Megaweb – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Mon, 11 Apr 2022 13:44:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 Megaweb – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Goodbye, Megaweb! Downtown Tokyo’s coolest car museum is closing for good【Photos】 https://soranews24.com/2021/12/30/goodbye-megaweb-downtown-tokyos-coolest-car-museum-is-closing-for-good%e3%80%90photos%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2021/12/30/goodbye-megaweb-downtown-tokyos-coolest-car-museum-is-closing-for-good%e3%80%90photos%e3%80%91/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2021 05:00:09 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=571150 
An amazing collection of cars in a free museum is about to figuratively drive off into the sunset.
In September, we were saddened to see the closing of the Odaiba Oedo Onsen Monogatari, one of the most accessible and enjoyable places for a soak in downtown Tokyo. This week, it’s time to say goodbye to yet another awesome thing in the same neighborhood.
The Odaiba district’s Palette Town entertainment complex, which opened in the spring of 1999, is beginning a sequential shutdown prior to a redevelopment of the land it sits on. Among the building’s current tenants is the Megaweb Toyota City Showcase, which contains the automaker’s History Garage collection.
With Toyota running the place, there are, naturally, some sterling samples from the company’s product lineup of yesteryear, like this lovely 1969 Toyota 2000 GT, powered by a Yamaha-built engine.
Not nearly so sporty, but still exuding its own kind of charm, is this 1967 Toyopet (one of Toyota’s sub-brands) Corona.
But the Megaweb History Garage isn’t just a place for Toyota to show off its own heritage, but to celebrate other manufacturers’ as well, such as in the form of this pristine first-generation 1971 Nissan Z.
There’s even period-appropriate décor, such as this façade of an izakaya pub and auto garage from Japan’s Showa era of 50-odd years ago.
The History Garage isn’t limited to Japanese cars, either. It’s got examples of beefy American iron too.
▼ This fin-tastic 1959 Chevy Impala convertible looks ready for a Friday-night cruise down to the local malt shop…
▼ …as does this 1964 Ford Mustang.
▼ A 1963 Chevy Corvette Stingray, one of the most iconic sports cars ever built
▼ And for those who prefer luxury to sportiness, a 1959 Cadillac Series 62
European cars are also represented, with a number of very distinctive designs like this 1954 Messerschmitt KR175.
▼ The unusual shape is because the passenger sits behind the driver, like they’re in a two-person bobsled.
Meanwhile, the reason the 1960 BMW Isetta 300 looks the way it does is because the entire front end is a door that swings open to the side to let the driver get inside.
▼ An immaculately maintained 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Type 1
▼ A very old-school 1945 MC TC Midget
And even if you’re more of an anime enthusiast than a gearhead, you’ll probably still recognize the 1962 Fiat 500 D…
…since master thief Lupin III drove a 500 in the unforgettable car chase sequence in the Hayao Miyazaki-directed Castle of Cagliostro anime film.
Speaking of memorable movie/motoring moments, arguably the biggest crowd-pleaser of all at the History Garage is none other than…
…its 1981 DMC DeLorean, also known as “the Back to the Future Car.”
Since it’s been kept stock, it doesn’t have the various cosmetic accouterments of the one Marty McFly began his adventure behind the wheel of. The museum does occasionally hold special events where fans can climb inside, though, which our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa was quick to do during his visit.
While it didn’t transport him to the 1950s, the car is still a time machine of sorts, as sitting in it gave Seiji of sense of what it must have felt like to then-new buyers 40 years ago.
Sadly, December 31 is the last day for the History Garage, and at the end of the day the Megaweb Toyota City Showcase, which also contains a car-focused book and memorabilia shops, cafe, test drive course, go-kart track, and working restoration mechanic’s shop, will be closing for good.
When we asked what’s going to happen to the cars, a Toyota representative said they weren’t at liberty to give us any exact details, but did put our minds at ease by telling us that the cars won’t be crushed or scrapped. Ostensibly that means they’re going to go into storage, but the more noteworthy ones are likely to be exhibited in the future at one of Toyota’s other display facilities. We think the most likely suspects for those would be the Tressa Yokohama Auto Mall in Kanagawa Prefecture, the Toyota Kaikan Museum, Toyota Automotive Showroom Midland Square, and Sanage Adventure Field in in Aichi Prefecture, and Colorful Town Gifu Raanbow Mall in Gifu Prefecture.
