Best Trading President’s Blog

We at Best Trading, Japan wish you a Very Happy and Joyful New Year - 2009.

This week is an important holiday for most businesses in Japan. Most used car dealers in our network as well as Japanese used car auction houses also observe holiday in the first week of the new year.

Daruma Dolls

Japanese people typically welcome the New Year in tradional fashion. We clean our houses and offices before the new year begins, and have traditional new year decorations made from pine, bamboo and plum trees at the entrance of homes and shops.  On the new year eve, families will get together and welcome the new year by eating soba noodles which symbolize longevity.  A visit to a temple or shrine for offering prayers is a must for every Japanese in the new year holidays.

Many Japanese people or even businesses will buy a Daruma doll at the new year.  Daruma doll is one of the most popular talismans of good luck in Japan.  A daruma doll as shown in the picture is a armless, legless and eyeles doll made from papier mache.  On the new year day, people will make a wish or resolution and paint one of the eyes of the daruma doll. At the end of the year, when their wish is fulfilled, they will paint the second eye and offer the doll at the temple.  May all your wishes in the new year come true !

Technorati Tags: Japan, New Year, Japanese, used car auction, holiday, Daruma doll

Under Russian traffic rules, drivers must drive on the right side of the road but traffic officials generally tolerate cars with Japanese style Right Hand Drive (RHD) cars designed to run on the left hand side of the road. 

Used cars from Japan are as popular as Left Hand Drive (LHD) cars by Russian automobile makers such as Volga.   As per the latest estimates, Russia has more than 1.5 million RHD vehicles on its roads.  In the far eastern regions of Russia, such as Vladivostok, RHD cars make up to 90% of the total.  Many drivers in this region own cars with right-hand drive imported from Japan.  This includes not only private cars, but also government vehicles, ambulances and police cars.

However, Russian bureaucrats have recently launched a full-scale campaign against used cars with right-hand drive. This is said to be incited and financed by Russian domestic automakers and Western corporations who plan to set up their automobile factories in Russia.  Russia also plans to sharply raise duties on used imported cars to protect its domestic automobile makers.

Right Hand Drive Car from Japan

Recently, thousands of drivers in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok have rallied against a possible government ban on cars with right-hand steering wheels, which is proposed by the Russian government commission.  Protesters also criticized a proposal to raise tariffs on imported vehicles.  Drivers gathered in the city centre and held signs saying “We have the right to right-hand wheels”.

Similar protests were held in other cities of Russia’s far east, including Khabarovsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

We understand that many of our Russian customers would be affected by such regulation changes.  However, we will try to do our best by finding partners who could offer services to conver RHD cars to LHD,  replace headlamps etc to meet the new regulations.

Technorati Tags: Japanese, Used cars, Japan, Russia, Vladivostok

Micro car iQ from Toyota Motor Corporations’s  is named the Japanese Car of the Year 2008-09. This award is organized by Japanese Coty Web site. The winners were selected by a committee of sixty-five jurors who are writers and consultants from automobile industry. 

Toyota IQ - Japanese Car of the Year

Toyota iQ won this prestigious award by a great margin over competitors such as Citroen’s C5, Audi’s A4 and Jaguar’s XF. This is a good news for Toyota, as it will help them to advertise the 1-liter iQ to boost sales amid slumping demand for new automobiles in Japan and the U.S.

The iQ micro car from Toyota, will be available in Japan from Nov. 20.  It can carry three adults and has additional space for a child or luggage.  It will be priced between 1.4 million yen ($14,300) and 1.6 million yen.  BMW’s Mini One is priced from 2.08 million yen, and Daimler AG’s twin-seat Smart For Two is sold from 1.76 million yen.

The Toyota iQ, is currently the world’s smallest four-seater car Measuring just under 3 meters. It is shorter than Japanese mini cars such as Daihatsu Motor Co.’s Move. and little longer than the 2.4-meter Smart ForTwo.

The iQ won this award mainly because of its space efficiency and design, particularly its ability to seat four people in a body less than three meter long, as well as its combination of safety and low CO2 emissions.

This car is currently not available in other countries. If you are interested, we can arrange shipment for you. It is a nice car for those who are looking for a compact, fuel efficient car for small family.

Technorati Tags: Japanese Car, Toyota, automobiles, Japan, micro car, Toyota iQ, mini car

Best Trading is an authorized member of 90 auctions located all over Japan which offer over 150,000 vehicles every week. Our clients can access Japanese auction system from our website, where you can take a virtual tour of Japanese used cars offered at varioys auction houses such as the USS Auto Auction and view all the vehicles available for sale there.

Apart from participating in the online auctions, we encourage our clients to visit the high-tech  auction halls in Japan. For buyers who wish to buy used Japanese vehicles from auto auctions on  a regular basis, we encourage to visit our company office in Tokyo. We can then persoanlly accompany you to various used car auctions in Japan. It can be a valuable experience for your used car import business.

If you visit our office, I recommend you to stay in Hotel Kinuya in Ueno, Tokyo. This hotel is just 10 min on walk from our office. You can check their homepage at

http://www.kinuyahotel.jp

It is about 65 US$ a night and conveniently accessible from Narita International airport.

