#danhphan

Tokyo Auto Salon – biggest Tokyo convention of modified cars, women, and perverts… I mean photographers… 

Never been to TAS before and plan to go in the future?  Cool, this is pretty much my guide of how to survive Tokyo Auto Salon.

Things to bring to Tokyo Auto Salon: –  Comfortable shoes (Don’t make the same mistake I did and only bring Van’s to Japan) –  Lightweight warm jacket (It will be warm inside the Event Halls but cool/cold outside) –  Backpack or a bag for free swag (You can use your gf or friend as a mule to carry stuff as well) –  Battery pack (At least 3350mAh, but I usually bring 26800mAh to last me half the trip) –  Cash (They have a Family Mart and bunch of restaurants where they don’t price gouge like venues in the states) –  Camera and lens (Wide angle lens at least 24mm for FF or 16mm for crop sensors)

If you’re there for media/press purposes: –  Of course your gear –  Passport (if you’re not from Japan) –  Approved press papers or email with QR code –  Business cards

Alright, these are the essentials I’d recommend for you to bring or have for the show.  I also like to travel light because carrying a bunch of stuff gets irritating when you’ve covered 8 halls in a day.

How do you get to Tokyo Auto Salon? TAS has always been held at Makuhari Messe in the Northwest part of Chiba Prefecture.  You have the choice of traveling by car (if you have a ride) or train, but it will be at least a 40 minute to 1 hour commute from metro Tokyo area, assuming you stay around there.

Don’t mind the starred locations and just click the photo for Makuhari Messe‘s location.  

How much is admission? Friday – General Special Public (Pretty much advanced tickets) Advance or Pre-purchased online is 2,600Y or $23-25 USD (depending on rate exchange) Day of show is 3,200Y or $28-29 (depending on rate exchange)

Saturday, Sunday – General Admission Advance or Pre-purchased online is 1,800Y or $16-18 USD (depending on rate exchange) Day of show Adult is 2,200Y and Teens/kids 1,700Y

Just check Tokyo Auto Salon site for ticket information there.

How do you apply for press passes? You can apply online for press pass usually around mid December.   Depending who you’re doing coverage for, they will either approve your application within 10-15 business days or ask for more information.   You will then need your passport and business card when picking up your media passes.

Is one day enough to cover the show? For the normal general public doing coverage or visiting, no you won’t be able to hit up all the Halls in the venue.  If you look at the map below, there are 11 Halls to go through, as well as a driving exhibition/demo area.  There are also special concerts that go on as well.

Very useful map from TAS 2017… if you can read in Japanese.

MuthafuckinPineappleApplePen Piko Taro was one of the opening acts at TAS 2017. 

If you’re special media or press pass holder and can sneak in Thursday night/day, that would be the best time to do coverage.  Booths will still be setting up but most cars should be ready.   If not, I would recommend arriving at 8AM to avoid the general public crowds.  If you have on comfortable shoes and took 2 of those 1o hr energy jelly packs, you might be able to cover the whole show.   If you do plan to cover the show in 2 days, I’d recommend walking around the parking lot as there will be a few hidden gems out there as well.

That’s pretty much it for my guide to Tokyo Auto Salon… now onto my favorite photos from TAS…

Also, if you haven’t seen my photo coverage for Front Street Media by Kyle Crawford yet, you can check out Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.  I sent the photos overnight to Kyle and had the article up within less than 24 hrs later.  Glad the photos didn’t sit around for too long either.  He did a great job and it almost felt like he was there at the show with me O_O.

Check out the coverage on Front Street Media by Kyle Crawford.

TAS wouldn’t be TAS without the models.  I can’t lie about that because who would go just to look at modified cars and parts….

There were a bunch of celebs at TAS.  Drift King or Tsuchiya was doing interviews all day… I actually got to see him in the media room chilling earlier, but didn’t want to bother him =/… 

SARD racing aero always being SARD…. The only thing I like is the CF wing… 

Liberty Walk had more than a dozen cars around TAS… 

These guys are always on the go.  2017 should be a good year for  Kenneth Li of Wekfest and Joey Lee of Stickydiljoe.com… 

The Subaru booth usually has their concept cars and what looks like GT BRZ Racecar…. 

