Tag Archive for ‘sara choi’

Back in Asia and busier than ever!!…

Back in Asia and busier than ever!!…

Yes it sure has been a while but I haven’t just been sitting around doing nothing! These last few months I’ve actually been back and forth from the U.S. to Japan to Indo and back again. There’s just so much going on and with Yasu around, it’s been hard to sit down and put new episodes together. But we’re back now! In this episode, we go to Indonesia to visit Sara Choi, I some how end up driving around an international race track in a wagon before flying to Japan for one of the best events I’ve attended all year! This new car show from the brains behind Option magazine and Video Option brought out all the major tuning shops as well as enthusiast cars I’d only ever seen on the internet. It was crazy! There were cars I’d NEVER thought I’d ever get the opportunity of seeing in-person and they were just all sitting there together. It was a real dream come true and yet another unexpected bucket list item checked-off the list…

Plenty of surprises on a trip with Sara Choi and friends…

Plenty of surprises on a trip with Sara Choi and friends…

Over the past year or so, I’ve been joking around with Sara calling her my ‘manager’ because she’s been trying to convince me to go back to Indonesia with her. I went 7 years ago and though it was a fruitful life experience, I can honestly say that I didn’t have the greatest of times. I don’t think I ever made it a secret either. Whenever people asked me if I would go back, I often said I wouldn’t. Not so much because I was treated poorly or anything, I think the people that invited me last time tried the best they could to give me the most positive of an experience. Circumstances just made it difficult for me to fully enjoy it. When Sara Choi decided that she’d start competing in a drift series down in Indonesia, I was all for it. I’m always gonna root for one of my closest friends. She planned to spend a bulk of her time down there to practice and train to be a better driver but there were definitely times when I think she felt homesick and wanted her friends there. She brought it up a couple times and at first, I wasn’t really trying to go. Just because mainly I’m pretty busy as it is with a loaded travel schedule and I had this preconceived notion that I wouldn’t have much of a different experience if I went back. But some time went by and it seemed like Sara was really enjoying herself down there and wanted me to see it for myself so I told her if she wanted to plan it out for me, I’d bring some of our other friends down there too and we’d make a trip of it…

Welcome Back To Osaka…

Welcome Back To Osaka…

So, we are back in Osaka for a few days, just catching-up with old friends and meeting new ones. I had a couple of friends from America ask me if they could possibly see some car stuff while they were in town. Hearing so many interesting stories and lore over the years from Osaka, they wanted to see if it was real. Is Civic culture as big as its been portrayed to be? I wouldn’t normally try to put anything together since I enjoy being lowkey while I’m here but Sara was in town as well, so it was a good time to get car enthusiasts together again. So, a meet happened very last minute on a Wednesday. Many of us haven’t been able to reconnect since the borders re-opened so it was time to pump some life back into the car community in Kansai! Everyone be safe out there and abide by all the rules and regulations please!!