Lexus Sapporo Japan (pics+review) (large 2mb)
01-16-06, 03:08 AM
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Lexus Sapporo Japan (pics+review) (large 2mb)
I was in Japan for the Holidays and stopped by the Lexus Dealership in Sapporo Japan, on the north island of Hokkaido. I have to say is was much more upper class than any car dealership in the united states period. They gave me 2 hours of their time and a grand tour. I even was allowed to go through the engineers cabinets and look at their tools. They took a lot of time to make sure I was satisfied, and gave me a very nice Lexus key chain for stopping in. I also got a hold of the IS 2/350 brochures and they are spectacular, much more detail and better color pictures of the cars. Every color has a half page to itself, and there are quite a few extra additions to the car that are not shown in the brochures here in America.
Ok here are some of the photos I took.
Click on some of the images to see them (I tried to post with them but the forum here said I put too many images in this post... sad)
Outside the dealership: (lots of snow in Sapporo so the 250 AWD sells the best)
Standard IS body shot:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22401.jpg
They have TV and Mini disk in the ML equipped versions for no extra cost!!
More wheels than we are currently offered:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22411.jpg
Very nice receptionist!
The GS with a nice backdrop:
More showroom:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22427.jpg
Standard waiting room with HDTV drinks and Internet access ports and electric plus underneath each of the tables:
Same room but a view of the drinks and the smokers room:
One of the many tool cabinets in the shop.. every single tool they use is Lexus branded.. they let me look at them all.. and all are clean and ordered:
They put a car of my choice up so the mechanic sould show me where the oil tank is:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22490.jpg
And he descriobes the parts (in japanese):
This is the VIP waiting room, if you call ahead and its available you can reserve it just for yourself. Put in a DVD and watch movies in 7.1 THX. Very very upscale.
When you buy a car from them they roll it into this single car room, pop champaign and everyone in the dealership comes to celebrate for a little while with you. Your home address is already put in the nav for a safe drive home.
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22514.jpg
As I left the dealership they stood outside and bowed to me until I was out of site. They also went out into the street and helped me look for oncoming traffic. I sincerely wish I could purchase from them, but I think I will be getting those starfish rims from them since they are not offered in the USA. Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy
Joshua Dearing
http://www.dearingfilm.com/
Ok here are some of the photos I took.
Click on some of the images to see them (I tried to post with them but the forum here said I put too many images in this post... sad)
Outside the dealership: (lots of snow in Sapporo so the 250 AWD sells the best)
Standard IS body shot:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22401.jpg
They have TV and Mini disk in the ML equipped versions for no extra cost!!
More wheels than we are currently offered:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22411.jpg
Very nice receptionist!
The GS with a nice backdrop:
More showroom:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22427.jpg
Standard waiting room with HDTV drinks and Internet access ports and electric plus underneath each of the tables:
Same room but a view of the drinks and the smokers room:
One of the many tool cabinets in the shop.. every single tool they use is Lexus branded.. they let me look at them all.. and all are clean and ordered:
They put a car of my choice up so the mechanic sould show me where the oil tank is:
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22490.jpg
And he descriobes the parts (in japanese):
This is the VIP waiting room, if you call ahead and its available you can reserve it just for yourself. Put in a DVD and watch movies in 7.1 THX. Very very upscale.
When you buy a car from them they roll it into this single car room, pop champaign and everyone in the dealership comes to celebrate for a little while with you. Your home address is already put in the nav for a safe drive home.
http://www.dearingfilm.com/lexus_japan/_JD22514.jpg
As I left the dealership they stood outside and bowed to me until I was out of site. They also went out into the street and helped me look for oncoming traffic. I sincerely wish I could purchase from them, but I think I will be getting those starfish rims from them since they are not offered in the USA. Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy
Joshua Dearing
http://www.dearingfilm.com/
01-16-06, 06:46 AM
#2
Excellent Pics Joshua, thanks for posting !