Model from Vellano booth and some more models from Rohana Wheels…

ROBERUTA Lamborghini Huracan with a Super Trofeo aero look.  Not sure if it’s the real deal but check out the ROBERUTA lift kit in action HERE. 

Silk Blaze had a simple look for the Honda S660 and Miata ND MX-5. 

Every year D.A.D. always goes all out and blings out a Benz…

I believe this Mercedes SL600 is covered in real diamonds… 

I’m not even sure what this car is… but the grill is covered with screens and trunk lid full of speakers while the headlights rotated… o_O

The new AIMGAIN GT kit for the Toyota 86 Kouki… you can see Elvis of StanceNation napping in the back…

Didn’t even notice each side had different colored wheels…

Next to it is the new AIMGAIN GT kit for the new R35 GTR.

I’m not sure why the Event halls were packed with spectators… 

Because it made it super difficult for the working press… 

Luckily some of the booth cars were on a stage display… 

Like the new Honda Civic Type R seen here… 

Which would rotate every 30 seconds or so…

Caught Tein Dampachi and female pachi at their photobooth…

Caught Joey and crew again around TAS again…

326Power represented with aggressive stance and fitment as usual on this RC and S15…

This crazy model stood outside in the Hallway upstairs while it was freezing cold… god bless her soul…

International hall had some pretty awesome stuff in there….

Star Road S30, Nismo S30, Restored R30 RS, and a BNR32. 

Also a couple of FD’s… 

I believe this is the same Kamikaze 370Z from the Varis booth last year at TAS 2016…

Being a Toyota 86 guy, I had to check out the TRD kit for the new Kouki model… still not sure if I like it…

CWest also had a new lip for the kouki 86… not sure if I’m even feeling the new front bumper…

The Impulse kit for the AE86… in CF…

I walked into Pandem / Rocket Bunny territory at TAS 2017…

Daigo Saito was in attendance too… glad he didn’t mind me taking a photo… 

But he was staring pretty hard at this Pandem R32 for awhile…

Another Star Road S30…

Pandem all the things…

More drifters… 

More models…

Kuhl Racing always engraving and designing cool shit…

Photoshoot going on… with ladders and off camera flash.. 

I’m not even sure what time period that’s from… I guess 2017 from a different dimension…

  RE Amemiya FC3S RX7 with new aero

RE Amemiya RX8…

  Time attack FD RX7…  I believe CSG had some hand in building this… 

One of my favorite shots of Under Suzuki taking a look at how ridiculously huge that wing is… jk.

BN Sport revealed new kits for the FD RX7 and R35 GTR.  Both aggressive looking as usual…

Earlier next to the BN sports booth cars, this was going on… 

One of the BN Sports guys liked watching the spectacle…

Top Fuel S2000 (top left),  Mad Mike Redbull TCP Magic FD RX7 (top right), and VARIS Kamikaze booth cars…

Last but not least, this was my press desk area.  Check out the photo on the right… some guys would bring 2-3 monitors, a cpu, and edit.  I need to step up my game next year.

This post wasn’t supposed to be long, but I couldn’t help it with all the photos I took.  Even Kyle had a tough time choosing photos to post.  As always, thanks for actually reading or skimming through to the end.

http://www.danhphan.com http://www.danhphanphoto.wordpress.com http://www.instagram.com/dtphan

Gear: Nikon D750 Sigma 35mm f1.4 Nikon 85mm f1.8

The World’s Quickest Street Driven NSX?

