I’ve climbed Uluru in Australia in nothing but flip flops. I’ve hiked through the UK’s Lake District in the middle of winter. And I’ve endured three full days at Goodwood, twice. None of these though prepared me for the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon.
The Makuhari Messe in Chiba is one of Japan’s largest exhibition centers, and as everyone knows, every January it plays hosts one of the biggest automotive shows on the planet. Except for last year of course. With four halls totalling over one million square feet of floorspace, I really should have brought an electric scooter for my very first time at the event.
Over the next week or so I’ll be showing you two days’ worth of TAS carpark content, jam-packed with all the vehicles you want to see, and all the ones your weird friend wants as well.
For me, the carpark was actually the best part of Tokyo Auto Salon, and I’ll get into the why in the full post. But that’s not to say that what I saw inside the North, West, Central and East halls was dull. Oh, quite the contrary.
Trying to make head or tail of the behemoth that is TAS was daunting to say the least. Luckily, I had show veteran Dino on hand to make clear some of the key points of the extravaganza, which helped me to focus my attention and make some sense of it all.
When I met up with him backstage at the Yokohama booth, Dino had already spent the Thursday (event set up) and Friday (media day) at the show, so hats off to him for still being able to physically stand on days three and four (the main public event days).
Dino had noticed a strong kyusha presence this year, so that became a big focus of my coverage. I’ll also be showing you some of the weird kei cars and other oddities that Tokyo Auto Salon is famous for.
As far as I know, Dino will be geeking out over a lot of the new tech that was on display, as well as various spotlights on his favourite builds. So strap yourself in, this is going to be mega.
I can’t wait to start sorting through the hundreds of photos that I took, and I’m sure Dino will be doing the same. Although please allow me a long hot soak in a bath and at least three hours sleep first…
Toby Thyer
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tobythyer.co.uk
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Glad to see that TAS is back again in person despite all the odds!
Some awesome builds as usual and I can't wait to see the rest of the pics!
I would love to go to TAS someday...
why are we paying attention to 4x4s.. who cares.
I am not a fan of slow cumbersome 4x4's & SUV's putting around the city (Jimny excluded), especially deisels that spew black smoke every time they take off or change gears.
I have to say though they definitely have their place, especially along long dusty gravel roads out bush in Australia. The effort and the modifications people put into their 4x4's in Australia is amazing. The market for offroad gear and modifications is huge, especially with travel restrictions etc due to Covid.
I for one just like cars, oddball cars 4x4's or even an SUV with an engine swap and modified suspension (so they can actually get around corners at more than 20km's an hour). I'm even a fan of a Pajero Evolution and the FJ Cruiser.
Oh and if anyone decides to drive for 100's of km's along a dusty corrugated gravel rd in a supercharged mini, get your bushings checked afterwards. Apparently 15 year old mini bushings don't like getting battered for hours on end.
Any chance Speedhunters could do a story on a modified offroad Mini or Clubman....
Why are we paying attention to you? Who cares.
"jam-packed with all the vehicles you want to see, and all the ones your weird friend wants as well"
Is that you? Are you the weird friend?
Jokes aside, the eclectic collection in the carpark outside car shows is often just as interesting as the show itself
Always loved to see whats coming out new automotive wise from Japan. Tryed to follow the livestream a bit, even it was in the middle of the night. Driving a Toyota GT86 myself it was phenomenal to see what tuners have already developed for the new GR86/BRZ. Strong considering visiting TAS myself next year. Do you guys think the whole long flight from Austria would be worth it?
Highlight was Dino's livestream interview with the HKS R32 GTR driver and now wheel Otaku.