Jdm Tuning Scene In Japan Today

[Iron Mike]

So I just got back from Japan where I did my lifetime pilgrimage to Nismo, Nissan, and all things GTR. I’m a self-confessed GTR nut and have been for the last 15 or so years so it was only right that on my first
trip to Japan, I visited all the workshops, car parks, and car shows that I’d been reading and watching VHS videos about since I was a young pup. I went there with big ideas in my head and thought it would all be as I’d seen it in the mags and videos, but it wasn’t, it was very, very, far from it.

During my first week in Japan I was in Tokyo, and it just so happened that the HKS private day was on in that week so I made the trip to Fuji speedway to have a perve at some fine cars and HKS brilliance, a fit way
to start my automotive sightseeing trip. I was not let down in any way and saw some mind boggling modifications and heard some earth-shattering sounds – I’ll leave it at that. Too much to say for the purpose of this thread.

In that first week, I like many other people, was expecting to see the streets of Japan filled with JDM auto erotica. GTRs, Supras, RX7s, Evos, Silvias, NSXs etc etc. WRONG!!.... During that first week I saw the likes of no GTRs, 1 non-turbo Supra, 1 RX7, and nothing of anything else. I was utterly shattered. If there was a cruise/modified car scene in japan as I’d thought, it had definitely died out.

On my third day I managed to visit the new Nismo Omori factory in Yokohama (a real pain in the ass to get to from Tokyo – Find your way to Namamuggi station then a 25 minute walk). The new factory has a small museum at the front (officially opening to the public on the 1^st of March) which I was lucky enough to be given a sneak peak of. The rest of the factory comprises of a workshop for customer’s cars and another workshop on the other side out of public view, for their own race cars. The customer’s workshop is closed off to the public, though I was lucky enough to be given a tour of it as my brother-in-law is acquainted with a few people there after venturing to Japan in 2006/2007 to bring back a z-tune to Australia. While there another customer struck up conversation with me and directed me to the famed Dykuko Futo parking lot which we were asking about. The advice I was given was to “go tonight (being a Friday night) at around 9.30, don’t bother on Saturday cos the cops usually bust up the party.” So I did just that - We hired a car and drove to the carpark (which incidentally is just 5 minutes down the road from the new Nismo factory). If you are a ‘gyjin’ (foreigner) like me, you will most probably have Buckley’s chance of finding your way in. The carpark as you all know is enclosed by many winding freeways above the ground. We naively tried to access it from street level where it is located, though you can only get in via freeway access (the freeway has a dedicated exit to this carpark – only 1 way in and 1 way out). Needless to say, we eventually found our way in at which time it was 11.15 pm and there were hardly any cars there. A few botchy drift cars, sedans on chrome rims and a few 370s. Disappointed, we left and decided to come back the next night, as supposedly Saturday night was supposed to be the big night there with only the possibility of police. Sure enough, we rocked up earlier on Saturday though this time as half-expected, the police had come and completely blocked off the freeway exit so that no cars could get in.

That second night we went, an employee of Top Secret drove us out there, all the way from Chiba (not close to Tokyo at all in case you were thinking of going). Also in case you were going, the maps for both Top Secret and the Nismo Omori factory are laughable. All the maps contain is a bunch of streets with no names, maybe a train station somewhere on the edge of the map and a 7/11 or other known point somewhere. And they’re all in Japanese!! It took us 3 hours to get to Top Secret, and the address they have on their website is for Top Secret II (their body shop), not Top Secret I (Smokey’s hideout). They are very far from each other so if you get stuck like we did you will be facing a $150 AUD cab ride there from Top Secret II.

In-between visiting Tokyo and Osaka I went to Chiba, Nagano, Kyoto and Hiroshima. In Kyoto I saw 1 NSX and 1 evo. Nothing anywhere else.

Once in Osaka however, I managed to get along to the Osaka Auto Messe, basically the west coast version of the Tokyo Auto Salon. Here I guess I was most surprised. Even up until recently I had seen pictures of such events where myriads of worked RB GTRs were on display. The Auto Messe was held in a venue which was for people in Melbourne, basically 6 times the size of the exhibition building. It was HUGE. It seemed that each room had a particular theme.

