22 | TOTAL MX-5 |^ Summer 2019
[ INSIGHT ]
exploring in an interactive fun
car like the Roadster. You can
find many of these in and
around the fabled Mount Fuji,
although speed limits are low
and traffic means you don’t
want to go there on weekends.
Still, there remains much
disinformation about Japan.
The popular image of a traffic-
clogged island with Orwellian
speed limits and concrete
flyovers has steadily built up
over time.
The truth is that in recent
years the authorities have
spent billions building new
roads, bridges, tunnels and train
lines to ease the traffic flow,
especially around (and under)
Tokyo. And it’s worked. True,
you have to pay to use Japan’s
mostly excellent motorways, so
costs can and do mount up.
And cost is a big differentiator
compared with the UK, which
we’ll come to later.
Bureaucracy is big in Japan as
I discovered when ordering my
NB8C Roadster 1.8 RS from
new. And again when I came to
export it to the UK. Looking at
the invoice, I see I had to pay
seven taxes in all. Fortunately, a
discount from Mazda helped
sweeten the pill but then came
the next adventure: parking.
Sounds mundane, but space is
in seriously short supply in
Japan, where you can’t just
leave your car parked casually
by the side of the road as you
do in the UK. That’s because for
a car like the Roadster you
need an off-street parking
space and you have to prove to
the authorities that you really
have one. No messing.
Thus, you need a shako
shome (certificate) and you
need a to draw a map showing
how far the space is from
where you live.
Too far and the Feds won’t go
for it. In my case, in Kagurazaka,
in central Tokyo, I ended up
renting a space in a parking
tower. To me this was actually a
more interesting (and secure)
idea than anything else on offer
and, ahem, cheaper too.
Anyway, it worked and, many
years on, I see this redoubtable
tower is still there, doing the
same business....The next big cost hurdle in
Japan is the shaken, or Japanese
MOT. Put simply, this is both
expensive and bureaucratic
(deliberately so, it is rumoured,
to act as an incentive to make
you buy a new car). In round
figures, with compulsory
insurance, it can be some £800-
£900 for a Roadster, if done via
a garage. You can do it for less
yourself, but it’s a hassle. Once
your car is over three years old,
the shaken is every two years.
And you have to do it...
How about day-to-day? Well,
as a rule the Japanese do not
commute to work by car. The
vast majority go by train, so for
the most part a Roadster is a
high days and holidays fun car.
The MX-5s you see on the
road are invariably immaculate.
Condition is very important inJapan so ragged examples are
thin on the ground, at least in
the heart of the city. That
especially applies for mk3 and
mk4s. Mk2s are the least loved
and most likely to show up,
heavily customised, on user
dealer forecourts in Japan. Hard
to reconcile today, but when
that second generation MX-5
first went on sale in 1998, it was
perceived to be ‘better’ than
the original. Stiffer body, wider
cabin, improved safety, bigger
boot, now six-speed, it was an
improved all-round package.
Today the mood music has
changed and it’s the mk1 that’s
most coveted and admired.
Mazda clocked this fairly
early on and has had two
campaigns to offer ‘restored’
mk1s in Japan. The first, around
2003, had limited success
because buyers at that time
were literally expecting a brand
new car. Mazda had to explain,
patiently, that it was an
extremely well restored used
car. Different thing. Today, a
similar programme has been
restarted, although the full
overhaul costs amount to more
than a top-spec brand new mk4
Roadster, although that hasn’t
stopped a few signing up for it.
Japan has a rich history of
tuned cars. Aside from the rare
and desirable factory coupes,
you also encounter RoadstersAbove: journos racing at
the Tsubuka track.
Below: mk2 version of
the media race car is
road legal...Above and below: tough
parking restrictions
make parking towers an
attractive option for city
dwellers