Upon searching Google for the world’s quickest street driven NSX, there are a few threads on NSX Prime reporting 1/4 mile times, but currently you don’t see many 600+ whp street driven NSX’s anywhere… except down south in “Mexico”.  Sam Du of Super Street contacted me about shooting Branden Wilbur’s K20A swapped NA1 NSX in October 2016… I’m now finally able to share the images now that the…

“Where did you go in Taipei? How much cash should you bring to explore Taipei?  What was the food like?”  Explore Taipei (2017) answers these questions and more with visuals from my Nikon D750 and iPhone 6.  (more…)

A view of Kowloon from Lion Rock Hill in Hong Kong.  I’m a novice hiker and wanted to quit maybe at the start of the steps but I powered through it… 

“China??  Didn’t you just come back from Japan??” Haha… yeah, a month after coming back from Japan I was talking with John Zhang aka 1013mm and he had planned a car meet on Feb 18 in Kowloon.  I immediately checked my calendar and saw no bookings for that week so of course I browsed for flights and lodging.  Flights weren’t too bad 2 weeks out and for lodging I decided to stay at a hostel in Causeway Bay.

“What was the cost of your Hong Kong trip like?”

My flight was $626 USD.  This is actually an average price and can range from $450 to $900+ USD.  It wasn’t a direct flight which was ok because I don’t think I could’ve sat for 20 hrs in a row.  The hostel stay was $18 USD per day.  Since this was a vacation / semi work travel, I had to be thrifty or cheap.  One week before leaving Houston, I decided to add Taipei to the trip as well… it would be my first time in there.  The flight from Hong Kong to Taipei was $150 USD which is normal pricing all day.

“What did you pack for 4 days in Hong Kong?”

After the most recent trip to Japan, I had to travel lighter and smarter.  I opted to just have 1 backpack and 1 rolling 45L carryon rolling case.  In the backpack, I had my Macbook Pro, accessories, Nikon D750, 35mm lens, battery charger, mobile wifi, and moist disposable towels.  In the rolling case, I packed clothes for 4 days, towel, toiletry bag, etc.  Details can be seen in the itinerary below.

My itinerary for Journey to Hong Kong and Taipei trip… it’s a little incomplete but that should be most of it.  Click on the photo if you’re interested in checking it out… 

I chose to fly United Airlines internationally.  Not as nice as EVA or Delta to be honest but it wasn’t too bad…

2.5 hrs flight to Chicago, 1 hr layover, 16 hrs to Hong Kong, and then a 30 minute bus ride to Causeway Bay, I finally arrive to my hostel.  After checking in I walked and explored a bit.  Not pictured but I did stop by Ichiran HK for late night ramen meal…

The next morning in Causeway Bay. This cross section is actually 1 minute walking distance from the hostel I was staying at…

Yeah… not sure exactly what they sell here but I’m guessing street fashion? Which makes sense if you’re homeless…

Another cross section walking around early in the morning in Causeway Bay…

Waiting for the bus while the morning light shines through the tall condo/business buildings…

Forgot where this bridge view was at but should be on the way to Lion Rock Hill…

If you’re interested in hiking to Lion Rock Hill, visit this site as she points out step by step where to go… 

I think this is an entrance to a temple near the Temple Mall North from the previous photo… probably a tourist spot since a bunch of people were taking photos in front of it…

If you’re going in this direction, you’re going the wrong way…

One of the check points from the online guide to Lion Rock Hill… I was already fighting for oxygen at this point and the slope was just getting steeper….

After about 15 minutes into the entrance of the start of the damn Lion Rock Hill climb, you kinda get a glimpse of what the view is like…

I want to say there were 30% smooth paths and 70% steps.  No bueno if you have bad knees but I powered through somehow…

After a long 2 hrs hike up, you’ll feel like you’ve conquered a huge mountain, but then realize it’s only 1600 ft and want more…

So I definitely need to do more hiking trips before I’m past my limit…

I want to say it’s doable for anyone if you have the support, physically and mentally.  I saw 90 yr old men and women hiking the damn hill -___-

The infamous Lion Rock Hill from the East…

My legs haven’t had a good workout like that in a while so I took refuge in a small market in Kowloon City…

Food court in the small 3 story market…

An hour later, I went to the busy streets of Mong Kok…

Mong Kok shows really how crowded it can get in Hong Kong with tourists and locals…

  The Ladies’ Market during the day.  I was pretty much done sight seeing so I got a foot massage (legit) and ate some noodles for dinner.

  The next morning behind the hostel…

Saw this dog pretty often…

A bit busier later in the morning around 10 AM in Causeway Bay….

