Locale: Oh, Don’t Mind Me – Another Visit To Type One

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Visiting Type One never gets old for me; there is always something new there to see every time I go.  So I make it a priority of mine to stop in each time I go to Japan.  Granted, without a car, it makes for a bit of a walk; but I had access to a car this time because I was with my friend from JDM Clips.  I might add that having makes visit tuning shops so much easier.  Obviously, you go to car shops because you own a car, so it’s not a big concern for shop owners to be close to train stations.  If you’re just visiting Japan, going places not near train stations can be both difficult and expensive without an auto; especially if you’ve never been there before.  I have absolutely no problems walking a few miles to get to clutch shops, but needless to say, having a car was a giant win.  Like any typical foreign fan boy should, I like just walking around the shop and looking at all the stuff I’ve seen dozens of times already – it never gets old.  Plus, the shop gets a lot of traffic, so chances are you’ll see different rides there every time you visit.  I already featured that extremely cool matte black S2000 that I saw last time, which you can see here; but I never got around to posting up some of the other cars that were in the shop on that trip.  I know there are many sites that post up stuff from Spoon and Type One once or twice – but who else posts new shots from the shop over and over! hahaha – hopefully the viewers share the same love that I do.  Click past the break to take a stroll through the shop and check a few more of them out.

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Downstairs is where I’d say the majority of the generic work happens. Servicing and parts install seems pretty common place in this area.  There is also small room on this level that faces the street where I think engine assembly takes place.  For Japan, the shop is actually generous in size.  I’m pretty sure I took this shot of the Accord while we were leaving, because when we got there…

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..we actually parked inside the shop and the lift was down.  Stock Honda’s in Japan are so much better than the ones we get.  But then again, pretty much everything in Japan is better than what we get…

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The gently tuned H-series that inhabits the bay of the Euro-R.  Obviously this guy is a long-standing customer, as indicated by the several Type One service placards in the bay.

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No big deal right?

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I’m not sure what this guy was craning his neck over, but this S2000 was slated to have the semi-new Rigid Collars installed.  When we were leaving, the Type One guy seen here was already half way into the job.

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Outside of the shop, in the alley next doors, there are a set of red stairs that lead up to the top portion of the shop.  Best stair case ever.  Lots of times there will be cool cars parked in this alley as well.

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At the top of said stair case looking out at the street.  Japanese traffic is great.

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Right at the door that leads to and from the stair case is another spot that they park cars.  A lot of times I’ll see Spoon endurance S2000’s posted up here.  Today though, they had this pristine, fine tuned S2000 that was actually for sale.  While we were there one of the sales guys was showing it to a potential buyer.

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Blam – re-post, but well worth it.  This car was also for sale at the time, I just had no idea.  If I did I might have left my credit card for them to process.

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I’ve begun to like full shots of garages – I just posted this shot as a ‘Garage Life’ post; a mini, sub-series I think I’m going to try and focus on more.  This is shot from the back end of the upstairs portion, looking towards the stairs.  You can see the white S2000 by the entrance, and the black one just posted.  I hope you’re getting a feel for the shop layout instead of me just being completely redundant about pointing out where stuff is.  Like those engines in the middle of the floor.

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Close up of said engines.  I heard a rumor that the shop manager slices things in half with a samurai sword when he gets upset.  After seeing this B-series, I can’t help but believe the rumor.

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Lining the perimeter of the back wall is a shelf full of trinkets and parts – like the Rigid Collar set here.  Trophies, pictures, helmets and race parts give way to an air of nostalgia and you really get a feel for how long and how important of a role Spoon has played in the Japanese motor sport industry.

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Another shot of the S2000 on the opening picture.  This is parked under Type Ones famous lift/car park.

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Parked above the S2000 was the Spoon CRZ rocking the ‘updated’ Spoon livery and Rigid Collar ads.

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Behind the CRZ was a S2000 that looks strikingly similar to one that I drive in GT5, except much more real life.  The bright blue CR93’s are an all around excellent choice.  Well, that’s about all I got from Type One this time.  You can bet that when I’m back in Japan I’ll be visiting them again, and who knows what they’ll have there next time.  Thanks for visiting!

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