Unfortunately for Tokyoites, with the exception of the Tressa Yokohama Auto Mall, those are all pretty far outside the capital. But after all, they’re cars, so going far away is entirely in keeping with their original purposes, even if we’re sad to see them go.
Related: Megaweb History Garage website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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Back to the Future fan Seiji Nakazawa just about died and went to heaven.
Whether or not you’ve seen the 80s hit film trilogy Back to the Future, you’ll probably recognize the time machine that Doc Brown and Marty McFly used to travel throughout the past, present and future, maybe because it used to be front and center at Universal Studios. But did you know that it’s based on a real car that was sold for only one year, in 1981? It’s the DeLorean DMC12, and only 8,500 of them were ever made.
Our Japanese language reporter Seiji Nakazawa happens to be a big fan of the Back to the Future series, so when he heard there was a real life DMC12 in Odaiba, Tokyo, he had to go check it out!
The DMC12 is part of an automobile showroom in VenusFort, known as Megaweb Toyota City Showcase. It contains a “History Garage” that includes not just Toyotas but all kinds of classic cars on display, and they’re not just models; they’re all real, and according to staff at Megaweb, they’re all functioning cars, too. They undergo round-the-clock maintenance so that they can be driven at any time. Megaweb even holds events where guests can test drive them two or three times a year!
At the center of the History Garage display is DeLorean DMC. Seiji was smitten with the shiny look of its stainless steel body, and the gull wing doors stretching up to the ceiling made it feel like it really could fly up into the sky at the touch of a button.
The back is what got Seiji’s motor running the most. Its semi-futuristic look gives it both a sci-fi and toy car aura. And when he thought about the fact that he could actually drive this car, Seiji was over the moon. His childhood dream was coming true right before his eyes.
Now, normally, fencing surrounds the car to preserve its condition while guests are around, but Seiji received special permission from the Megaweb staff to sit in the driver’s seat. The DMC12 is a low suspension car, so you have to crouch to get in. Seiji was surprised to note that the ageing, cracking leather seat was surprisingly firm.
The car has just two seats: the driver seat, and the passenger seat. Of course, the time-traveling mechanics of the movie are missing in this real-life car, but it has an old-school radio and climate control panel that reminded Seiji of an old car his mom used to have. To be honest, Seiji thought that was a little bit incongruous with the futuristic exterior of the car. “It feels like there’s an 81-year gap between its appearance and its reality,” Seiji said.
Lost in his fervor, Seiji was happy to give us a little history lesson about DeLorean cars. John Zachary DeLorean worked as the head of the Chevrolet division, and later as the executive vice president, of the U.S. car company General Motors, but after quitting in 1973 he founded the DeLorean Motor Company, hoping to create his ideal car. The DeLorean DMC is one product of his ambitions.
In other words, Seiji believes that the DMC12 represents everything that John Zachary DeLorean dreamed of, that it is the spirit of his ideal car. Likely a big reason why this car is still well known nearly 40 years after it ceased being sold is because it was featured in the movies, but we shouldn’t forget the ideals with which it was created.
Despite it not actually having the sci-fi capabilities of the movie, seeing and sitting in the DeLorean DMC12 still felt like traveling through time and space. It at once had both the qualities of being a product of its time and of being the product of dreams of the future. Seiji couldn’t contain his excitement at getting to experience that for himself.
Check out the car in closeup below:
As it turns out, in this particular showroom, the DMC12 competes with the Toyota 2000GT in terms of popularity, so it often appears in test-drive events. Sadly, because of the coronavirus, there are no plans to hold any in the near future, so if you really want to give this baby a shot, keep an eye on Megaweb’s events so that you’ll be the first to know when they’ll restart test drives again. And if you can’t get enough of the DMC12 and Back to the Future, then don’t forget that there’s a Back to the Future manga, which is sure to knock your socks off!
Museum Information:
Megaweb Toyota City Showcase / メガウェブ トヨタシティショウケース
Address: Tokyo-to Koto-ku Aomi 1-3-12
東京都江東区青海1丁目3−12
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (currently operating on a limited schedule)
Photos © SoraNews24
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