my plan and headed off to the hotel on my own. (I could not tell them that it was because of my lack of fitness… Shame on me!)

We stayed at a hotel a bit away from Toyako but another Onsen. It was a huge Onsen hotel. I was amazed with the buffet style dinner: there was sashimi, scallops, squid, sea eggs, salmon roes, crabs, tuna and other woodland delicacies and seafood. It was not that expensive either. I saw many families staying there with us. The second day, too, went very quickly like the first.


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Summer holiday 2009: Day 1

Again this year, we had a week long summer holiday from the 9th to the 16th of August. Because I cannot take a day off easily, we usually go somewhere as a family. Last year, we went to Kirobe & Tateyama area. I wrote an article here and many of you said that you were “envious!” and “I would like to visit Japan as it is full of natural beauty.” Thank you very much for your support. This year, it was a longer holiday than usual, so we decided to visit Hokkaido. However, Hokkaido is vast and if you decide to go everywhere, we would just be moving from place to place. So we decided to go to the south eastern area of the big island from Hakodate, Toyako (lake), Niseko and back to Hakodate. We chose a rental car as the main means of transport and planned a 5 night 6 day trip in total.

To Hakodate, we used the Shinkansen (bullet train). It is not too far from my place to Tokyo Railway Station, only 2 stops away and 4 minutes ride on a train. So if we want to be at Tokyo Station 15 minutes before the Shinkansen’s departure time, if we catch the 6:33 train from here it should give us enough time, assuming it would take 10 minutes to move from the platform to platform; but my wife is not really good about getting up early in the morning and sometimes things do not work as I plan. I decided to lie to her and told my whole family that we had to catch the 6:26 train (1 earlier one). You know, all the seats in this Shinkansen are all reserved and there was no unreserved ones, so if we miss the train, it will be taken as cancellation. We had to be there in time for it.

The day finally arrived. Without breakfast, we washed our faces, got dressed and only had to carry our own bags already packed. However, my wife took so long checking if all the doors & windows were locked, getting our rubbish out, etc., we missed the 6:26 train. We only just made it onto 6:35 train. (This was my emergency plan and it worked! If we had to catch the next train, we would have to run in the Tokyo Station within 5 minutes and it would be very, very close!)

The sky in Tokyo was covered with thick cloud when we left. According to the weather forecast, it would be raining in Tokyo soon and the weather in our destination, Hakodate would also be cloudy. Hoping it would get better in Hakodate, we got on the Shinkansen. The ETA was 13:14, it was a 6 hour ride. But because we did not go to bed till late the night before because of packing our bags and we left early in the morning, we all slept most of the journey and did not notice the length of the trip too much.
Although around Sendai on the way, it was raining but as we moved up from Aomori, the weather had improved, we sometimes saw the sun between the clouds. When we got to Hakodate, it was cloudy: suitable conditions for sightseeing. The temperature was around 25 degree Celsius and it was comfortable with low humidity unlike Tokyo.

After arriving at Hakodate, thinking it would be quite late in the afternoon, we had booked a tour bus which goes around the main tourist attractions in the area; so we got on the bus. The course was a 3 hour one, from Hakodate Goryokaku Tower, Trappistinu Monastery, Hijikata/Takuboku Memorial Hall, then to the hotel. Hakodate was the last battle field in the Edo Era. At the end of the era, giving in to the requests for diplomacy from other countries, the feudal government stopped its isolation period for the first time and opened a port there. The main attractions of the trip were these historical buildings and a female bus guide, mid 20s, gave us a good explanation of the history of each place, we enjoyed this quick tour of the city. They then took us to the Onsen (hot spring) hotel we had already booked. It was in the “Yunokawa” hot springs resort area.



This Onsen is famous for its “red water”. The colour of the water of the bath on the top floor is a soil colour and we went there to hop in it. We went to the outdoor bath with red water watching squid-fishing vessels in the bay of Tsugaru Straits. It was indescribably luxurious. I felt relieved that we got to Hakodate safely. Thinking about driving a rental car the next day, I went to bed reasonably early.


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“Working People”: What is drawback of visiting your parents? Sick of being questioned about marriage?

