Even though Mega Web doesn’t actually sell cars, there are so-called consultants among the 70-odd showroom staff. They’ll be happy to answer your questions (in fluent Japanese or hesitant English) – even tricky queries such as “What’s the difference between the Crown Royal Saloon and the Crown Super Saloon?”, “Why did Toyota call the Spade a Spade?”, and “Is the Isis the sister of the ist?”
What I want to ask them is, “Where did the catalogue vending machines go?” Yes, Mega Web used to have these, dispensing Toyota car catalogues for the price of a canned drink. The vehicular reading material, like the Japanese “mooks” (mag-books) in Kinokuniya, is impossibly glossy, perfectly printed and worth every yen.
Money well spent, too, is the 300 yen (S$3.60) for every test drive in the Ride One section, where anyone with a valid driving licence (international driving permit required for foreigners, who make up half of the clientele) can take a Toyota for a spin. Cars can be reserved online up to four weeks in advance. Naturally, I choose the coolest car they have – see box story “Century Egghead” on pg 80.
Ride One also has an 230m indoor section for children to do a “little” driving, supervised by adults. The kids will learn about traffic rules and motoring basics in battery-powered vehicles that include the Camatte (a “Toy-ota” roadster for ages 10 to 17) and the Pius (a yellow one-seater, with a sense of humour, for ages 6 to 9). Very young “engineers” will be taught how to assemble a simple hybrid runabout – while wearing Nipponese white gloves, of course.
These boys’ post-university destiny down the road might be somewhere in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Very young “racing drivers” who are at least a metre in height can burn a bit of rubber on five-minute, 300-yen (S$3.60) kart rides.
Older students in junior high school can play in slightly quicker karts at 500 yen (S$6.05) per session, but only after guided practice and course familiarisation. The fine print in the karting programme includes this warning: “Should you display a serious lack of driving ability, you may be forced to stop driving, even if you have not completed the course.”
No worries, because the teenager who can’t drive to save his life can always go back to the relative safety of the “Toy-ota” Camatte in the children’s section of Ride One. He can also take a joyride in the Mega Theatre (a “motion cinema” with seats that move in sync with the visuals) or, if he’s lucky, catch a live performance on the Mega Stage (where various special events are held, but never a Megadeth concert).
