The most wonderful time of the year.. If you are someone like me, a car guy drooling over anything on four wheels and happen to be in Japan, then this time is January 3rd, where everyone gets into their pride and joy, takes it to a car wash, and heads down to Daikoku Parking Area
to meet and greet fellow car enthusiasts, and perhaps walk off all the New Year feast that runs in deep in Japan's traditions.
There is no way I was going to miss this, so here we go, let's see some of the cars that I managed to spot during the day.
We start with the BMW collection. Unfortunately nobody from the Access Evolution crew could make it, but there were others.
Immediately we were off to a flying start, with this gorgeous looking DTM Edition M4,
followed by this individual colored E92 M3 on TE37 wheels.
And how about the perfectly lowered E46 M3 on Rays CE28 wheels?
This pair of 2002's really made my day. These little cars have a huge following in Japan.
This monster caught me off guard, as you don't see a lot of M4's rolling around sporting Libery Walk kits.
On that particular occasion, however we were treated with a nice selection of Liberty Walk kitted rides.
Apart from the couple of R35's and the 82,
there was this stunning looking Murcielago, in a way reminding us what to expect at Tokyo Auto Salon.
and also setting the tone for entire meet,
because if supercars are your thing, you are at the right place
I personally love the look of Gallardo in its original form. There was never a car that defined design perfection so well.
Of course, this point could be easily argued.
Some were customized in a true JDM fantasy way,
while others were very tastefully modified.
Take your pick...
And of course appearance of team Anija's Porsche Carrera GT just to make a statement. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of their yellow 918, but I guess that will have to wait for another occasion.
And of course the apperance of this F40 sealed the deal.
Since we mentioned GTR's this was quite a special occasion for the fans of the Japanese icon as well.
All looking show-room clean and very tastefully customized.
This R35 caught my attention as it was sitting on a set of 20 inch custom painted HRE wheels.
This is not something you see every day in Japan as most owners prefer local brands for their cost/performance advantage.
The owner was kind enough to show me the rest of the car that had an extended list of mods including carbon intake, wide fenders and carbon bonnet from Varis.
On the other side of the rest stop I stumbled across these gorgeous classics reminding us of the upcoming Nostalgic 2 Days show.
This bronze metallic KPGC-10 stood out from the rest, perhaps being one of the cleanest Hakosuka's I've ever seen.
It was equally impressive under the hood, with intake system being completely rebuild.
This shot of the Star Road 280Z nonchalantly rolling past the ultra rare for this part of the world Radical RXC is what these meets in Daikoku are all about
You never know what to expect,
There is always a great amount of diversity,
and a bit of attitude
Nothing screams attitude, however as a handful of customized American cars in place where you expect them least: Japan
And they got them all: from hot rods,
to low riders
to modern muscle
It is impossible to explain to non car person why we ditch our friends, families, warm house or a fine meal and come to this isolated spot in the middle of industrial nowhere on such a cold day, but perhaps it all comes down to one simple thing:
How do our cars make us feel.
Some crave for speed,
Some for attention,
But if there is one thing that unites all car fans around the world.
When we choosing our cars, we follow our heart,
and we keep doing so each and every time we get behind the wheel.
Sitting here typing this post, I feel grateful to be a part of this ...for the lack of better word... "cult" and to witness such phenomenal appreciation towards all sorts of cars during meets like these is one amazing experience.
P H O T O G A L L E R Y
-6.jpg)