From common knowledge to their love life, Oricon’s column “Working People” searches the standard in different areas. This time, in the middle of Obon holiday, they carried out research of single males and females 20 – 40 years old about what they think is difficult everytime they visit their parents. Both males and females chose, from the top answer in sequence, “cost of travel”, “time for travel” and “preparation for travel”. Also they find “being asked what he/she is into lately” (4th in males, 8th in females) a drag. Especially like “sick of being asked if he is going to marry” (Male, 30s, Tochigi Prefecture), quite a few did not like talking about “marriage”.

For people who are living on their own, the #1 answer of “cost of travel” you cannot ignore. They do want to visit their parents as often as possible but the reality is “when I think about the cost, I cannot do it very often” (Female, 20s, Tokyo). For #2 answer, “time for travel”, because many of them work hard everyday, “I think I also want to use the time for visiting parents effectively” (Male, 30s, Osaka). #3 answer of “preparation for travel”, there were a few people saying, because their parents seem to have everything, “it is not easy to think what they don’t have” (Male, 30s, Aichi Prefecture).

Especially males chose “being asked what he is into lately”. From “being asked to get married” to their eating habits and about their work, many of them said “I want to forget about my work and everyday life when I am home but…” (Male, 30s, Chiba Prefecture). Like “It is disappointing when they complain about whatever present I give them” (Male, 20s, Tokyo), surprisingly some males have trouble with “choosing a present for their parents” and “choosing a present for their work place”.

To visit their parents, it of course requires some financial and other preparations and can be very time consuming. However, it can give them good “healing” by talking to their parents and meeting their old friends. In this survey, large numbers of them said that they have not gone home for a long time. Maybe they should “just go” without thinking to relieve their parents.



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Water-damaged cars … What would you do if you were them?

Water-damaged cars … What would you do if you were them?

In Japan, it is the middle of summer but the weather has been unstable this summer. If we say summer, we image the sun, blue sky and sweltering heat. However, this year, it has been cloudy and rained on & off. There have been quite a few natural disasters in western Japan such as concentrated heavy rains and tornados.

A heavy rain caused considerable damage in northern Kyushu. At the town office of Nakagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, the car park was flooded and 126 cars were immersed in water. The office workers were working after getting emergency calls although it was a non-working day. Unfortunately, 86 of them had to be scrapped.

Because there is bigger damage all over the town, the workers cannot really ask for compensation and there is no written policy for such damage. The town is not going to do anything about it. Unable to wipe away their mixed feelings, though it happened while they were at work, some workers are now car-pooling with the ones who still have their cars to commute.

It was Sunday, the 26th of July. All the 196 town office workers were called in at 9:50am to be prepared for the disaster. They were all running around, some telling locals where to evacuate and some frantically piling clay bags on top of the dykes. At 11am, the Nakagawa River which runs through the middle of town gave in and water gushed into the town office car park.

“The water level went up within a second”, said one worker. While they were first moving official vehicles to safe places, their own cars were disappearing under the water. “They are not going to go,” said another worker with a sigh.

According the town’s report, out of 126 cars, 86 were written off, 34 are under repair and 6 are still waiting for the assessment. Some still have loans owing and some couples lost both of their cars. Only half of them have automobile physical damage insurance and half of the insurance covers water damage.

One wagon which was bought only last August with a 6 year loan, was damaged. The estimated cost of repair was around JPY 1,300,000. He was recommended to write it off but because the loan was still JPY 1,800,000 and it would be “cheaper than buying a new one”, he chose to get it repaired. “I was really depressed when I heard how much it would cost” he said.

An automobile mechanic at “Kagetsu Motors” near the town office says that it costs at least JPY 1,000,000 if the engine goes under the water. Even if the engine is OK, quite often some electric parts and brakes get damaged after being under water and it costs JPY 300,000 to replace them.

There are not enough buses for commuters and most of them were relying their own cars, they are now car-pooling or renting a car to weather the storm.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there was no policy stated for compensation for damage to the workers possessions while at work in the Local Government Act and the Local Government Employees' Accident Compensation Act. For the local government to pay for such damages, first they have to write the policy.

A person who specialises in labour issues says that the town has no responsibility for compensation this time because natural disasters are unpredictable. While abnormal weather conditions such as sudden rainstorm has been norm these days, we now have issues for new systems of natural disaster compensation. This specialist pointed out that “it is time for people to get insurance for natural disasters and to think how to compensate society as a whole.”

