Confession time: For me, event stories tend to be the most difficult to write.

That’s not to say that they aren’t fun to attend – quite the opposite. The difficulty lies in finding a way to condense a whole lot into something manageable, while focusing on a theme. Without a theme, I tend to find myself going through photos for hours on end without typing a single word.

When an advertisement for the Fujimi Automotive Expo proclaiming “over 200 cars” landed in on timeline feed, I knew straight away that it would be a difficult event to write about. However, as I kept reading the phrase “Swap Meet” really piqued my interest.

I’ve been to swap meets back in the States, but I’d never been to one in Japan. I wondered if it would be the same, or whether there’d be some JDM twist to it. The fact this meet was happening a short 20-minute drive from my new place in the Yamanashi mountains was all the motivation I needed to check it out.

Upon arriving at Fujimi Panorama Resort, it was clear that the state of emergency extension that had come into force a few days prior had taken its toll on the participant count. The venue had far less than 200 cars.

But that didn’t really both me, as I was more interested in seeing what a Japanese interpretation of an American swap meet looked like. Would the parking lot be filled with vendors and people selling various new and used parts?

Would I be able to score something on the cheap for Project Rough, that I could use or restore to new?

Long story short - no. The vast majority of vendors were selling clothes, toys and rusted SAE wrenches more suited for decorative use.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little disappointed at first, but the selection of American muscle and kyusha cars more than made up for the swap meet let down.

How could it be a bad day when you spot an old lady with a pet falcon (or eagle?) looking at a Saleen S7?

Mad Max, anyone?

One of these is not like the other…

It’s hard to believe that the Rock Star – a JDM-sized C2 Corvette-inspired roadster built from a Mazda MX-5 – comes from Mitsuoka Motor, the same company responsible for the Orochi…

Just because this event was geared towards American and kyusha didn’t mean that all other cars were off limits, so sit back and enjoy more from the Fujimi Automotive Expo in the gallery chapter below.

Ron Celestine
Instagram: celestinephotography