Konichi-wa, y'all!! I'll be moving to Kumamoto, Japan for a year starting 4 Feb. Any links to shows or any members from there? Should I bring anything 'special' with me when I go over? The 33 will be put on 'hold' yet again.... Dave
There is a car club from Japan called Kool Grease who build some of the coolest rides around ,do a google search to look them up and they should be able to point you in the right direction.
****ing cool, thats what its like. they have heart and soul to partake in this hobbie when its so expensive for them.
buy a r32 or r33 skyline and bring it back with you, i'll buy it from you. seriously, grab up complete nissan turbo 6's if you can.
How does that work? I've always heard that in Japan, the tax they pay on a vehicle increases substantially each year they have it and that is why they s**** them and people import the low mileage engines to the US to sell. Do they have special priviledges for antiques? I never thought Japan was "hot rod" friendly.
I know of some clubs / shows in the Nagoya ara, but I've been to the Kumamoto and Fukuoka area a few times aes well. They are South of the more urban areas, but I have seen some old rides on the streets. No clubs or shows, just a single custom here and there. Kumamoto is pretty cosmopolitan in that there are lots of westerners (American, Canadian, and European). There are always English (Engrish?) language mags in cities like this that are telling of upcoming events and activities. I know this isn't a lot of info, but I hope it helps a little. Oh yeah, Kumamoto is known as city in Japan with the highest. per capita, crime rate. Apparently lots of rouge teens or something. I think that probably equates to something like rural Montana crime rate here. Good luck.
Tonight I was just laying out an article on the last Mooneyes Yokohama show and I'm totally blow away by some of the cars, so I think you'll have a great time over there. They have at least one mag dedicated to rod and customs.
HemiDave, Japan has a great hot rod scene. Are you going to the the Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu. Most of the hot action is on the main island of Honshu. Nagoya has twenty-two hot rod shops alone. Take a look at the following web sites that might help: 1. www.paradiseroad.net 2. http://cadillac1959.hpinfoseek.co.jp 3. http://side-b.jp/afrostyle/ 4. http://www.Kool-Kustom.comlink.htm **Custom Hill car show in in October near Shizuoka just south of Fuji, Japan make it a point to go see this show. Call Paradise Road and ask for Junichi he can fill you in on the hot rod scene. Any questions just pm me. Cruiser 49
Lived in Sasebo in Kyushu for a few years. Most of the action is up north around Tokyo and Yokohama which is a long way from Kumamoto. A few rods around but mostly isolated. The registration laws and requirements are extremely tight not to mention the expense so most of the guys go with the tuners. There is a kick*** castle there though!
Shouldn't that be Godzeeeeera? I was in Ikebukuro (Part of Tokyo) for a week. Walking around site seeing at night and around the corner comes a really cool lowered, gold, candy flaked, '61 chev. Tried to track it down, but lost site of it. Check out the mooneyes site and Japanese links. It's pretty cool.
They're in Kumamoto and worth a visit. http://www.aceautomotive.net/ http://www.freestyle-net.com/ and Mr.G in near Kumamoto. If you come to Aichi(Nagoya), let us know. http://www.strongers.org/
Thanks for the responce everyone! Great links and info! I know I'll be pretty hesitant to travel too far but hopefully that will p*** soon! I'll take lots of pics and post 'em! kean and Cruiser 49 - thanks, I will! Dave
When I met you at Rhinebeck this year you mentioned you were "homeless" and I thought for a minute wtf? Then you expalined how your job moves you around...you weren't kidding! Good luck in Japan!
I just got back from Japan on Friday. I was in Ginza Thurs. and Fri. and Thurs. night I saw two nice customs cruising down the main drag with a couple Ferrari's and a 70's Chev. Blazer slammed with the hard top off. Man, those cars sure stick out in a crowd over there!
Hey Rich! Good to hear from you!! Yeah, some poeple don't believe me..13 years with NO HOME... Guess I'll have one in Japan for a while. I know I'll get home in the afternoon and say, Why didn't the maid make up my room?.....oh, right..... Keep makin' those cool rides!!! thanks for the link 23 bucket t!! Dave
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