Tag Archives: gloria

GRAND TOURING: Isumi Matsuri

If there’s one thing that gets carriage-loads of people enthused, it’s trains — especially in Japan, where everyone loves trains. So, combining a wide range of Showa Era kyusha with a summer matsuri (festival) and organizing it at the most famous … Continue reading

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An interview with NeoClassic Japan’s editor-in-chief

Japan’s Kousoku Yuen magazine recently celebrated their 50th volume. Written for fans of all the lesser loved, non-Skyline, non-2000GT specimens of the Japanese automotive kingdom, it is perhaps the most otaku title of the JDM magazine world. To mark this momentous occasion, as well … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Tohoku, Part 02

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the twin disasters — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami — that struck Japan off the coast of Tohoku in 2011. In remembrance, we are re-running a series of stories that relate to the event’s aftermath. This … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 02

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

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EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 01

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

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EVENTS: Hachimaru Meeting at Fuji Speedway

If it wasn’t for its glorious motorsports history, Fuji Speedway would be just about the worst place to hold a car show. It rains seemingly half the time there, and while that makes for cool photography, it can’t be pleasant for the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 Mooneyes All Odds Nationals

If you’re looking for high-powered GT-Rs and the like, Mooneyes shows are probably not for you. The cars you find at a typical Mooneyes event celebrate the art of customization, whether it’s on kei cars or commercial trucks. The vehicles here less about racing than … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Finnish Japanese Auto Extravaganza

Today’s guest writer is my friend Mika Latvala from Finland, who sent an event report from the Finnish Japanese Auto Extravaganza. Enjoy! —Ben The Finnish Japanese Auto Extravaganza, or FinnJAE, is for all Japanese car enthusiasts in the country. All cars are welcome, no matter … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 NISMO Fiesta

In its fifth year, NISMO Fiesta has become the premiere event for Nissan nuts of Texas. With a new venue in the capital of Austin, the Nissan devoted came from all over the Lone Star State, with a few traveling from as … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Showa Car Preservation Meeting

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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GALLERIES: Nissan Yokohama Headquarters, 2015

It’s been a little over a year since we had the chance to visit Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters. The relatively new glass and steel tower was opened in 2009, replacing the long-standing Ginza HQ in the heart of Tokyo. While, like most automaker showrooms in … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 04 — Shakotan Sleds

The previous installment of our New Year Meeting coverage focused on originality. In Part 04, we travel to the opposite end of the spectrum. But among all of Japan’s customization styles, shakotan is perhaps the most appealing to JNCers. Translated as simply “low,” shakotan cars are … Continue reading

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

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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JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

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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DESIGN: An interview with Nissan designer Ken Lee

It’s not often that you find yourself hurtling down narrow two-lane roads with the guy that designed the very car you’re sitting in. We recently had the rare opportunity to take a ride with Ken Lee, a senior creative manager at Nissan … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 02

The annual Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival offers something few other shows can claim: the chance to see its cars driving through public streets. It’s not simply witnessing them in motion, though It’s the fact that those public streets are in Tokyo, in some of the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Showa Kinen Park Car Show

Today’s guest writer is Chris Nicholson, who keeps the cars running at the Lane Motor Museum. Chris recently attended a classic car show in Showa Kinen Park. Every trip to Japan is full of wonder, and every trip to Japan is too … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Boso Hanto, Day 01

To a lot of Tokyoites, Chiba-ken is nothing more than the place go to if you are flying into or out of Narita airport. On the train or bus, you pass unsavory industrial areas, docks, recycle depots, and a few … Continue reading

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Hachimaru Hero ranks the top 80s Japanese cars

Hachimaru Hero (80s Hero) is the Bubble Decade’s counterpart to Nostalgic Hero. Both come from the same publisher but nowadays interest in 80s Japanese cars is picking up speed. Recently the magazine put out a reader survey asking for the … Continue reading

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Old Tokyo photos oozing with Japanese nostalgic cars

We recently stumbled upon a thread of old Tokyo photos on the architecture site SkyscraperCity. Though the focus was the buildings, we came for the cars. Just look at these pictures and dream of being amongst these machines when they were still new. 

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