Subject: [94attendees] Tokyo Motorshow

From: Dirk Kutscher <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:59:39 +0000

Hi all,

In case you or your companions are interested in seeing something else than nerds in sushi bars (us), I just saw that this year's Tokyo Motorshow will take place from Oct 30 to Nov 8 at the Big Sight exhibition center in Tokyo Odaiba.

http://www.tokyo-motorshow.com/en/sp/

So maybe something for before/after the meeting if you have the time.

You will be able to see some models that are only sold in Japan or that hit western markets quite a bit later. I haven't checked the program, but you'd probably see more of Nissan's current and upcoming EVs, Toyota's fuel cell models etc.  I'd also expect Honda's brand new Africa Twin adventure motorcycle...

Don't ask me about "clean Diesel". ;-)

As a bit of networking nerd background, Japan had extremely advanced car communication systems for many, many years, combining navigation with voice control, mobile broadband as well as digital broadcast. Innovation that most of us are not aware of, because it is so intrinsic to its local environment.

This year's theme is "smart mobility city", i.e., about  autonomous driving, micro vehicles, connectivity etc.

Odaiba is easy to reach -- it's not very far. It's worth a visit itself actually. It's an artificial island in the Tokyo bay (north of Haneda airport) that is connected to the main land (among other means) by the beautiful Rainbow bridge. Among locals, it's popular for romantic dinners with sunset views over the bay, with Rainbow bridge, Tokyo skyline and Fuji-san in the background.

Two words of advice:

1) It's probably going to be packed whenever you go, so don't go if you don't feel comfortable in large groups...

2) If you found the Prague Bits'n'Bytes event very disturbing, then Tokyo Motorshow (or most marketing events of the car industry for that matter) might not be for you. Neither endorsing nor judging -- just a fair warning.

--
Best regards,
Dirk