Into The Night: 7’s Day At Umihotaru PA
Location Two

Welcome to Umihotaru Parking Area and the second part of what is arguably the best underground car gathering in Japan – 7’s Day.

What this coming together of Mazda rotary fanatics manages to achieve is unlike anything we cover over the course of the year. Are there bigger meets? Probably. Can more rare and exotic cars be found at other spots? Of course, and all the time. But for a one-make, one-engine specific, casual event, nothing tops it.

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And it’s not just the cars, but the atmosphere. At 7’s Day you can sense that you’re part of something special, a celebration of something that’s so close to home for the Japanese. They didn’t invent the Wankel engine, but Mazda certainly perfected it, and in doing so created a global following.

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It was cool to check out the comments section from the previous post chronicling the Daikoku PA aspect of the day; your input and opinions always make for fun reading. Something that was touched on was the future of the rotary, or more specifically whether or not there will actually be one. A lot of you believe that the Wankel’s inherent issues with fuel consumption and emissions are just too much for current day technology to overcome. If that’s the case, Mazda may never be able to give us a rotary successor to the RX-7 (and RX-8), despite teasing us at the Tokyo Motor Show two years ago.

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It’s hard to come to terms with that possibility, but for now all we can do is just enjoy the part these special machines play in car culture as a whole.

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By the time I got to Umihotaru PA, which is located halfway along the famed Aqua-Line right smack bang in the middle of Tokyo Bay, there were already quite a few spots taken up by the migration of cars from Daikoku after the police shut it down. Before I pulled my camera out however, I headed to the convenience store one level up and indulged in some Japanese fast food delicacies. On the menu was sea chicken (that’s tuna to me and you) onigiri, a couple of sticks of yakitori, and a refreshing 500ml bottle of Kirin Salty Lychee juice. Yes, that’s a thing; Japan has the most bizarre drinks!

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Suitably nourished, it was back to checking out the waves of cars that were making their way in.

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Some of you were annoyed that I didn’t show you enough FC3S RX-7s in the previous post; not a problem – here’s some. I really like to hear you guys making requests, and of course there was an epic selection of the older-gen RX-7s to check out.

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These gems from the ’90s still have so much presence.

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As I walked around, I spotted a few more FCs that hadn’t been at Daikoku.

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This super-clean example dumped on a set of bronze RAYS Volk Racing TE37Vs was a standout. Remember what I said in the first post about simplicity? It doesn’t take much if you select the right parts and modifications.

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If you want to tap into feelings of nostalgia, check out the original GReddy II demo car complete with Porsche 928 headlight conversion and period-correct OZ wheels. This is a genuine Japanese tuner car from the bubble era, a time when it was all about crazy designs and wild power.

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Later on in the evening, I came across this RE Amemiya FD3S complete car with a 997 Bi-Xenon headlight conversion (the white one next to it sported the same swap). It’s cool to see how Ama-san has always had a thing for Porsches when drawing inspiration for his kits.

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In fact, it’s amazing to see how one man and his humble, yet globally recognized brand has shaped the Japanese rotary scene over the last three decades. It would be cool to sit down with him and just go through all the cars that he’s created over the years.

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The cars that kept arriving were really turning this into quite the massive meet. Of course, it’s not just about the rotaries; there’s always a decent variety to keep things very interesting. This red NA1 had the nosiest clutch I’ve ever heard in a Honda NSX.

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Something from Bavaria, too.

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I spotted this unfinished Pandem-kitted FD3S as it passed by in search of a place to park. We just can’t go anywhere in Japan without coming across something with a fender flare kit designed by Kei Miura.

Like Daikoku PA hours prior, this parking level was well and truly brimmed full of RX-7s, with the occasional RX-8 and Roadster.

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The line that looped around Level 3 where everyone parks was getting more and more backed up, which meant people were resorting to parking outside in the spaces reserved for trucks.

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This is where the party really ends up being, so it was time to head down and take a closer look.

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There were no shortage of shop demo cars in attendance, but the arrival of the Moccomans/RE Amemiya FD project blew me away. We haven’t seen or heard much about this car since it was unveiled at Tokyo Auto Salon last year, but damn does this thing look insane out in the wild.

Its sister FC variant – which I didn’t even know existed up until this point – wasn’t too far behind. Mental note made: Must feature, must feature, must feature!

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The meet would proceed well into the night, but it was soon time for me to call it a day and head back to the Speedhunters Japan office to start sorting through the images. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to 7’s Day – it must be 11 or 12 by now – but this is one gathering that I will never get tired of. Japanese rotor-heads are definitely a great bunch of car otakus. Till 2018…

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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42 comments

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1

Ever since the rotary bug bit me a year or so ago, I can't go more than a few hours without talking or reading or dreaming about an RX. Thanks for satisfying my obsession for the next few hours! A great read and a great meet!