Awesome dealership, very modern and spotless. I wouldn't mind having those tools either. I wonder if they would through a box of those screwdrivers in the trunk when the car rolls out of the factory?
Excellent view of the drain pan. Should be pretty easy to change the oil. The drain plug was clearly visible. Joshua, do you remember the location of the oil filter? was it spin on or cartridge?
I wonder if when I pick up the IS350 , if the dealer I'm buying from will have a party for me? doubtful. I know they won't block traffic on I-40 for me when we pull out.
thanks for the pics!!
Awesome dealership, very modern and spotless. I wouldn't mind having those tools either. I wonder if they would through a box of those screwdrivers in the trunk when the car rolls out of the factory?
Excellent view of the drain pan. Should be pretty easy to change the oil. The drain plug was clearly visible. Joshua, do you remember the location of the oil filter? was it spin on or cartridge?
I wonder if when I pick up the IS350 , if the dealer I'm buying from will have a party for me? doubtful. I know they won't block traffic on I-40 for me when we pull out.
thanks for the pics!!
01-16-06, 08:10 AM
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Looks like a pretty fun experience. It's always fun going to places like this when you're in other countries, I'm constantly amazed at other countries professionalism and pride in what they do versus how things are done in the states.
I NEVER eat at fast food places here but once while I was in Hong Kong my g/f and her sister thought it would be cool to go to McDonalds and get an ice cream Sunday just to see what it was like. I was BLOWN AWAY by how clean and professional everything was. You order, go sit down and someone brings out your meal to you – everyone is dressed in perfectly clean uniforms and is extremely friendly! The manager waited by the cashiers and constantly asked both people at their tables, and ordering, if they were being served well and being taken care of appropriately.
Before leaving I approached the manager and told him how well I thought things were run and explained how McDonalds’s are in the states versus his own and let him know what an excellent job I thought he was doing. The guy was SO nice and appreciative.
Oh well, sorry for the long story - thanks for the pics!
I NEVER eat at fast food places here but once while I was in Hong Kong my g/f and her sister thought it would be cool to go to McDonalds and get an ice cream Sunday just to see what it was like. I was BLOWN AWAY by how clean and professional everything was. You order, go sit down and someone brings out your meal to you – everyone is dressed in perfectly clean uniforms and is extremely friendly! The manager waited by the cashiers and constantly asked both people at their tables, and ordering, if they were being served well and being taken care of appropriately.
Before leaving I approached the manager and told him how well I thought things were run and explained how McDonalds’s are in the states versus his own and let him know what an excellent job I thought he was doing. The guy was SO nice and appreciative.
Oh well, sorry for the long story - thanks for the pics!
very nice pictures too by the way!
01-16-06, 08:27 AM
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EV ftw!!!
Very nice pics!!! 
Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if the special treatment you got was a combination of some factors - you are from the US, Lexus dealerships are new facilities (as they sold these cars as Toyota's before in Japan), etc, etc?
It was very nice nonetheless!
Thanks for sharing.I wonder if the special treatment you got was a combination of some factors - you are from the US, Lexus dealerships are new facilities (as they sold these cars as Toyota's before in Japan), etc, etc?
It was very nice nonetheless!
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01-16-06, 08:45 AM
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WOW!!
WOW!!
01-16-06, 09:37 AM
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GreyHound, thanks for the reply.
The oil filter is actually under one the carbon plastic shields you see towards the front bottom of the car. It seems to me like the protection theme is repeated all over the car very similar to the top engine we can all see clearly.
The oil filter is actually under one the carbon plastic shields you see towards the front bottom of the car. It seems to me like the protection theme is repeated all over the car very similar to the top engine we can all see clearly.
Last edited by joshua d; 01-16-06 at 09:44 AM.
01-16-06, 09:44 AM
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|mpulse, I know what you mean about fast food places. In Japan the 7-11's are spotless, the KFC's post in photos where the exact farm is they get their chicken and the McDonalds are much cleaner. Here in Los Angeles the same cannot be said.
