All Eyes on Japan This Week
An annual car culture celebration and a tragedy put Japan in the spotlight
HAPPY RACE DAY! especially to our good friend Kelly Conroy, who is beginning the process of learning to race rally cars at the age of 38. You can follow her Instagram page, @yourmomracesrally, right here.
We’re working closely with Kelly to make connections and help along the way. As a mom of two, she’s taking a big leap to tackle this project and we’re all about playing our part. Stay tuned for updates coming soon.
A Potentially Very Bad (But Probably Great) Idea
This week I received approval for my media credential request to cover King of the Hammers, a two-week long series of off-road races and parties in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The craziness starts in a week.
I’ll be there for four days during the main event, the 227-mile Nitto Race of Kings. This will be my first time at Hammers, and an opportunity to see a different side of car culture than I’m used to — trading in Skylines for stripped-out race trucks.
I’m well and truly excited.
If there’s anything in particular you’d like to see, or any angle you want me to cover, drop a comment at the bottom of this article and I’ll make it happen. In the meantime I’m prepping by watching every bit of coverage I can find.
Check out this extremely well-done video by Bloomberg from last year’s event to get a taste of the frenzy:
We have aggressive plans to cover in-person car culture events like King of the Hammers and others in 2024.
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JAPAN IS ALWAYS on the minds of a large portion of car nuts. But this week, especially so.
This weekend marks the beginning of the Tokyo Auto Salon, the annual auto show dominated by Japanese custom shops and aftermarket brands that show off their wildest new creations.
There will be legendary companies like Top Secret, Trust/GReddy, RE Amemiya and untold others hosting crowded booths. Plenty of Americans travel across the Pacific to be there and enjoy the revelry, too.
That makes it a hotbed of enthusiast activity outside of the show. The Auto Salon essentially spills out into the surrounding streets of Tokyo and Yokohama, punctuated by epic cruises, huge collaborative events and secret meetups for day after day of peak Japanese car culture.
Here’s a great example from car culture documentarian and Cult of GT-R feature subject Larry Chen, posted yesterday:
I’ve been looking forward to this TAS since diving deep into my research for Cult of GT-R last year. That’s why I’m working with someone on the ground in Tokyo to bring you fun, exclusive content straight from the show. Stay tuned.
But this year, TAS week has been dampened by tragedy. Back on New Year’s Day, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Ishikawa prefecture along the northwest coast of Honshu, the country’s largest and main island. More than 200 people have died.
Within days, the Japanese Classic Car Show announced a traveling relief show. JCCS is normally limited to one massive show in Long Beach every October. (I wrote about it here recently.) This was an attempt to do something extra for those affected.
On Sunday I made the short trip over to Anaheim to see Round 1 of the show, co-hosted by Cars & Coffee Classics Anaheim. Right away, it didn’t disappoint.
As always, it was the variety of Japanese cars that stood out. You had perfectly preserved purist cars, highly-modified tuner Supras, slammed pickup trucks and drifting race cars plus a whole lot more.
Some were JDM-spec, right-hand drivers. Others were U.S. models taking inspiration from across the Pacific. My daughter loved the lace seat covers on a distinguished Toyota Century. I geeked out over custom bodywork and station wagons.
But the prevailing attitude was about people who felt helpless, and wanted to do something. Even if that meant making a small donation, or just connecting with others who felt the same way. The community was hurting and this helped.
I spoke with Jeff Johnson, who brought his Autozam AZ-1 sports car, about the importance of showing support:
“I saw the message about the earthquake relief show and thought, obviously that’s a great thing to support. I’ve been to Japan nine times, it’s a wonderful country with wonderful people, and I thought it’d be nice to bring out my car and share. What I like about my car is it doesn’t seem to offend anybody. Guys like it, ladies like it—kids love it. That’s really the most important thing. I like showing the car to make other people’s day.”
He certainly did seem to make other people’s day. About 20 minutes after speaking with him, Jeff and the Autozam were awarded Best In Show.
After a couple of spins around the show, we grabbed some boba and headed to the JCCS table to make a donation. The show is sending funds to a response organization in the disaster zone. Plus, donating earns you a commemorative sticker. Score.
It was great to see the car community step up and bring people together for a good cause, especially one benefiting those who could really use help. It may not be much, but for those with a passion for Japan and its people, it was a moment to reflect, celebrate and connect with one another to share in supporting each other.
Follow JCCS to find more information. The next shows are on January 21st at State of Speed LA and January 28th at Sonkei Blue Social.
And Finally…
This Saturday, January 13th, is my book signing at the historic Autobooks-Aerobooks book store in Burbank. There will be copies of Cult of GT-R for sale, and I’ll be signing copies as well.
The last time we had an event here, Jay Leno came out! Stop by and say hi to see who makes the trip this time around. More info here.
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