Mugen Type-R Test Drives

In all outward appearances, I have a fantastic job. Filtered to its simplest essence, I drive and write about Hondas. There's not much more an enthusiast could ask for, with the possible exception of driving and writing exclusively about, say, Ferraris. And despite what my tax advisor and loan manager might say, it's not a bad way to make a living.

Aside from the usual perks, including booze, expense accounts, and wanton sex with ad agency assistants, one highlight of the gig is regular travel to Japan. On my recent trip to drive the new Civic Si in Tochigi, I hung around a few extra days to see what HT photo contributor Kyoshu Mizohata had cooking.

"Do you want to drive Mugen's Integra and Civic Type-R's while you're here?" he asks.

Mizo-san is good with rhetorical questions.

We arrive around 4 p.m. at M-TEC headquarters in Asaka, a city that's a 40-minute drive from metro Tokyo, and take a seat in the lobby with an M-TEC marketing executive. A dozen race engines on display stands line the lobby walls, while an old Jordon F1 car and Mugen Legend V8 Concept are in the center of the room. Just sitting there, you can almost see the furious crashes and collision of the car's atomic structure. Both cars ooze kinetic energy.

A couple of signatures and a pre-inspection later, Mizo jumps into the ITR. I grab the Civic, squirm around in its S1 bucket seat until comfortable and give the MOMO-made, buckskin leather-wrapped Racing II tiller a twist. Nice. Grabbing the thick, aluminum orb constituting a shift knob with my left hand feels weird, but I'm more worried about getting the CTR out of the lot in one piece while M-TEC staff waves to us in my rearview mirror.

Mission accomplished, Mizo takes the lead and we're headed back to the city. Heavy traffic keeps us in the low part of the tachometer.

Tokyo Rush Hour: Adjust or Die
Mizohata's plan calls for us to visit the Wangan, a popular highway loop around Tokyo Bay, to do some night photography. In Japanese, wangan simply means harbor or bay highway and it's not exclusive to Tokyo. Osaka also has its own famous stretch popular with local leadfoots.

Primarily two lanes in either direction, the Wangan requires the simplest of etiquette. If you're slow, move the hell over. No speed limit vigilante enforcers, no daydreaming in the fast lane: if you're not keeping pace, you will be harassed.

But before our Wangan adventure, we first need to stop for a shower and food, which requires navigating metro Tokyo during rush hour. I've driven in NYC, Detroit and Boston, but picking through traffic on the other side of the road is a whole 'nuther glop of wasabi, especially when following a local. To his credit, Mizo goes light on the throttle to keep me in range.

It's been a long time since I drove in Japan and even then it was just on the relative calm of country roads. Charging across four lanes of an intersection during a break in oncoming traffic sends my gonads somewhere up around my ribcage, and when I slot in behind Mizo at the next signal he comes over the two-way.