Definitely busier since it was a Saturday morning…

Street Handpan Player.  Follow him on Instagram guys…

My same reaction when see that sweater…

Street cell phone accessories…

Lots of Tesla Model S in Hong Kong…

One of the famous high rise buildings in Quarry Bay – Yick Cheong Building in Quarry Bay

It was that popular a few years ago when I visited but now it’s filled with visitors and tourists….

Almost wish I had a wide angle lens for this, but #35mmlife…

The next day I went to a day trip to Macau.  For Macau, I’d recommend staying for at least 1 full day as boat tickets are somewhat expensive.  Take advantage of the boat/speedjet.

  JZ and Nicole were my day trip mates as I was their third wheeler… 

Sleeping while dabbing or dabbing while sleeping…

Really wanted to use this at one point since the “TurboJet” was going 150mph…

Not a boat but a jet…

We be tourists…

Legit taxi drivers drive like they’re in F1 Macau race…

I think our main day trip to Macau goal was to find a decent place to have Portuguese egg tarts…

Looking for portuguese egg tarts…

We got tired of looking so we just went to a random one…

Hypebeast/1013mm in Macau 2017…

Senado Square was really busy on a Sunday…

You can definitely see the European/Portuguese influence in the building architecture…

Pro-tip:  Sight see or day trip on a weekday…

Then in the back alleys, you see China influence…

You can tell who’s a local versus who’s a visitor…

I really like the back alley’s of Hong Kong / Macao / China…

These were popular in Macau – sheets of beef.  Almost like beef jerky…

Popular portuguese egg tart baker I guess…

After…

Before…

Free samples are awesome…

Bunch of people and stores on the way to Ruins of St. Paul in Macao…

More people and stores.  Very skeptical to buy brand names from these stores because China…

I think I’m in their vlog somewhere online…

We trampled through the crowds and reached the Ruins of St. Paul…

Bridal portraits going on…

In front of us was a bridal shoot and then behind us looked like a K-drama filming.  I guess there’s always something going on near the Ruins of St. Paul…

Kids on a leash were a common thing.  Could be a China thing…

There were so many people, you can’t really get a clean shot of Macau from the Ruins…

View from going up to Macau museum…

Ruins of St. Paul 2017…

View from Below Monte Fort…

Museu de Macau…

This fool here…

Kinda weird because you can see the poverty line in Macau from the Fort…

Free to visit for everyone and really peaceful place if you’re a local…

We weren’t supposed to stand on top but the security guard left…

This side of Macau or China looks so gloomy…

Can’t wait for the 1013mm vlog to drop… 

Probably a 500 yrs old tree…

Nicole always getting in my shots… hmph. 

More back alley suburban shots…

We made our way to a back alley full of food stands…

Had to choose this place – Kam Wai Beef…

“Ancient Secret Recipe”?  Hell yea.

JZ and Nicole ordered while I walked around…

Really good variety of stands/stores around…

Fresh mango juice??

After waiting about 20 minutes we had our ‘Curry Beef Offal’.

It wasn’t too spicy but after awhile it did kick in… worth it.

The aftermath.

“COMEBUY”. Pretty catchy name…

    Finished our day trip to Macau around 5 PM and got back to my hostel at 6 PM.  Just took it easy and packed for my Taiwan trip the next day.

Hong Kong is always a great place to visit because of the different types of cuisines and history around.  With the housing market prices increasing, I’m not sure how people make enough to survive.  Maybe next trip, I’ll try living in Hong Kong like a local for a couple of months.

As always thanks for reading this really long post!  If you have any comments or questions, you can contact me via email or social media!

http://www.danhphan.com http://www.danhphanphoto.wordpress.com http://www.instagram.com/dtphan

Gear: Nikon D750 Sigma 35mm f1.4

The White Devil Z of Houston – Houston Automotive Photography

The White Devil Z of Houston… no, Trump isn’t cruising around the streets of Houston, but Brad Burnett’s latest Datsun S30 280Z is.  Check out more of the White Devil Z of Houston – Houston Automotive Photography and how long it took to build… (more…)