Honda Collection Hall — Attraction in Motegi

Excellent museum and a credit to the heritage of a great Japanese company.

First: the logistics. It's a pain in the arse to get here. It's located within the Honda-owned Twin-Ring Motegi motor-racing complex. You can only take public transport the whole way on Saturdays and Sundays (via route buses from Utsonomiya or Mito stations) and even then there is only 1 service each way so it's a bit inflexible. It takes about 90 minutes each way too so it would be a big day if you're out of Tokyo.

We caught the train out from Tokyo (with our JR passes) to Utsonomiya (about an hour) and I hired a car at the station and drove out. Only 30-odd kilometres distance but it took an hour because the speed limit is 50 the whole way and there are many traffic lights. My wife went to Nikko for the day while i went to the Honda hall. (Looked lovely. Very scenic little town in the mountains with a pretty bridge and shrines/temples. Might be a good diversion for your uninterested partner/friend while you go to Motegi). If you can hack driving in Japan, I reckon this is the easiest way (no problem, they drive on the correct side of the road, green means go, red means stop). You'd want sat-nav or google maps though.

They also the best motorcycle-parking facilities I have ever seen. Undercover bike parking with racks and coat-hangers for your jackets! Very civilised. They'd have you in a muddy field in Australia.

Bring food if you are inclined because there seemed to be nowhere to buy any. Unbelievably, I don't recall even seeing a drinks vending-machine.

Entry to the collection hall is free but Honda get their pound of yen out of you anyway because you have to pay to enter the circuit, which today cost me 1200Y for myself and 1000Y to bring the car in. Bit steep for a non event-day but what are you going to do? Turn around and go home in a huff?

Anyway....

Very comprehensive detail on the rise of the company, all information posted in English as well as Japanese. They have everything from lawn mowers, generators, outboard motors and other implements of destruction but bikes and cars are the main event and there are plenty.

The cars: They have most of the more important early production models but the later stuff seemed limited (understandably, you couldn't house them all). They have an NSX though so all good. A good selection of F1 and other racing machines also but no RA302 which I was most interested to see and which I think they do have. They must rotate the displays around to give them all air time. Although RA302 is probably a dirty word in Honda-land so maybe it's in a dark room out the back somewhere.

The bikes: There are heaps of bikes. Way more than there are cars. It is a bike lovers dream this joint especially if you like rare, early-production road and race machines. The collection of early GP machines is huge, with some very important machines there, right up to recent Dani Pedrosa mounts. There are also a handful of significant machines from the other Japanese makers and an MV Agusta. Too much to mention really but there are plenty of road bikes, dirt bikes, scooters and mopeds as well as racing machines from every discipline.

I had three things on the list I was most keen to see: the RC166 (THE ultimate multi-cylinder 4-stroke racer), the NR750 (if you have one to sell and would accept my first-born please message me) and the aforementioned RA302 F1 car and only on the last one was I dissapointed.

In case you hadn't twigged yet, I loved the joint and I don't even own a Honda (well, I do, but not many). I reckon it's well worth the effort to get there if you are even...

I went there on 21st March 2019. It was a public holiday and surprisingly quiet. The admission fees were ¥1200 for an adult, ¥600 for a primary school kid and ¥1000 for our car. This entry included access to the race tracks, though there wasn’t a race on that day so I’m not sure how that would’ve affected the fees.

There’s an amusement area which costs extra for each attraction. Some of the amusements seemed over priced. The aerial runway was weight restricted to 35 kilos. The karts looked good but were age restricted to 10 and the displayed info stated some kind of licence was necessary for kids and adults without a driving licence so I suggest you check beforehand. Over-18s with a full driving licence were permitted without restriction.

My main reason for going was the Honda Collection and I was extremely satisfied because it’s truly excellent. The vast array of Honda vehicles is just right for a day trip. Each exhibit is accompanied with concise information which doesn’t take too long to read.

There are several eateries with something for everyone’s taste and not too expensive.

There are shops selling great merchandise but it’s exorbitant, which is typical of motorsport.

I drove there and used Google Maps navigation, which was great until it told me I’d arrived when I was actually outside a perimeter fence in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, there are clear diagram maps around the perimeter fences guiding us to entry points.

It’s well worth the trip but be warned if you go by car that the expressway tolls cost over ¥10,000 (round trip) from...

If you are an automobile buff, this is a pilgrimage you must visit in your lifetime! It is almost entire history of automobile (And full history of Honda) starting from motored bicycle to evolution of cars, F1, some other motors like lawn mowers, boat motors, they even have small plane; apparently Honda makes engines of planes. (I am sure soon they will put that Honda generator which Tesla users use to charge their cars in emergency) They have a bike which has sofa like seats, ground world record speed holder machine, small planes, motor boats, all types of two wheelers and four wheelers produced in all parts of the world, F1 cars used by Honda. Small display of how F1 tyres looked in each decade from 1920 races and you will be amazed for the transformation they have been to. It is so huge that if you are a real buff, you might spend around half day there admiring the exhibits and the way they are maintained and displayed. The curator told that they all are in working condition and are switched on at least once a year. If you have a pestering spouse, not interested in automobiles, you may still spend around 2 hours there! Nearby there is Asimo museum as well. Public...