Some Japanese believe that if you have your car blessed by a Buddhist priest, you will avoid accidents, tickets, and possibly even bird droppings. Kawasaki-Daishi is one of the temples that has a parking lot for this exact purpose. The white grid is where cars await their spiritual collision coverage, the yellow grid is where the blessing takes place, large enough for 110 cars.  Narita-san in Chiba is another temple famous for these ceremonies. Such metaphysical peace of mind will cost you about $70. (more…)

If you’re expecting mail from Japan you might be lucky enough to receive a Nissan Skyline or two. The automaker is teaming up with the Minami Kanto Regional Office (Nissan’s home turf) of the Japan Post Network to offer these postage stamps depicting the history of the Skyline model. The sets will be available from February 1 to August 31 and will be limited to 5000 sheets.

The post office is also offering a stamps of NIssan’s electric vehicles starting with the 1947 Tama. This collection will be limited to just 1000 sheets. (more…)

Nakazoto is a JNC reader who lives in Nagoya, Japan. He’s graciously posted two of his visits to a local classic car dealership called, simply, Vintage. Check out his photos here and here.

Here’s a good shot illustrating the differences between the TE27 Toyota Corolla Levin (back) and Sprinter Trueno. You never see the two parked side by side here in the US. The mechanically identical cars have only superficial visual differences, most of them in the nose. (more…)

The beauty of Kimi Kurasu Machi carrot shochu is that it combines three Japanese crazes — that of regional delicacies, alcohol, and limited edition products — and wraps them all in a label illustrated with nostalgic cars. (more…)

After all this time we still get questions about the JNC logo. Specifically, the teardrop-shaped leaf in the upper right hand corner.

To explain, we must first describe the Wakaba Mark for beginning drivers. The Japanese government requires that new license holders display the green and yellow symbol on their cars during the first year of driving. In other words, it’s a blaring noob warning for seasoned roadgoers. Stateside, you’ve probably seen them fastened askance on tuned Civics and S13s.

So when we were coming up with ideas for the JNC logo, we chose to incorporate its counterpart, the Koreisha Mark, or elderly driver’s mark. After all, we were talking about old school cars! Display of this emblem is required when a driver reaches 75 years old, or age 70 if you have any conditions that may impair your driving.

Each mark comes in two styles: a suction cup type meant for the rear window, and a magnet type to stick on the hood. The Koreisha Mark has been in use since 1997, but recently the Japanese government has been considering a redesign. (more…)

More than 1600 MX-5 Roadsters swarmed Mazda’s hometown of Hiroshima, Japan on September, 20 for what has to be a new world record in single-model gatherings. After all, the MX-5 already holds the Guinness record for best selling two-seater droptop — as Jeremy Clarkson would say — in the whurrrld. (more…)

Need a gurachan spoiler and some wicked fender flares for your kenmeri Skyline? Swing by Saitama’s Mizuno Works, a shop specializing in bosozoku style bombers. (more…)

Remember the exploits of the Kusahiro Exploration Corps? Well here’s Dara Dara Seikatsu’s blog to further document the oxidizing nostalgics of Japan and ruin your day.

Thanks to reader Charlie C. for the tip!

Last week we mentioned that Nissan was opening a gallery at their recently relocated headquarters now in Yokohama. The grand opening was on Monday, and here are some photos of the new digs.

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