Author2
Dino Dalle Carbonare

My pleasure :)

3

Second pic reminds me of the good 'ol days playing Need For Speed: Underground 2!

4

more of that GReddy II demo car please, it must have a crazy story by now of late night high speed battles.

Author5
Dino Dalle Carbonare

One more to add to the must-feature list!

6

I don't know if it's only me or any one else noticed that but just noticed by looking at pics 2, 4, and 21 I see too much common style or lines (or whatever you want to call it) in between the RX7 and the dodge viper.

7

I always found the RX7 and 5th Gen Corvette looking more similar than anything else.

-Alex

Author8
Dino Dalle Carbonare

They are both very rounded designs so they do look similar on some sections. FD came in 1991 and the Gen 1 Viper in 1992 so if some copying went on we know by who it was done lol

9

Well.... at least 1 of the best car silhouette design is saved (hell i sound like a Korean/Chinese salesman).

10

7's Day coverage has provided some of my favorite articles on Speedhunters year after year.

-Slightly biased FC owner.

Author11
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Haha glad to be of service! FC FTW!

12

The sound must of been insane

Author13
Dino Dalle Carbonare

brap brap brap

14

love tat RE Amemiya FD3S complete car with 997 headlight and color combo. Thx for pics

15

Dino these are amazing pics!! Please keep them coming, forever!! I wanna see more about the Greddy Demo Car, please can you feature this?

Author16
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Will certainly try. There are some crazy Amemiya builds from the past that I'd love to hunt out, like the AZ1 that looked like a mini McLaren F1!

17

*note to self* make the trip and go to 7's Day Japan 2018. It has to be a bucklist event.

Thank you very much Dino for the feature and pics. Dont be shy with a 3rd feature article.

Author18
Dino Dalle Carbonare

haha that's it for this year I'm afraid! You do have to make it over, it's quite the event!

19
MPistol HVBullets

as I've gotten older, I seem to have fallen more in love with the FC's than ever before - the FD is indeed gorgeous, but the FC's just seem pretty hard to come by in America these days........ of course I'd throw a LS3 in it, so I'm terrible

Author20
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Oh you've gone and done it now! lol

21

YES! Thank you Dino for satisfying my FC craving. The louvered hood on the baby blue FC is super cool! The red FC on TEs is jaw dropping!
Maybe one day I'll actually buy one, seems to be such a struggle to find a decent one locally.

Author22
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Buy from Japan :)

23

That's definitely a possibility!
If I got one from Japan it would have to be super clean and I'd keep it rotary. If I got one locally I'd just get a good shell and swap something ford into it.

Author24
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Here is something to get you started: http://www.carsensor.net/usedcar/index.html?STID=CS210610&AR=&BRDC=&CARC=MA_S019&NINTEI=&CSHOSHO=

(add four zeros to the number you see for a Yen price)

25

No Dino no! Stopppp!
I have to finish a new setup in Project NoPulp first! Then maybe I can finally get me a FC :)

26

Maybe do a reverse swap and but a rotary in the Ford? :-D

27

*PUT a rotary in the Ford...

28

Dino! Great coverage. Were there many SA/FB models there? I have an 85 GSL and would love to see some more SA/FB love!

Author29
Dino Dalle Carbonare

I counted 3. Not too many as always, owners of older rotaries tend to do their own gatherings

30

LOVE that blue FD on white 5 spokes. That might actually be my #1 out of your coverage this year. Something about that refreshingly clean set of aero mods (plus one cool old school wing) just sits perfectly right with me

31

I've also seen this exact 997 FD3S at Tsukuba circuit for the Mazda Tuning Festa (great event by the way, I recommend it). This guy obviously had a fun day.

https://puu.sh/wJunc/c490a3f94a.JPG

32

they don't drive first gens in japan or what??

Author33
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Yeah but most owners don't really mingle with the later gen cars for some reason. They do like to organize their own gatherings

34

I have to say those are some of the most beautiful RX-7s early on in the article. From an aesthetic stand point they are just gorgeous. Design in the 90s IMO centers around Japanese vehicles. They were just pushing out really classic designs. In 40-50 years the FD will still look great as will the FC. This is the coverage I like to see from SH!

Author35
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed it :D

36

Baby Blue FC next to the charcoal gray FC. Feature please.!!

37

"... It would be cool to sit down with him and just go through all the cars that he’s created over the years."
make it happen Dino, would be a cool feature.
tracking the cars down would be a bonus

38

Respect to anyone still rocking the Wankels.

39
Aarón Pérez Torres

Amazing as always! One question... How do you manage to freeze a moving car with a low light ambient and get such a clean image with so much light?

40

one of the best parking lot i've ever seen hahah hope someday I'll get to drive one ^ ^

41

I might have to buy an FD at some stage.

42

great coverage, I'd like to see more SA22Cs though

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