History Garage

In Odaiba, there is a car museum run by Toyota called the History Garage. I visited recently with my kids, who were not as interested in looking at a bunch of old cars, especially if you couldn't sit in them or ride in them.

One of the more interesting vehicles was the Toyota Sports 800. The prototype for this car, the Toyota Publica Sports is on prominent display at the entrance to the museum (or perhaps it is near the exit, I may have gone the wrong way around). According to Wikipedia, the car's engine output was 21 kW (or 28 hp)! I'm sure this sounded more impressive in 1962 (although a 1962 Corvette was rated between 250 hp (190 kW) and 360 hp (270 kW) from an 327 cu in (5.4 L) small-block V8). At least the car sold for significantly less, about $1,652 USD in 1965 according to the Yotahachi North American Resource Page.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 125, 1/30 sec.

This is the 1965 production version, sometimes affectionately called the Yota-Hachi (ヨタハチ). The kanji on the license plate is a little unusual too. It actually has Tokyo (東京）. I'm not sure if this is how plates were issued back in the 1960's. Current, Tokyo plates are now issued with the local municipality, Adachi (足立), Hachiōji (八王子), Tama (多摩), Nerima (練馬) or Shinagawa (品川).

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 20 mm, f4.0, ISO 400, 1/6 sec.