Author Archives: David Lovett

GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 10

On the final day of our cross-Japan trip, we woke up in Okayama with a decision to make. If we stuck to the back roads, we’d end up having to travel straight through the heart of Kobe and Osaka. On … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 09

With just two more days to go, our trip was winding to a close. We had just crossed from the southern island of Kyushu to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. Now were were headed back onto the … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 08

In the previous installment of our cross-Japan trip, we began the northeasterly journey back home, but on a different route that would hug the southern coast of Japan. As such, we’d voyage from Kyushu to Shikoku, two of the four islands that … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 07

In the last installment of our cross-Japan trip, a life-long personal goal was achieved. I had driven from the northern Hokkaido on one end of Japan to southern Kyushu on the other. However, the journey was far from over. We and our … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 06

As our compatriots in California enjoy themselves on the Touge California this weekend, we do a little driving of our own, in the sixth installment of our cross-Japan tour. On Day 05, we stowed our 1978 Isuzu 117 Coupé to explore Nagasaki on … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 05

Day 05 in Nagasaki marked an unusual one, as it was the only day of our entire journey in which no driving was planned at all. Nagasaki is one of Japan’s major port cities and a historic one, and worth a tour if … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 04

By the end of Day 03 we’d arrived at Shimonoseki, the southernmost point of Honshu, Japan’s main landmass. As the island on which most of the nation’s major cities — Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima — are located, Honshu contains about 60 percent of … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 03

During Day 01 and Day 02 of our road trip across Japan, it rained constantly. On the morning of Day 03, the weather finally broke. As the clouds departed to the north, we were headed south, and that meant nothing but … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 02

In Part 01 of our once-in-a-lifetime road trip, we set out from Nagoya and headed to Maizuru City via Lake Biwa. Our car was an Isuzu fresh off of a head gasket change, and while Day Two was yet another day of … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? The finest replica of a Mugen CRX SCCA GT4 race car is in France

In the early 1980s, Honda wanted to show the appeal of its high-performance vehicles to American enthusiasts. It set about building a racing car with the help of its tuning and racing division, Mugen, to compete in the SCCA GT-4 … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1979 Isuzu 117 XG

Giorgetto Giugiaro penned many stunning cars — the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, Ferrari 250 GT, Iso Grifo — but here’s one that’ll throw the old guard at Concorso Italiano into conniptions: the lovely Isuzu 117 Coupe. It almost feels strange to … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Driving across Japan in a JNC, Day 01

In 2015 we took a once-in-a-lifetime road trip across Japan behind the wheel of a proper Showa Era icon. The chariot of choice was an Isuzu 117 Coupé, and it would serve as our trusty steed for 10 days and over 2,400 kilometers before … Continue reading

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JNC THEATER: Maido! Urayasu Tekkin Family

There’s a relatively new anime called Maido! Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku (毎度!浦安鉄筋家族). Featuring extremely short episodes — like under two minutes short — and story lines that are monkey tits insane, but the main characters are from Urayasu, Chiba and drive an S54 … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 02

Welcome to Part 02 of our Nostalgic2Days coverage, as we make our way across the Pacifico Convention Center on Yokohama’s historic waterfront. In this installment we’ll see the displays kyuusha tuning houses, some of the famous cars that have graced Nostalgic … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 01

Every year Nostalgic Hero magazine holds one of the very best classic car shows in all the lands, Nostalgic2Days. This is the sixth time they’ve held the event and for the past 4 years I’ve made the pilgrimage to Yokohama what … Continue reading

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SHOP LIFE: Standards, Part 02

In Part 01, we headed up to Gifu to visit a shop called Standards, which had a mind-blowing amount of Showa goodies hidden in every nook and cranny. After going into Showa overload, Yokoyama-san, the owner, asked if we wanted … Continue reading

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SHOP LIFE: Standards, Part 01

Standards is a little known shop hiding up in Gifu Prefecture. We would have never been aware of had it not been for some internet digging by a friend in a desperate bid to find some rare Mazda Carol 360 … Continue reading

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