To be able to take my car off the ship i had to travel about 40 miles to Toyama city to get an authentication letter from the Japanese Automobile Federation, Itgen was happy to come with me as he wasn’t in any hurry and we walked off the ship together to the train station where we met the two Dutch lads again, it is a pleasure to be in Japan after Russia and even though it is so humid you can get cool drinks everywhere and all the trains and buildings have air conditioning, We had four hours to get their and back so we couldn’t hang around if we were late getting back we would have to wait till the next day to do the Vehicle customs and the car would remain on the ship.

We got the papers from the JAF office with no problems but i left my Tilley hat in the taxis, my mother would tell you, i leave things all over the place, my name and address is inside the hat so maybe i may get it back. We rushed to make it back to the terminal and we found the customs office, a lovely clean white building with very happy staff, the staff called an agent who arrived 5 mins later and took us to his office to collect the car insurance document then brought us back to the customs to collect my temporary import book the Carne de passage which they had filled in and stamped, i waited for a bill from the agent but he just shook our hands and we were given free pens so it just cost £35 for the insurance nothing else to get into Japan with the car.

Itgen and i walked back to the ship and i trundled up the aluminum gang way to collect my keys and then back down to the cargo door and into the hold to drive my car off, no one from the crew was around so no one to watch me off and Itgen got in and we drove to the dock exit, where four customs men in white overalls and white hats looked over the car and we were waived through and on our way onto the familiar left side of the road, i was excited to be driving again and we headed out of the port town and in the direction of the South.