By
9:00 in the morning, the parking lot in front
of the West Gatewas virtually full to its
6,000 vehicle capacity.
One man in histwenties who left his home
in Utsunomiya at 4:00 in the morning in
order to avoid traffic jams said, "I'm
thrilled to be here. I hear there are lots
of exciting new sports cars on display." Indeed,
young people thronged to the sports car corners
of the
exhibition booths, where domestic and foreign
automakers had their latest
models on display.
Security is tighter than usual at this year's
Show due to theterrorist attacks on the United
States and the recent anthrax scare.
Staff members at the entrance searched
all baggage brought in, but visitors
were generally understanding and
sympathetic towards the security
concerns and have been very cooperative
with procedures. The process
moved forward smoothly and without incident.
This
is the first time an electronic ticket
system has been used by the show.
The Japan Motor Industrial Federation
accepts applications from its web
site, so visitors can purchase
tickets directly from their personal
computers. At North Gate 1 and
West Gate 1, there are one all-electronic
entrances for each Visitors need only show a
bar code on the
screen of their "imode"portable phone
to be admitted quickly and easily, without
having to stand in line at the ticket window.
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