For commuting from Narita airport to Ueno, I recommend you to take the Keisei Skyliner Express train. You can check more details at

http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/keisei_us/top.html

Technorati Tags: Japanese, vehicles, auto auction, Tokyo, used car, import

Toyota’s Hilux pickup truck has been a workhorse around the world for a long time since it was launched in the early 70s.  This pickup truck has evolved over the years but still retains the essence of the original design.

The Toyota HiLux is a big, strong versatile Action Utility Vehicle (AUV).   It has got the performance you want and the toughness you’ve come to expect. It has virtually Indestructible mechanicals, huge space, tough image, a leading power figure with the 169bhp three-litre.

The Toyota Hilux is an incredibly durable and tough machine as has recently been demonstrated on BBC’s Top Gear program.  Jeremy Clarkson tried to bang, drown, and burn a Toyota Hilux to test it’s strength. In this video you can see how Toyota’s old workhorse survived the trial by fire, flood, tumbling tower block and deadly caravan.  There is no doubt it is one of the toughest hardiest pick-up trucks around.

Technorati Tags: Toyota, Hilux, pickup truck, AUV, Top Gear

We had a week long holiday in Japan because of Obon festival. Most businesses including Japanese used car auctions are on holiday this week.  So I planned to visit Thailand and India with my friend Mr. Shiotsu.

It is summer here now in Japan and it is very hot and humid especially here in Tokyo.  I was surprised to see that India was much cooler than Japan at this time.  Our Indian friend Raj was kind enough to show us around in Mumbai as well as in the satellite city of New Mumbai.

Crowded local train in Mumbai

We tried some adventures in Mumbai, and one of them was commuting by the local train in ordinary class. The train was very crowded even on Sunday, and it was quite unusual for us to see people hanging out from the trains.  In Japan, the train doors get locked before the train starts, so we can not see such scenes in Japan. But we challenged and we did it ! We travelled for about 40 minutes from Mumbai to New Mumbai in such crowded train.  It was quite an experience.

Mumbai is a vibrant and busy city.  It is changing quite fast and one can easily see the contrasts in lifestyles everywhere.  On one hand, you can see tall modern skyscrapers where the price of an apartment or office is as high as in Tokyo or London;  on the other hand, you can see old style markets and small businesses being run in old dilapidated buildings.   

Overall, we had a nice trip.  It was a good break from the busy life in Japan.

In New Mumbai with my friend Raj

In old Mumbai with my friend Shiotsu

Technorati Tags: Japan, Japanese, used car, auction, India, Mumbai, train

When a person plans to buy a car, he looks for certain quality indicators like the brand image, comfort, efficiency, safety, luxury and the shape or looks of the car.

Every year, numerous models of cars are launched by different car manufactureres all over the world.  It may happen that the car models available in your country are either too expensive or lack in various features such as fuel efficiency, comfort and safety.  In such cases, it makes sense to import a used car from other country. 

In imported used cars, Japanese used cars are the most popular. By ‘Japanese used cars’ we mean that these cars were manufactured in Japan, used by Japanese owners and then made available to the secondhand car market. 

Why Japanese used cars are in a great demand all over the world?  What are the benefits of buying a Japanese used car and not a new car? Here are the advantages:

Low mileage:  Japan is the No 1. country in the world where public transportation Trains are highly advanced, convenient and most popular among the Japanese commuters.  Japanese do not drive long distance, so the Japanese used cars have very low mileage. 

Superb car condition: According to the Ministry of Transport in Japan every vehicle has to be in good condition to run on the road. The Ministry of transport constantly requires the cars to undergo the road worthiness test called shaken. That is the reason why a large number of Japanese used cars are in superb condition.  The conditions of the roads in Japan is another reason the Japanese vehicles are in good condition. Japanese economy is strong and so Japanese people prefer to buy new cars. That’s why a large number of Japanese used cars are available in the used car market. Japanese used cars and spare parts are not only cheap, but also worth every penny you pay.

Body Condition: The condition of the vehicle engine of the Japanese used cars is in excellent condition. The cars are checked at service stations regularly. Oil is changed on time. Japanese people are very clean they regularly clean and polish their cars. The exterior and interior condition is amazing when compared to American and European cars. Even a ten year old Japanese used car will still be in a good condition. Cars used by rental car companies are popular too because the condition of rental cars are very good. Though they have a higher mileage, these cars are given better care and guaranteed for a better performance. Japanese used cars are popular in the world for less engine troubles. In the event of an accident, cars are always replaced with new parts in the exterior as well as the interior, so their reliability is very high.
 
High Fuel Efficiency: Japanese automobile manufactures ensure that fuel efficiency is very high in Japanese cars.
 
Automatic transmission is better in Japanese used cars than in cars from other countries.