01-16-06, 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by |mpulse
Looks like a pretty fun experience. It's always fun going to places like this when you're in other countries, I'm constantly amazed at other countries professionalism and pride in what they do versus how things are done in the states.
I NEVER eat at fast food places here but once while I was in Hong Kong my g/f and her sister thought it would be cool to go to McDonalds and get an ice cream Sunday just to see what it was like. I was BLOWN AWAY by how clean and professional everything was. You order, go sit down and someone brings out your meal to you – everyone is dressed in perfectly clean uniforms and is extremely friendly! The manager waited by the cashiers and constantly asked both people at their tables, and ordering, if they were being served well and being taken care of appropriately.
Before leaving I approached the manager and told him how well I thought things were run and explained how McDonalds’s are in the states versus his own and let him know what an excellent job I thought he was doing. The guy was SO nice and appreciative.
Oh well, sorry for the long story - thanks for the pics!
I NEVER eat at fast food places here but once while I was in Hong Kong my g/f and her sister thought it would be cool to go to McDonalds and get an ice cream Sunday just to see what it was like. I was BLOWN AWAY by how clean and professional everything was. You order, go sit down and someone brings out your meal to you – everyone is dressed in perfectly clean uniforms and is extremely friendly! The manager waited by the cashiers and constantly asked both people at their tables, and ordering, if they were being served well and being taken care of appropriately.
Before leaving I approached the manager and told him how well I thought things were run and explained how McDonalds’s are in the states versus his own and let him know what an excellent job I thought he was doing. The guy was SO nice and appreciative.
Oh well, sorry for the long story - thanks for the pics!
you get back to usa and trying to avoid those fast food.
those mexicans or indians behind the counter preparing your food with their
bare hands, and who knows where else have they touched...
01-16-06, 09:50 AM
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Thanks for the replies guys, like I said I had never felt more 1st class in my life.. I took a few more pics of the bathrooms which were all very high tech and some more exterior shots of the dealership. A interesting fact was the glass that separates where each sales person sits is actually a Lexus Japan original and has a patent on it. It is two pieces of glass melded together with Japanese paper in the middle, the kind of paper that would divide rooms in a traditional Japanese household. Every worker for Lexus Japan goes through rigorous customer satisfaction training and it clearly shows.
As we know Lexus Japan has a bit of a advantage because they just started in August 2005, but they are making sure they do things right from the ground up.
As we know Lexus Japan has a bit of a advantage because they just started in August 2005, but they are making sure they do things right from the ground up.
01-16-06, 10:22 AM
#15
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That is a beautiful dealership! I love the waiting area with the 7.1 home theater system.
The dealership I bought my IS250 from is almost as nice, Lexus of Lexington (Kentucky). Like the Japanese dealership above it has two single bays for demonstrating the features on a newly bought Lexus. The waiting area is not as big but almost as nice as in the pictures above (no home theater system though). They have free drinks and food for the customers. They have an indoor driving range for golf playing customers. Every time I have been there a receptionist or salesperson greets me at the door as they open it for me (and everyone else that comes to their door). Everything is spotlessly clean. It is definitely the best automotive dealership I have been to. It makes the other Lexus dealerships I have been too seem like a normal Toyota dealership.
The dealership I bought my IS250 from is almost as nice, Lexus of Lexington (Kentucky). Like the Japanese dealership above it has two single bays for demonstrating the features on a newly bought Lexus. The waiting area is not as big but almost as nice as in the pictures above (no home theater system though). They have free drinks and food for the customers. They have an indoor driving range for golf playing customers. Every time I have been there a receptionist or salesperson greets me at the door as they open it for me (and everyone else that comes to their door). Everything is spotlessly clean. It is definitely the best automotive dealership I have been to. It makes the other Lexus dealerships I have been too seem like a normal Toyota dealership.