I feel sorry for these people who went to do urgent public work but cannot ask for compensation for the damage while at work. I see some water-damaged cars at auction. They are usually 30 – 40% cheaper than the ones without water-damage. I wish there was a solution to save these hard-working people.



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Toyota’s agony behind the smooth sailing of Prius sales

As you know, Toyota’s Prius is selling fast. The cars are selling so well that, even if you place an order today, you cannot get it before the end of March, 2010 and before the time when the government’s eco car tax cut runs out. However, because of this, Toyota is experiencing a sudden drop in the sales of their other brands such as the bread-and-butter car “Corolla” and “Mark Ⅱ”. They are facing a tough time now.

The numbers of new car sales of the Corolla in June was 6,468, 50% less than the corresponding period of the previous year. The Corolla is running in low gear coming 12th in the ranking of sales including mini-vehicles and 8th in the registered cars excluding mini-vehicles. In the accumulated total of sales for this year’s first half (from January to June), the Corolla was struggling and came 11th including mini-vehicles and 5th in the registered car base.

Not only within Toyota but worldwide, the Corolla has been the car that the world takes as the symbol of Japan’s domestic mass-produced vehicles. The Corolla had always had a fixed position as either number 1 or 2 in the registered car base but now, look at this. The Corolla’s sluggish sales also means that Toyota is in agony.

Although the new model Prius has the engine displacement of 1.8L, with an electric motor, they have similar power as 2.4L cars. They upgraded the interior from its old model. Its recommended retail price was originally set at 2.5 million yen but the new president Mr Toyoda decided to sell them for 2.05 million yen. With the government’s eco car tax cut, without automobile acquisition tax and weight levy, you can get one for the similar price as a 1.8 to 2 million yen Corolla.

“It is not how many we sell and how much we make. We have to make cars thinking what types of car people want and how much they are happy to pay for one”, said Mr Toyoda and promised rejuvenation of his company’s product line-up at his inauguration press interview. He said that the rejuvenation would start with “the Prius”.

This means that Toyota is applying a low margin, high volume policy as their business model. It also means that the Prius is going to eat up other Toyota cars, which might lead to their leading products such as the Corolla “forfeit its top spot”.

After the Japan Automobile Dealers Association expressed their concern that “Even if the economy recovers after 2010, with the reaction to the government’s cut-off of the subsidy, this might cause a drop in new car sales”, the voice asking the government to extend the temporary legislation of the eco car tax cut is getting industry-wide.

It looks like Toyota is coming back to life, thanks to the popularity of the Prius but they are worried how long it is going to last after the government stop the subsidy and thinking that no other cars apart from the Prius are selling well, they are scared of the war of attrition from the discount price war between the car manufacturers, following the cut.

So what are they going to do under the pressure? Toyota is facing a crucial test.

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Old model Prius set a Guinness world record

Toyota’s “Prius”, the top selling car in Japan at the moment, is well-known for its energy-efficiency. There was a challenge drive recently to see how far it can go without refuelling.

The car used was not a new ZVW30 but an old NHW20. The fuel tank on the ZVW30 is the same 45L as the old NHW20. However, the tank on the ZVW30 can only put exactly 45L but if you keep filling up the tank on the NHW20 by giving it a tilt and fill it to the “limit”, it can contain 58L. So they decided to use a NHW20 because of the greater capacity of the tank.

They also chose Daikanbo (Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture / 969m above sea level), the highest peak of Mt Aso’s outer rim of the crater as the starting point. This was to use the approximately 10km downslope to earn more mileage. Of course, even after getting down to the flat area, they set the course so that they could keep the speed at 40km/h without annoying other drivers on the road and with the appropriate use of breaks they could hoard up the regenerative energy . For the Guinness Book of Records, there are some strict rules such as using a loop or a round-trip course would not be counted; so they had to set a course without breaking the rules but was effective for fuel efficiency.

