Category Archives: japan
EVENTS: Time Machine Festival
We hope this event coverage is worth the wait. We gave you a sneak peek of the Time Machine Festival before, now here’s the real deal.
Posted in datsun, events, honda, isuzu, japan, jnc, mazda, mitsubishi, motorsports, nissan, toyota
Tagged time machine festival
5 Comments
The Teletubbies Were Never This Hard Core: JDM Giant Furry Kids Show Characters Go Drifting
Well as all you japanophiles know, Japanese TV really exists in its own parallel universe. So it shouldn’t surprise that even kids shows in Japan will have you scratching your head as to what the heck is going on. But in … Continue reading
Posted in honda, japan
14 Comments
Beyond Car Shows: Garaging Expo 2009
The Japanese are truly car crazy. In addition to all their wonderful domestic steel, during our recent Japan trip we saw more Lamborghinis and Ferraris in a couple of commutes along the Tokyo-Yokohama wangan than we see in the States … Continue reading
Posted in events, japan
7 Comments
The Road to Narita
JNC is back home in the States, but there’s still much leftover material from Japan to write about. Here’s a look at the typical Japanese scenery one encounters during a drive to Narita Airport. This was my coach, my friend … Continue reading
Posted in japan, toyota, wagons
10 Comments
GRAND TOURING: Fuji Speedway in a Toyota Crown
So sad… our last day in Japan, but at least it ended with a bang. Here’s a behind the scenes look at some upcoming material. My friend Goshu and I went to the Time Machine Festival at Fuji Speedway. Why … Continue reading
Posted in events, japan, toyota
Tagged crown, fisco, fuji speedway, mooneyes, s50, time machine festival, toyota
9 Comments
Itasha Car Show at Odaiba
Yesterday at Odaiba there was a car show that featured the odd combination of American muscle cars and itasha. Itasha is the latest Japanese fad, in which fans of anime and manga plaster their cars with large images of their … Continue reading
Book Garage: Japanese Car Brochure Heaven
No trip to Tokyo would be complete without a stop to Book Garage. It specializes in old Japanese car brochures, and has shelves filled with them. Want a catalog for a 1971 Nissan Cedric? How about a 1965 Toyota Toyoace … Continue reading
Posted in catalogs, japan
20 Comments
Japan Sighting: Denso Corona Wagons
Random Japan sighting: Isn’t it nice to know the Corona wagons employed by Denso are still in service? I thought these were KE70 Corollas originally but apparently they are Coronas! Closeup after the jump
Japanese Elevator Car Park
Surely you’ve all heard of the car park elevators in Japan. You drive your car into a cradle and it goes up like a Ferris wheel. Unlike most, this one is not covered by walls to look like an actual … Continue reading
Posted in japan
4 Comments
Ice Coffee & Hakosuka Skyline
Not much to report from Japanland today. I’m drinking plenty of coffee, not only because I’m busy writing articles and making appointments, but also for the awesome toys that you get free with the canned java. In this case, it’s … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, japan, minicars, nissan
10 Comments
EVENTS: Mooneyes Cruise Night in Yokohama
So despite popping awake at 4am due to ungodly jetlag and traipsing all over the Nos2Days show, I went to check out Mooneyes’ cruise night on Saturday, where I nearly passed out from a mixture of gasoline fumes and exhaustion. … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, honda, japan, jnc, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, suzuki
20 Comments
Mr. Craft Closes Its Doors
Any car nut who has been to Tokyo has surely passed through the doors of Mr. Craft, a five-story building full of toy cars in every scale, brand, and material you can imagine. Radio control, plastic model kits, diecast, wind-up … Continue reading
Posted in japan, minicars
3 Comments
MX41 Toyota Chaser Meets Crusher
Here, have a sad. This is what happens at Japanese junkyards every day. In this case, a perfectly decent-looking MX41 Toyota Chaser, a 2-door version of the Cressida that we never got, is introduced to the Grim Crusher. It was … Continue reading
Posted in japan, toyota
11 Comments
Hanshin Expressway Plows Through Building
This is the Gate Tower Building in downtown Osaka, an otherwise nondescript office high-rise except for the fact that the Hanshin Expressway plows right through the middle of it. How did this happen? Apparently it’s the result of a freak … Continue reading
Goertz Myths Will Never Die, Part II
Oh, snap! Sound Classics has responded to our post titled “Goertz Myths Will Never Die” in which we took issue with the supposed designer of the Toyota 2000GT. Nissan/Datsun fans, you’ll want to stick around for this too. The question … Continue reading
Kurosawa Behind the Wheel Again at Fuji Speedway
One last video for the weekend. Here’s an old Best Motoring clip of Nissan factory racing legend Motoharu “Gan-san” Kurosawa tearing around Fuji Speedway in a GC spec hakosuka GT-R. The engine sounds are pure auditory sex, and it’s interesting … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, japan, mazda, nissan
Tagged fuji speedway, niss, nissan, nissan skyline gt-r
3 Comments
The Ghost Factory's Hot Rod Datsuns
Hotrod JNC’s are fascinating if for no other reason, they reflect the American hotrod’s influence in Japan. The JNC sub-culture took root some years ago thanks to the likes of Mooneyes and Crown Classics, but what shop has taken up … Continue reading
JNC Article in the Japan Times
And now for a bit of shameless self-promotion. We were recently asked by the Japan Times, the largest English-language newspaper in Japan, to write a piece about the increasing interest in Japanese classics here in the US. The short article, … Continue reading
Posted in japan, media
10 Comments
