Last year I travelled to Japan from Poland.
I had very limited time to spend on car-related activities due to visiting with my family, but during the stay I spotted a local car enthusiast on Instagram and immediately began chat with him. Once I finally broke free, Daikoku Parking Area was a no-brainer to visit.
A quick message from Tatsuya-san followed: “We meet at Namamugi Station in Yokohama, 9:00pm.”
When I reached my location I had to wait a few minutes for Tatsuya to arrive, and that short time seemed to last forever. But finally the time came, and you can bet that every single person on the street heard the Toyota Cresta approaching.
Whoa! On Instagram the car appeared to be a nice, lowered saloon with decent decals and a humble body kit. In person though, there was so much more to it: Bride seats in a stripped interior, a manual gearbox swap, and a huge wing at the back. After some basic tuning, the 1JZ produces around 400hp.
Daikoku PA was only a few kilometers away, so we headed off.
I’ll admit that I was a little bit frightened; I was quite far from the rest of my family, had only apartment keys, two cameras and a PASMO card with me, and not much in the way of an internet connection.
At first, we were both silent, but Tatsuya soon took his phone, wrote a bit in the translator, and showed me the results. It was one the most beautiful thing about the global car enthusiast community I’ve ever experienced: Even 5000 miles from my homeland and with almost no Japanese language skills, I could still discuss cars with my new friend.
Arriving at Daikoku, things got a bit mad.
I’d heard and read a lot about the place, as I’m sure most of you have: LED-covered Lambos, slammed ’80s and ’90s icons, modern hypercars, and the bosozoku. Guess what? None of these descriptions can really describe the feeling you get at Japan’s most famous car hangout spot.
Yes, I saw examples of all the vehicles I had hoped I would, and a whole lot more.
During the night, there were cars constantly coming and going, and in the mishmash of engines roaring, car audio systems blasting, people laughing and police sirens, I spotted someone familiar. POG was still in Japan a few days after the Gumball 3000 had finished in Tokyo.
If you’ve ever thought about travelling to Japan as a car guy, no words needed and no words can describe why is it worth it. Go for it!
Jedrek Solinski
Instagram: jedreksolinski
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Happy Valentines day!
That's a sick jzx! To bad we can't get those in the US
Ayy! Blake's NSX has been... "Hunted". LOL!
Amazing.
I love the Toyota Cressida.
these pix win
I've noticed there is a distinct lack of Evo's in a lot of these Japanese based articles. Where have they all gone?? Are Evo's thin on the ground in Japan now??
They haven't featured an Evo for a while, but quite literally there are at least 3 Evo's in the background (in front of that green 911, next to the two gray R34's and in the photo of that Huracan Spyder)
For sure you still see some floating around in the background of photos, just nowhere near as many as there used to be, or so it seems.
Maybe a lot have been exported now?
I think the focus has shifted somewhat over the years, from STI's and Evo's to other, more quirky and less notorious cars and models. Despite this, I believe the Evo and Subaru communities are still going strong, even though they may not get the spotlight as much as they did
Notice how most Evo & STI owners don't tend to go for the wild widebody's, extreme camber, nor flashy paint schemes as other cars and car culture niches. You can notice that most of the cars being photographed as of late tend to be a little more on the over the top in flashy modifications because they are the first thing that catches people's eyes. Evo & STi owners don't tend to do that and as such, it's just difficult to photograph cars that tend to look pretty much like each other. I mean, there's just so many ways to feature a white Evo on RPF1s or a blue STi with gold BBS wheels.
that red R34 is so nice, i hope there's a feature coming
Amazing pictures, man! Especially those of the Cresta in the side street!
Wow! I'm very proud of you!
Gorgeous shots!
does anybody know when these meets take place? I heard somewhere in the weekends but I don't know exactly when, somebody that knows more about this or has been to these meets the last few weeks or so? thanks!
literally every day, during the week you'll see some cars but it get really (REAAALLY) crowded on a friday and saturday night. On a sunday morning, it's more chill with more classics, like a car & coffee