Technorati Tags: car, used cars, Japanese, Japan, condition, reliability, automobile

This year is very difficult for the Japanese supplier in the Philippines to export SUV or Vehicles including those small mini-truck due to most of the buyer in the Philippines specially the Subic base company and Visayas region importer stop buying from Japan, due to strict campaign of Bureau of Customs and Anti-Smuggling Car group in the Philippines. Most of the Japanese supplier in the Philippines who have some ready stock for Philippine market had a very big problem on thier existing inventory specially those being ordered already but eventually result to cancellation.  And the only reason they say to Japanese supplier is that they (importer ) do not already understand the system of the government in the Philippines. They just say to wait and see, cause if they are going to ship it in the Philippines, it will be seized for whatever reasons of the Philippine government. Its just like STOP LOOK AND LISTEN.  But for the Japanese supplier it means a big downfall of sales from the Philippine market.

Just the other month one of our buyer from the Philippines send us a news from the Philippines that even mini-truck which is already with car registration and plate number still being seized by some government agent like Traffic Management or the likes.  So they just can’t understand what rules to follow and what system to do. So again it affects  us too, as we are also one of suppliers of mini-truck to the Philippines and of course to our co-suppliers too.

Technorati Tags: importer, downfall, seized, mini-truck

Here are available RO/RO (PCC) shipping schedules from Japanese ports to major ports in the world, announced by major shipping companies:

[To New Zealand (Auckland)]
・TASMAN RESOLUTION:
18th Feb (Yokohama), 20 Feb (Osaka)……9th Mar
・MAGIC WAVE V.19:
19th Feb (Osaka), 20th Feb (Nagoya)……6th Mar
・KIWI BREEZE V.37:
19th Feb (Kawasaki), 21th Feb (Nagoya)……6th Mar
・TRANS FUTURE 5:
16th Feb (Osaka), 23th Feb (Kawasaki)……11th Mar
・”A VESSEL”:
22th Feb (Osaka), 25th Feb (Yokohama)……14th Mar
・TASMAN VOYAGER:
29th Feb (Yokohama), 3rd Mar (Osaka)……22th Mar
・TRANS FUTURE 6:
1st Mar (Osaka), 8th Mar (Kawasaki)……21th Mar
・TASMAN INDEPENDENCE:
15th Mar (Yokohama), 17th Dec (Osaka)……5th Apr
・TRANS FUTURE 7:
15th Mar (Osaka), 22th Mar (Kawasaki)……5th Apr

[To Australia (Brisbane (B) & Melbourne (M))]
・FONTANA V.35:
19th Feb (Yokohama)……1st Mar (B), 5th Mar (M)
・SUN ACE V.148:
18th Feb (Yokohama)……5th Mar (B), 9th Mar (M)
・DELPHINUS LEASDER V.78:
23th Feb (Yokohama)……7th Mar (B), 11th Mar (M)
・ISTRA ACE:
1st Mar (Yokohama)……13th Mar (B), 17th Mar (M)

[To Ireland (Dublin(D)) & UK (Southampton (S)  & Liverpool (L)) ]
・GRAND MERCURY:
23th Feb (Osaka), 25th Feb (Yokohama/Kawasaki)……Middle of Mar (D), Middle of Mar (S), Middle of Mar(L)
・DON JUAN:
17th Feb (Yokohama/Kawasaki)……29th Mar (S)
・TARAGO:
24th Feb (Kobe), 26th Feb (Yokohama/Kawasaki)……13th Apr (S)
・ISOLDE:
24th Feb (Kobe), 26th Feb (Yokohama/Kawasaki)……11th Apr (S)

You can check those schedules yourself and instruct us which ship we should put your car in.
(Please note: we cannot guarantee you that we can take a book for your space)

Technorati Tags: RO/RO, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Dublin, Southampton, Liverpool

These days, every Japanese TV show reports some of frozen foods sold in a lot of supermarkets in Japan are likelihood of poison. They are imported from China, one of the biggest country of food exporter in the world. The importer, a business company based Tokyo, and the exporter in China is now under investigating why it should happen and who is blamed about this affair. Fortunately, there are no the deceased so far but many poison victims who took the meat dumplings (”Gyo-za”) around Japan. Japanese news says sales of frozen food falls 40% down after 31th Jan, the day of this contamination being surfaced.

We cannot live without products from overseas, especially in Japan, since we do not have enough nature resource and cost to produce them here, so we have to outsource and buy them from foreign countries. While we depend on them, lots of Japan based companies moved thier factories to Asian countries, for example China, Thailand, Indnesia and so on, hire locals with inexpensive salary than Japan, and lecture the method to work. Our country, Japan, was the same in our old days, we could be developing with assistance of foreign countries. Now our position has been changed, developing to developed. We have to teach them not only how to work but also importance of hygiene, sanitation and safe for food production, the reason why so is, no one allowed to threaten the other’s health.

In Best Trading, we have no staff who got having that bad food, we are very fine. I have no idea when and where poison was into the foods, and who…in fact, it’s doubtful of deliberate accident, according to some newspaper. It is uncertain at this moment, however, I am looking for the truth coming out and the time we can eat anything with no worries.

Technorati Tags: Japanese TV show, frozen food, Japan, poison victim, meat dumpling