Seven different drivers drove the 2000km course which went through 7 Prefectures in Kyushu and they were aiming to renew the old record of 2348.3km. When they started, the weather was cloudy but was not looking too bad. However, on the second day, the worst downpour of rain on record hit the north of Kyushu. With quite a few road closures and lane closures, they had to change the route a few times. After more bad weather followed and more course changes, on the 6th day, the last day of the challenge, they recorded 2349km. They kept going on the National Route and stopped near the border of Izumi City, Kagoshima Prefecture and Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture with the record of 2369.4km. The time they finished the challenge was 1:35am, in the middle of the night, the time it took was 63 hours and 35 minutes and the fuel efficiency was 39.9km/L. This record will be sent to the Guinness Book of Records and is expected to be approved by this autumn.

Well, it was a challenge we can really see the incredible fuel efficiency of the Prius. At the moment it is a 9 month wait even if you order one today and it will not be in time for the Eco-car Supplement which ends in March 2010; the government asked Toyota to increase production. Does Prius have a Guinness World Record not only in fuel efficiency but also for sales as well?


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Used car rental

Used car rental

A “Cheap rental car” business with around half the price of the existing prices has started. The secret of the low prices is that they are drastically cutting costs by using used cars, not the latest models and tying up with petrol stations who are struggling to stay in their business. Pushed by the slow economy, the numbers of the cheap rental car outlets are rapidly increasing.

One of the used car rental outlets opened in July last year. At the beginning, their turnover per month was only 300 -400 thousand yen but by December, it went way over 1500 thousand yen. The rate of operation of the cars was “less than 50% at large rental car companies but they maintained around 60%” and it is looking good. The main thing is of course the price and it is 2525 yen for half a day to hire a compact car like a Nissan March, which is about half the price compared to the price at a large company.

The reason they can do this is that they are cutting the cost of the car purchase and employment costs. Large companies normally use brand new cars for rental but these used car rental places use 5-7 year old cars, which are used and around 200 thousand yen on the market. There are some scratches inside and outside of the cars but even with a new car, it will get scratches after 1 year, so customers are quite happy to rent these cars. Of course there are some standards: 1) no problem in safety, 2) the mileage under 50,000 km, 3) no major scratches on the body and 4) no big scratches inside or offensive smells.

Unlike large companies, the main outlets for these are petrol stations. Because their existing employees can do all the necessary work of renting & returning, cleaning & maintenance when they are not helping with the customers to fill up their cars, so there is no added cost for the owners. They also have similar insurance as large companies.

Since July 2006 when newcomers started the cheap rental car business, there are more & more companies starting the business as their new venture. One of the large trading company, ITOCHU Corporation started this business in April.

Behind this rapid growth was the fact that the young generation has a detachedness from cars. Because of the sudden recession since last autumn, many people have got rid of their cars when it got too much for them to pay taxes, Shaken (Warrant of Fitness) cost, car parking fees, etc. However, people still use cars occasionally and some clever people thought there might be more people who want to hire cars. So the current situation is providing a “leading wind” for them.

Used car rental outlets are all linked up with petrol stations. Most petrol stations in the country are making losses as the consumption of petrol keeps dropping after the year 2004 when it reached its maximum. Petrol station owners are looking for ways to make money apart from sales of petrol, car maintenance & wash, so I think this business will expand even more.

Large companies are not thinking about dropping prices because “there are some who are after comfort in cars and there are some who are after the prices, so they should not lose their customers yet”. The power of used car rental outlets might push large companies into price wars but for people who care about the price, used car rentals should be convenient.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Washing a on a rainy day?

In Japan, we are in the middle of summer and it has been hot! Extremely hot! I know it is not going to change the situation even if I say it a hundred times but when I see someone I cannot help but saying “It’s hot, isn’t it?” as a greeting. It is like our custom to use weather as a part of greeting, isn’t it?

When we hand over a car in our yard to the customer, we wash it beforehand but when it is this hot, washing a car seems a really hard job. If it is a mini car or compact car like Vitz and Fiat, it does not take that long, but if it is a mini van or a wagon, the area for washing is large so we will be sweating like a pig by the time we finish it. We wash outside first, then clean inside and it is hard not to drop any sweat on the seats in case they leave marks on the upholstery. But I guess it is the same situation for every car dealer. So we try not to think about it too much and get on the job thinking that it can solve the problem of our lack of exercise.

The other day, I had a special order of a Porshe Cayenne so our usual cleaner came to clean inside and I was to apply a polymer coat outside. While we were working, I said to him “I get disappointed if it rains just after I wash a car” but he said “It is not always bad to have a rain straight after we wash a car”.

