Tag Archives: bellett

EVENTS: Okutama Sunday Meeting

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Skorj

A short time ago, we were invited to attend the monthly Okutama-ko Sunday kyusha meeting. Loosely organized by the well-known Isuzu shop Eagle Sports, it always attracts a wide range of cars. This weekend was special though, as GT-B driving … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 01

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Skorj

At this year’s Nostalgic 2 Days show, we were on assignment to meet a very specific person, a towering figure from the golden age of Japan’s automotive history. Before our appointment — which will be covered in the next installment — … Continue reading →

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THE SPOT: Behold the bonkers trippiness of these Yellow Hat commercials

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Ben Hsu

Yellow Hat is a nationwide Japanese chain of auto service stores whose ad agency has clearly huffed one exhaust molecule too many. The completely Mr Sparkle-ized ads exist ostensibly to notify you of Yellow Hat’s tire and battery services, but the execution … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Showa Car Preservation Meeting

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Ken Lee

The Old Car Club of Tokyo recently held it’s 3rd annual Showa no Kurma wo Mamoru Tsudoi or “Preserving cars made in the Showa Era” meeting. This is a gathering for cars made during the Showa Era, which ended in 1989 according to the … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 03 — Bone Stock Beauties

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Japan has been the source of some truly extreme car cultures. Sadly, a “custom car” was the type of vehicle deemed most unseemly by Japanese women in a recent survey. No matter. Despite a western eye that cherry picks the only the most severe … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 01 – Sixties Sports

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Hiroshi Yoshida

The Japanese Classic Car Association is one of the nation’s largest organizations for old car enthusiasts. Each year, the New Year Meeting show draws thousands. This year’s event took place on Sunday, January 26 from 9-4 in the Aomi Parking Area … Continue reading →

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JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded … Continue reading →

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ART CORNER: Rocket Craft’s stuffed cars are the cutest thing ever

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Dan Hsu

The problem with cars is that they’re made of metal. That means rust, skinned knuckles, and, most importantly, an inability to be cuddly. A shop called Rocket Craft has solved that last one for us by creating a series of stuffed cars, which are totally … Continue reading →

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GARAGE LIFE: A visit with Isuzu Sports Eagle

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Guest Writer

We first met Koji Okane, owner of Isuzu Sports Eagle, in 2009 at the inaugural Nos2Days show. A gracious guy, he invited us to his shop but our time in Japan was too short. We could think of no one … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2013 Nostalgic2Days, Part 01

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Guest Writer

The latest dispatch from guest writer David Lovett of Classic Car Nagoya covers Part 01 of the annual Nos2Days event, where we first encountered CCN years ago. —Ben There’s one show every year I absolutely refuse to miss. Nostalgic 2 Days happens every year … Continue reading →

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GRAND TOURING: Driving the Chubu Touge, Part 02

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Skorj

In Part 01 of our Chubu grand tour, we escaped Tokyo by expressway northwest into the mountains. Our return trip took us on roads less traveled, over some of Japan’s most famous winding passes known as touge. We had made … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Classic Japan 2012, Part 04: Never Seen in the USA

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Guest Writer

Part 04 of Adam Laws’ Classic Japan 2012 coverage from Melbourne, Australia covers a whole bunch of J-tin that is rarely spotted in the USA. —Dan In Australia the Mazda range in the 70s included both the RX-3 and its … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Announcing Melbourne’s Classic Japan 2012

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Today we have a guest post from Adam Laws of the Toyota Car Club of Australia (Victoria), organizer of a 200-plus car show in Melbourne. Check out his announcement and, below that, some photos of unique Aussie nostalgics from last … Continue reading →

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Shaken preparation at Sports Car Service of Yokohama

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Nestled in the sleepy, semi-rural outskirts of Yokohama is Sports Car Service, specializing in the repair and maintenance of nostalgic cars. Recently a friend needed to get an old rotary prepped for shaken, Japan’s roadworthiness inspection, and we tagged along to … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ben Hsu

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 … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 01

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Ben Hsu

If the sight of a Skyline and Savanna in nostalgic warpaint doesn’t stir your soul, we’ll go ahead and notify your next of kin. Add to that a sprinkling of Starlet, Sunny, and a snazzy Japanese-colors retro racing helmet perched just so, … Continue reading →

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Akio Toyoda’s favorite cars built by Toyota’s rivals

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Ben Hsu

In case you needed more proof that Akio Toyoda is a car nut of the highest order, yesterday the ToMoCo head honcho rattled off his favorite cars that are not Toyotas. The occasion was Toyoda’s inauguration as chair of JAMA, the Japan … Continue reading →

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Friday Video: Seizure-inducing onslaught of vintage photos is an Isuzu ad, surprisingly

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Out of all the Japanese automakers we’d vote Isuzu, hands down, as the marque least likely scour the attic for a heritage hyping infodump of family photos in the name of advertising. Sure we’ve seen history-laden campaigns from the likes … Continue reading →

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Nostalgic Hero selects Top 20 Japanese Classics

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Ben Hsu

The 150th volume of Nostalgic Hero just hit the stands as a special edition in which the editors pick the Top 20 Nostalgic Cars of 2012. Back in 2007 they issued a Top 50 list, and some have risen, some have fallen. … Continue reading →

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Grand Touring: Forgotten steel tempts rust in Aichi Prefecture

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Skorj

A few weekends ago, we were again exploring some outlaying areas outside of Nagoya, and in the middle of the rice fields was a small mechanic who had amazed a sizable collection of varied old Japanese cars. As distressing as … Continue reading →

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