Category Archives: japan
The Vintage Japanese “OK” Hand Logo Explained
Few things in life are cooler than vintage racing liveries. The colors, the typefaces, and the long-extinct corporate logos (of often just-as-extinct corporations) capture a moment in time that can never be replicated again. Add to that the rawness of … Continue reading
Occupy Tokyo with your Zokusha on Doukoho Eve
It’s time for our yearly commemoration of Doukoho Eve. On November 22, 1978, over 3000 bosozoku motorcycles and cars swarmed the streets of Tokyo, cruising, parading, revving and generally causing a ruckus. They were out to celebrate the end of an era.
Identify This Rusty Car Found in a Japanese Junkyard
See that wagon lurking behind this hakosuka and Honda Today? All we know is that it’s old, rust, and resting in a junkyard somewhere in Japan. This photo was sent to us by a reader there. Heck, it may not even be Japanese. Be … Continue reading
Best Motoring & Hot Version Era Comes to a Close
The renowned Japanese automotive video series Best Motoring and its spinoff publication Hot Version have been canceled. According to its publisher 2&4 Motoring, the parent company Kodansha could not justify its continued existence citing declining sales figures for the past … Continue reading
Checking Godzilla for Radiation
Apparently Japanese automakers have had to put their customers’ minds at ease, by conducting radiation tests on cars built since the Tohoku quake and tsunami for radiation. At Nissan’s Oppama plant, which is 225 miles southwest of the damaged Fukushima … Continue reading
What the Tsunami Looked Like from a Car
DONATION LINK. Here are some more harrowing videos of the tsunami, including an in-car video from a Japanese driver who just happened to be driving along the coast the exact moment the tsunami hits. He remains amazingly calm as his … Continue reading
Sportsland Sugo Damaged in Earthquake
Japan is still recovering from last week’s record-breaking 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Sadly, reports say one of the nation’s great racetracks, Sportsland Sugo, has sustained damage. Located in the hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture, Sugo was built in 1975 by … Continue reading
How the Earthquake is Affecting Japan’s Automakers
In the aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake of March 11, the Japan’s great automakers are mostly at a standstill. Supply chains, transport and shipping facilities have all been affected by the quake and subsequent tsunami. There’s also rolling … Continue reading
Magnitude 8.9 Earthquake Strikes Japan
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all our Japanese friends today. A magnitude 8.9 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sendai a few hours ago, shaking buildings as far away as Tokyo. Even worse, the quake triggered a … Continue reading
New Koreisha Marks Go On Sale Today
Today is February 1, which means the “autumn leaf” elderly driver’s symbol is no more. Last summer, a nation-wide contest selected a new koreisha mark, this four-color clover-type thing, because the apparently drivers over the age of 70 do not … Continue reading
