Category Archives: events

EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — A preview of what’s to come

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

Now in its 21st year, the All-Toyotafest has become quite possibly the most popular Japanese car show in southern California. How popular? Online registration for the 2016 gathering — all 450 spots — sold out just eight hours after going … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged avalon, camry, celica, corolla, corona, e20, mr2, prius, Pronard, rt40, scion, sw20, T200, t80, te27, toyota, toyotafest, xb, XV10, xv30, XV40, XV50 | 12 Comments

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 →

Posted in events | Tagged 117, 2000gt, 510, 6M, bellett, bluebird, c10, c130, capella, cosmo sport, dekotora, Endless brakes, fairlady z, familia rotary coupe, Garage Iwasa, gt-r, Hakosuka, honda, isuzu, Isuzu Eagle Sports, kpgc10, Laruel, Lotus Elan, mazda, nissan, nos2days, Nostalgic 2 Days, prince, r100, r30, rocky auto, rx-2, s30 z, s54, s600, skyline, soarer, sports 800, toyota, UnLimited Kustoms, z10 | 14 Comments

VIDEO: 2016 Cannonball Festival

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

Though billed as a music festival for greasers and rockabilly types, the Cannonball Festival includes an impressive car and motorcycle show as well. The show is held on opposite ends of the country, Hiroshima and Chiba, and draws a wide array of bosozoku bikes and sleds … Continue reading →

Posted in events, Video | Tagged bosozoku, Cannonball Festival, kaido racer | 3 Comments

EVENTS: Subaru holds first official Fan Meeting in Japan

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Dave Yuan

Subaru recently held its inaugural Fan Meeting at the Subaru Kenkyu Center in Tochigi. SKC fort short, the Research & Testing Center is the proving ground where many of Subaru’s signature high performance cars, such as the Alcyone SVX and WRX … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged alcyone, brz, Fan Meeting, impreza, legacy, leone, sambar, SKC, subaru, subaru 360, svx | 7 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 04 — The Streets

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

In the last two installments of our 2016 New Year Meeting coverage, we prowled the parking area to find as much diversity in marques and models as there were in customization styles. In our final installment of the 2016 New Year … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 710, a20, a60, ae86, alto, bosozoku, c210, celica, celica xx, chaser, clipper, corolla, corona mark II, cosmo, cosmo sport, cressida, cresta, datsun, Fukuoka Style, gx71, haisoka, kaido racer, mark II, Master Ace, mazda, new year meeting, nissan, porter, rx-5, skyline, soarer, sprinter trueno, subaru 360, supra, suzuki, ta22, toyota, Toyota Van, violet, x20, z10, z20 | 4 Comments

EVENTS: Marikina Old Schoolers East meet

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Walter Pineda

Perhaps unbeknownst to most Americans, the Philippines has an incredibly strong tradition of classic car enthusiasm, especially with Nihon steel. Due to the nation’s proximity to Japan, it was one of the early export markets and received many models that … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged corolla, e20, Greenhills Style, kp61, lancer, mitsubishi, Old Schoolers East, Philippines, starlet, te27, toyota | 14 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 03 — This is Japan

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Ben Hsu

A life-size Gundam robot towers above the trees. Giant windowless shopping centers operate like small cities. In this snapshot of a hyper-futuristic metropolis floating on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, tradition comes in the form of a parking lot teeming … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 510, a10, a20, bluebird, bosozoku, c10, c110, carina, celica, chaser, cherry, cosmo, cresta, crown, daruma, datsun, e10, EVA, Fukuoka Style, Gundam, gurachan, gx71, Hakosuka, honda, kaido racer, kenmeri, life, Luce Legato, mark II, mazda, new year meeting, rx-5, skyline, ssr, toyota, x70 | 21 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 02 — The Parking Area

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

In Part 02 of our New Year Meeting coverage, we delve into the parking area to unearth gems as good as anything inside the show. Some of them aren’t able to make it simply because of the age cutoff, others perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 280zx, 510, a20, b110, bluebird, cb400, celica, cressida, cresta, crown, daruma, datsun, dekotora, elf, fairlady z, gemini, Hawk, honda, isuzu, mazda, mirage, mitsubishi, new year meeting, nissan, rally, Rocket Bunny, rx-3, s110, s130, s30 z, Sera, Shakotan Boogie, soarer, sunny, suzuki, today, toyota, Wagon R, x70, z10, z20 | 15 Comments

EVENTS: The Mazda Ice Academy explains why Mazdas are so darn fun to drive

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Ben Hsu

The Mazda Ice Academy’s main reason for existence was to show off the Hiroshima automaker’s newfangled all-wheel-drive system. That was good, as we’d marveled before at how they managed to give a mid-size crossover better handling than many actual cars. We wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged mazda, miata, mx-5, ND Miata | 4 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 01

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

The New Year Meeting is Tokyo’s premiere classic car show and it takes place at the end of January. You’ll likely never see a gathering of J-tin so diverse anywhere else, and the magic begins with a line of cars at the … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 117, 3K, 510, a20, bluebird, bosozoku, c10, c30, cedric, celica, corolla, corona mark II, daruma, drag racer, Farialdy Z, galant gto, h31, Hakosuka, honda, isuzu, kaido racer, kp47, laurel, le mans, leone, life, mazda, Mazda B360, Minica Skipper, mitsubishi, Musashi Crystal, new year meeting, nissan, porter cab, publica, Rilakkuma, S-Series, s30, skyline, soarer, starlet, subaru, t60, toyota, z20 | 9 Comments

EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 02

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Skorj

While Part 01 of our Old Car Heaven coverage concluded with a mob of rare Mitsubishis, we begin this installment along the perimeter of the show and a bevy of box vans. The Nissan Caravans were part of the Nissan Commercial Car … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 2000gt, 240rs, 330, 430, 935, barikan, bus, c10, caravan, cedric, cedric 130, city, civic, corona, cosmo sport, crown, csp311, daihatsu, e20, f40, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, Fairlady Z432, ferrari, ff-1, gloria, gto, Hakosuka, honda, honda z, HopeStar, Initial D, isuzu, Junior, kenmeri, KITT, kpgc110, Lotus Europa, mark II, Mazda T1500, midget, nissan, piazza, pontiac, porsche, prince, r30, s110, s30 z, s54, seibu keisatsu, shelby, silvia, skyline, skyline sport, subaru, t40, toyota, wagons, x30 | 18 Comments

EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 01

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Skorj

Recently I was invited to accompany the Prince Driver’s Club to Kyuusha Tengoku, or Old Car Heaven, on the outskirts of downtown Tokyo. With many cars expected, we were asked to assemble on site at 06:00 in the morning. The early … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged a20, b110, c10, celica, cherry, clipper, colt, crown, datsun, e10, e70, F30, galant gto, gloria, Hakosuka, hiace, honda, kujira, lancer, leopard, masterline, mazda, mitsubishi, ms75, nissan, Old Car Heaven, porter, prince, rally, s10, s54, s60, safari rally, sambar, silvia, skyline, skyline sport, sprinter trueno, subaru, sunny, toyopet, toyota, vamos, wagon | 29 Comments

EVENTS: Initial D World meet

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Dave Yuan

If people are willing to dress up as country squires, high-mannered butlers, and Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey season premieres, then why not an Initial D-themed car meet? As the most popular work of Japanese automotive fiction of all time, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 3000GT, a20, a60, a70, A80, acura, ae86, celica, corolla, e70, fc3s, fd3s, honda, Impreza GC, Initial D, legacy, mazda, Miata NA, mitsubishi, MX5, nsx, rx-7, s14, silvia, st205, subaru, supra, toyota | 13 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 04 – JNC Staff Picks

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Brandon Kelley

For our final installment of our 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon coverage, we asked some of our JNC team Tokyo staff to identify the coolest whips they encountered at the annual mega-fest of Japanese automotive excess. Here’s what they came up … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged aqua, bluebird, bosozoku, fairlady z, Flex Auto, Free Style, gran turismo, H200, H50, hiace, kawasaki, Leg Motor Sports, LM55 Vision Gran Turismo, mazda, mazda roadster, miata, NATS, ND Miata, nissan, prius, prius c, s30 z, star road, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, trd | 7 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon Spotlight – RE Amemiya’s Inspired 7 and Super Chantez, a return to legendary tuner roots

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

There are few rotary tuners more prolific than RE Amemiya. Founder Isami Amemiya has been at it since 1974, building all manner of bonkers pistonless demons. Typically, his Auto Salon booth is lined with a column of powerful FD3S RX-7s, poised like they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged chantez, mazda, re amemiya, rx-7, sa22, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon | 2 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 03 – Tunertopia

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Ricky Silverio

When it comes right down to it, the Auto salon is all about tuning. Sometimes, that can be downright cringeworthy when it comes to the classics we know and love. Other times, the result is inspired. And sometimes it’s just about … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 2000gt, 240z, c10, fairlady z, Fujitsubo, Garage Saurus, gt-r, Hakosuka, jun auto mechanic, Kojima Engineering, Kojima KE007, lexus, lfa, nissan, r30, r35, rocky auto, s30, skyline, star road, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, toyota, toyota 86 | 7 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 02 – Callbacks

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Ben Hsu

One of our favorite types of customization is when a new car references something old, whether its Japanese motorsports history, an ancestor in its lineage, or just a general obsession with nostalgia. Here’s all the cars that are rolling inside … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged Alto GT-RR, Alto Works, c10, fairlady z, ft-1, Hakosuka, Hello Special, J100, J70, land cruiser, mazda, nissan, rotary engine, RX-Vision, S-FR, S-FR Racing, s30 z, skyline, subaru, subaru 360, suzuki, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, toyota | 7 Comments

EVENTS: Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 01 — Old School Cool

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Ben Hsu

As one of the most important auto shows on the Japanese calendar, the Tokyo Auto Salon is a showcase of Japan’s latest and greatest tuning trends. With every customization style imaginable on display, however, old school cool is not always easy … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged bosozoku, c10, c110, cedric, Cedric 31, civic, Civic EF, fuji speedway, Glow Star, Hakosuka, honda, kenmeri, nissan, osaka jdm, Prince R380, publica, skyline, soarer, star road, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, toyota, toyota 7, up10, z10 | 10 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon Spotlight – Liberty Walk S30 Z

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Ben Hsu

It’s understandable that most non-JNCers would recognize Liberty Walk as the purveyor of trendy widebody kits for Ferraris, GT-Rs and other assorted supercars. In his heart of hearts, though, founder Wataru Kato is an old school bosozoku.

Posted in events | Tagged bosozoku, c10, fairlady z, Hakosuka, kpgc10, liberty walk, nissan, s30 z, skyline, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, wataru kato | 4 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 01 — A Preview

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Ben Hsu

The Tokyo Auto Salon kicks off this weekend, and that means it’s time for the craziest builds the Japanese aftermarket has to offer. While gold-plated GT-Rs and VIP vans are still very much a part of it, looking past the glitz this year … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 180sx, ambulance, bluebird, Bluebird 810, bosozoku, caravan, copen, d1gp, daihatsu, kei, mark II, NATS, nissan, shooting brake, sienna, Spirit Rei, SuperGT, TAS2016, tokyo auto salon, toyota, X100, x70 | 20 Comments