According to him, the reason is to do with acid rain & ultraviolet rays. Quite often, when we wash a dust covered car after a rain, we cannot totally get rid of the grime and water stains easily. This is something to do with “oxidization”. If we wash a car soon after it gets dirty, it is easy to get rid of the dirt but when the dust and dirt get oxidized, it gets hard to get rid of. The reason for the oxidization is the dust and dirt change into an oxidative product after some chemical reactions among the “dirt”, “rain”, “ultraviolet rays” and “heat”. Also when an oxidative product touches acid substances it gets more oxidized called “resonance oxidization”. If we wash a car when the dust is only on the surface of it, we can get rid of it just with water but when acid rain touches the dust it turns into dust that is hard to get rid of. It also oxidize the paint, coating and wax on the surface, causing dullness.

Ultraviolet rays on a fine day can also cause damage to the paint. When the dust which turned into an oxidative product by acid rain gets ultraviolet rays and activates more of the oxidation reaction and gives more damage to the car’s body. However, we cannot really stop ultraviolet rays reaching our cars, so it is important not to leave dust and dirt on the cars too long.

Lastly there is “solar heat”. When the sun heats up the surface of a car, it causes microscopic holes just like pores on human faces. If you wash a car then, water and detergent get into the holes and makes the paint look dull. Water dries out quickly on a sunny day and if you try to get rid of dried dirt with sponge or towel, it also scratches the surface.

In this way, when the sun hits dust and dirt on a car which is already oxidized, oxidization by ultraviolet rays occurs and leaves some dirt and scratches on a car. It is important to wash your car before it rains.

Although I understand his theory, I am not keen on handing over a wet car just being in the rain. It means I would have to wash it again after the rain, which means it would take twice as long to clean a car.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

World No 1 car market: China

A TV personality came to our office and interviewed us the other day. We were asked for some comments on car exports from Japan to China. We told them that there is huge demand in China and considering the needs in the market over there, we have many enquiries regarding exporting left-hand drive cars from Japan; but because of the import ban on the Chinese side, we cannot do so. Although on the actual programme, they cut bits & pieces, they conveyed what we wanted to say; so I guess it went OK.

Speaking about China, since last year’s subprime mortgage crises, even the Chinese economy has been greatly hit. However, they are recovering from it incredibly fast, a lot faster than other countries in the world. According to the latest report, the number of new cars sold in China in the first half of the year 2009 (between January and June) was a 17.7% increase from the previous year to 6.1 million vehicles and it was the world No 1 easily beating the USA (4.81 million vehicles).

The Chinese government announced car sales promotion policies such as big cuts in automobile acquisition tax for compact cars and handing out subsidies for rural people’s car purchases. As a result, private passenger cars especially compact ones have sold well at an increase of 25.6% compared to the sales of the year before.

In China, not many people use car loans unlike Europe and the USA. 90% buy them in cash. This could be the reason why the financial crises had minimum impact on their economy. In the USA etc., finance companies tightened their criteria for loans, which caused the chill in the market but in China they used cash so the effect only hit their psychology. The property and share prices and individual consumption in the country are all heading upward and the car dealers remain confident for sales in the second half of the year.

Toyota, struggling in sales in Japan, started offshore production of their sport SUV “RAV4” with their merged company in China. They are thinking about widening their car lines. Nissan Motors increased their sales in China by 18.9% to 540,000 cars, which is 1/7 of their world expected sales in 2008; and now they are increasing the line-ups of compact car ranges to increase their sales volume to 800,000 by the year 2012.

All Japanese car manufacturers are in slump now in the domestic market and are now looking at the Chinese market. Even in China, cars are not cheap. As in Japan, they cost 1-2 million yen each. It will be a few years income for the average Chinese person. They usually buy cars which are like 5 years income but to me it seems too much compared to their income and car prices. I guess there is status in owning a car in China and cars are selling well. Wait a minute: isn’t it amazing that people have a saving of 5 years income? We cannot underestimate their power, can we?


