EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02

In Part 01 of our 2012 Fuji Jamboree coverage we focused on machines that took to the Speedway. Blood red hakosuka with Okamoto logos? You know those black Wats are ready to cut loose on Fuji’s tarmac. However, as every good otaku knows, the parking area of any Japanese car fest puts on just a good a show as the event itself.

The B210 is one of the lesser loved Datsuns, but amidst a sea ofย kei boxes it’s positively endearing and perfectly sized for cruising Japan’s narrow streets. A bone stock sedan with its original hubcaps won’t be lighting up the circuit like its TS Cup brethren, but if you’re headed to Fuji you might as well arrive in style.

Everyone in Japan parks ass-in. Some say it’s because pushing a car into a narrow space is easier than pulling in, and while that is true even the smallest kei jidosha reverses into its comparatively vast spot. Whatever the reason we love the practice because it affords us shots like this, in which an Isuzu Bellett is ready to launch into action at a moment’s notice.

The vast majority of Japan’s cars are white, black, or some gradient of gray in between, so a hako furnished in red and chrome is pretty striking. It remains proudly unslammed as well; even the Mazda Scrum beside it is rocking sportier fitment on its steelies.

In contrast to the many GT-R clones out there, the crimson GC10 wears its 1800 badges and corresponding prison bar taillights with no shame. Note the long garnish between the lights, which is absent on the GT-R.

We found a stately Skyline Japan on Hayashi Streets and old school Dunlops parked in the shadow of a snow-covered Mt. Fuji. You won’t see many hitched trailers among the race team support vehicles; flatbeds are the race car hauler of choice in Japan.

Elsewhere in the lot a Honda S600 parks beside its progeny of many generations, a mid-2000s Honda Life kei car in Matcha Creme (the color of a green tea latte). Modern wheels simply don’t do the S-car justice. We still can’t get that yellow demon from Part 01 out of our heads.

In the gold mine of this particular parking area we found a lineup of iconic Showa sleds โ€” daruma, yonmeri, butaketsu, hakosuka, Sunny Excellent and kenmeri. One must learn a new language to talk about Nihon steel, because the Japanese take their nicknames seriously.

Another one of those stark contrasts you can only see in Japan โ€” a dropped KP30 Publica wearing the smallest SSR MkIIs that we’ve ever seen right beside a behemoth of a seventh-gen Suburban. Naturally, the owner of that Chevy deposited it with what some Japanese call “American style parking.”

Before we say our final goodbyes to Fuji Speedway, a parting shot of two wicked Skyline sedans that would floor any gaijin Nissan nut just cold chillin’ like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Such is the magic of the Immortal Volcano.

And in case you missed it, here’s our coverage of the 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 01.

Photos by Skorj, our man in Japan. You can see more of his work at Filmwasters.

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15 Responses to EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02

  1. Aaron says:

    USDM Suburban Parking FTW ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. jivecom says:

    Hah, that’s funny. Where I live in US the only people who ass-park are the ones with huge trucks and suvs. Think it’s something about leaving the overhang above the curb, but it’s kind of a dick move when they do it and cover half of another spot with the back of their huge ass truck, but you can’t tell until you’re halfway in the spot and the minivan lady behind is honking at you because you took 0.32 seconds longer than she was willing to wait

    can you guys tell I had a bad parking experience at a supermarket yesterday ?

    • Tyler says:

      That’s worse than last weekend. A friend and I went for a ride in her Scirocco and the thing broke a couple blocks away. Her boyfriend ended up bumper-pushing the thing home with a Mk5 Rabbit and some dick was honking wildly because we were taking too much time at a four-way stop. Some people have no respect for the classics! Old cars teach you many things, possibly most importantly patience. ๐Ÿ˜›

  3. bert says:

    At the risk of pissing off my Asian brethren, Asians can’t park! They must park that way to quickly escape the zombie hoards at Costco. Case in point, at one of my dealers awhile back, a lot guy and I were talking about the subject of Asian parking, when an Asian mechanic rolled up in a Lexus. Wipped right in and nailed the spot PERFECTLY! Then he backed up, got it off to far right. Tried again, went over the line. After backing out at least four times he finally left the car crooked with the nose parked by the passenger door of the car on the left, so the door wouldn’t open. Then stood there staring, wondering why we were laughing so hard! Maybe it’s just American parking that has them turned around.

    • Koich says:

      Go to Japan. The Japanese park perfect in tight spots.

      • Kuroneko says:

        In Japan (where we park straight like the cars above), we reverse in because it is safer. Doing it the other way requires you to reverse out into on-coming traffic. Common sense really.

        Incidentally, the etiquette for parking is much like anything else here, and works very smoothly, like zippering on merging… Bliss! Neko.

        • bert says:

          What is zippering on merging?

          • Kuroneko says:

            That is when two lanes of traffic have to merge – the left lane and the right lane alternate one-to-one after each other. Every time. No trying to squeeze someone out, no trying to beat someone into the merge. You always know where your spot in the queue is. Two or three quick flashes to say ‘arigato’ when you’re in, and everyone moves along smoothly. Neko.

          • bert says:

            Oh, we don’t have that where I live!

          • bert says:

            I don’t mean to make anyone mad, my example was just an observation. Where I live in the Puget Sound area, there’s no such thing as “zippering’ or order when it comes to driving. Some people will speed up from a quarter mile back so you can’t merge, then flip you off like ya did something wrong. Or lay on the horn for a mile and a half cause they had to let off the gas when you changed lanes. or they’ll hang out the window screaming and cursing with the horn for five minutes, cause you won’t make a right hand turn, when the sign says “no turn on red” I’ve seen two women literally fight over a parking space at Walmart. A principle called, cause the PTA president didn’t get her parking space at the front of the line to pick up her kid. I’ve seen someone pushed into an intersection cause they didn’t do the required 0 to 60 before the other side of the light. Why ? you might ask. Cause this is America, land of the free, home of the brave and majestic purplish mountains, where many have fought and died for our freedom of speech and right to bear arms!

            Japan sounds nice.

  4. Kevin T says:

    That Publica up there is just awesome! Everytime I see a nicely done up Publica I think of Rob Richardson’s KP.

  5. y.lee says:

    Im loving that 1800 Skyline and the Skyline Japan!!! I would love to import those two over to the US. *drool*

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