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Car Sick

My wife drove us to our eldest daughter’s school Cultural Festival last Sunday. I like reading, so as usual I was reading a book while she drove the car. Although I was absorbed in reading, I felt sick without a warning. Yes, I was car sick. Searching my memory, I had never been car sick before. It could be because I had not had a decent sleep for a while. Anyway, I started feeling really rotten. Because I had not had it before, it is not easy to describe the condition, but I had a wicked headache and felt nauseous. It could be because of my wife’s bad driving or my reading in the car (of course she was blaming the latter) I just wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible. Luckily it only took 5 more minutes before we got to the school, by taking a bit of a break, I felt better and it did not affect me for the rest of the day. However, it was embarrassing I, who deal cars everyday, got car sick. Anyway, I could not leave it behind and checked about the condition.

According to a health magazine, in Japan, there are more cases of people between 40 and 50 years old as well as late teens getting car sick. The reasons are unknown but it said that stress might be playing a great part.

It said that no one knows why we get car sick in the first place but recent studies are showing it happens through three different stages.

Firstly, there happens a gap between the positional information our brain gets from our eyes and the information about speed and gradient we feel in the inner ears, etc. Our brain checks the gap by comparing it with any previous information, and decides it is anxiety and discomfort if we have never had it before. Then as a result, it provokes secretion of stress hormones and unusual levels of adrenaline. Finally this causes an imbalance of our auto immune system, cold sweat, short term fluctuation of blood pressure, excess saliva & slight yawns and eventually it makes us feel like throwing up.

The reason this happens more often for primary to junior high school age is that their brain takes this unexperienced body reaction as an “abnormality” and decides it is discomfort at the second stage. As we get older, we have more experience and get used to different movements, so the gap is most often cancelled and we do not get sick.

Also they found that middle to senior people with depression or early stage Meniere's disease get car sick. People with depression feel this uncomfortable situation caused by the gap in the information in their brain in the same way as when they feel stress. People with Meniere’s disease have different levels of function between their left and right ears and this also increase the level of anxiety and stress.

In my case, thanks to annual health check-ups, I do not have depression or Meniere’s disease but this time, I will listen to my wife’s earful lecture and stop reading in a car.



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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

New Boss at Toyota

The other day, Toyota welcomed their new president and he had a press conference. This is what he has to say.

・They started facing hardship in the second half of last year. It is a departure in the middle of a storm.
・They have to decide where to attack and where to withdraw.
・They have to work together as a team to restructure a new stronger Toyota.
・This hardship will last at least 2 more years. Place priority on making profit as early as possible even a season earlier than expected.
・Through making cars, they have to answer to the needs of the society, make people live in prosperity: and as a business rooted in the community, they will stimulate the economy of the local community. But they are in a big hole, they cannot even properly pay tax, which is a minimum duty. I feel frustrated. This is the start at the bottom rung.
・They would do their best to avoid being in the red three years in a row.
・He does not think they made a mistake in the idea of expanding their business in order to answer their customers’ needs but without a realistic plan, they could not ride on their strength alone.
・From the strategy of putting all the line-ups in all the areas, they are changing directions to develop individual needs by area.
・What he wants his employees to know is that it is not how much profit they would be making. Their target is to make “better quality cars”. They have to think what sort of cars people in each area want and how much they are prepared to pay. The new Prius, which is reaching 200,000 domestic orders, made them happy.
・He does not think that the young generation have lost interest (in cars). Instead, they do not have a chance to use cars. If older generations show them how enjoyable it is to own a car, young people might follow us.
・Toyota-maru departed in the middle of a storm without a sea chart. Honestly, they do not have time to talk about yesterday’s weather. They will just keep going forward, thinking about the current weather, thinking about the weather tomorrow for a safe journey forward.
・In today’s world, it will be hard whoever becomes the president. He has learned a lot from different people after being born as a Toyoda. He would like to make an effort to pay the society back through their business.

Before this press conference, as a hedge against the downturn in business, it was announced that all the top management including the president Akio Toyoda voluntarily would give 30% of their income back to the company. Listening to this, I will not be the only one who felt their mettle toward restructure with solid determination. While US car manufacturers are now working toward restructure under their insolvency law, Toyota has been leading in the business as the world No 1 motor company. Without being happy and contented in their current situation, their motto is “Tomorrow’s Toyota has to be better than today’s Toyota”. Now they seem to have a bit of a break for a while thanks to the good sales of the new Prius, I would like to see more from the new Toyota. Be positive!


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955