The first 2 rooms solely contained phat VIP cars and vans (think ridiculous negative ‘oni’ camber and DEEEEEEEP dish rims under massively stretched guards). We thought that that’s all there was to it. The next room however was an entire room dedicated just to the new Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ. While there were some nice cars here from respectable tuners such as HKS, Amuse, and Trial, if you weren’t a fan of the 86 then this room wasn’t for you. The next room was dedicated to worked European cars, Ferraris, Lambos, Minis, Benzs, BMs etc, and the final room (Exhibition room 5 was all eateries and paraphernalia shops) was the only room where you could get a glimpse of thoroughbred Japanese sportscars. In it however, I saw only 2 R34 GTRs, 1 R33 GTR, 1 R32 GTR, NO SUPRAS, 1 FD Rx7, 1 FC RX7, no s2000s, 1 s15, no NSXs, no EVOs, maybe 10-12 R35 GTRs, a few more Toyota 86s and a few 370zs. I did see 2 R33 GTRs on the streets outside the event, but that’s it. This room still contained VIP cars and a bunch of weird over the top chop-and-change projects.

On my 2^nd last day in Osaka, I made my way down to Global Auto for some business, where I was very kindly driven around/picked up by Matsumoto San. As he filled me in on the current tuner-car scene (or lack
of) in Japan, it became painfully obvious to me that it was a very dead car cult. He told me that there were no big meets in Osaka as there sometimes was in Tokyo, but that even Dykuko Futo as I’d already seen, had seriously died down. The street drifting he also told me was virtually non-existent, except somewhat in the small southern islands of Japan. While with Matsumoto, he was also kind enough to take me on a tour of the local workshops (he knows all of them well), where I got firsthand access to their garages which are off limits to the public. This included Auto Select!!)

So that’s how it is, in case anyone was planning a trip to Japan where they hoped they’d get to see a bit of petrol-head fantasy, keep dreaming, because that’s where it’s all at!! A bit of a disappointment but the
Japanese are so friendly, courteous, polite, respectful and helpful, and there’s so many other things to see and do, that even for an obsessed JDM car nut, it is still a country very worth visiting!

Edited February 23, 2013 by Iron Mike

[Pezhead]

That's a pretty sad story for those of us with the fantasy in our heads.

Of course maybe the government system on cars has something to do with it. Basically as your car gets older you end up paying more to have it, which is opposite most of the rest of the world where older cars are cheaper to own.

Thanks for sharing though.

[GTR-N1]

Well explained Mike - and thank you.

I noticed on my last visit to Japan and that was decades ago, that younger people were desirous of copying America - their advertisements, their music, their baseball and at the time, a fastback mustang-like celica. Maybe many of them these days have also gone for automatic transmissions.

There used to be a saying in Italy, "Autos are for cripples."

In Australia, the trend went firstly towards > FWD > autos > Korean pricing > and who knows: maybe the Japanese trend of hybrids - which TG haven't caught on yet here - but, but, maybe after the demise of Falcons...

[StevenCJR31]

thanks for sharing your story with us iron mike, you have echeod what others have said about the car scene in Japan. . .better hold onto your gtr and you might be able to sell it back to the japs in years to come and make a tidy profit!

[Four - Twelve]

I too just came back from Japan. I had a slightly different experience.

Sure, I didn't see tuners on every corner, but in the week I was in Tokyo, I saw an Sti Forester, 2 s series WRX's, a few evo 10's and grb Sti's, an NSX, an FD2, an FD rx7, a couple of supras and VIp crowns/chasers and more rb gtrs than I can count on one hand. The only car that wasn't seen at a car related venue was the FD2 at Autobacs. Maybe I got lucky though.

For those looking to build a car related trip in the future, I would also recommend Toyota Mega Web. Half of it is like a giant car dealership, with racing simulators and a virtual ride, as well as test driving of new cars, including the 86 (with international drivers license). The other part is the history museum, which contains a handful of classic Japanese cars, including a Hakosuka, Fairlady Z, 2000gt, the original Mazda Cosmo, toyota F1 car, as well as a few imports, including 50's caddy's, a chevy stingray, a delorean and more. You can get right up to all of these cars, close enought to look in the windows, and in the case of new cars, sit in them. All is free of charge.

From my research I didn't go to the Nismo Omori Factory as it appeared that there wasn't actually much to see there. Obviously you got a better experience because of your contacts. For future visits, would you say the museum would justify the travel?

Edited February 24, 2013 by Four - Twelve

[NYTSKY]

Not surprised at all, the decline started in the mid 2000's with the GTR, Supra and Silvia being discontinued and with the arse dropping out of Japan's economy plus natural disasters people are more focused on other things.

Proven with the collapse of big name aftermarket parts makers and tuning companies in the last 5 years.

I was in Japan 2008 and 2009/10 and it was very evident then that the 'scene' wasn't what we were used to seeing in DVD's etc.

I was lucky enough to experience some very cool things while I was there (car related) with chance meetings and some rides in some epic cars, it was a few months out from the GTR being released which gave a bit of a boost in confidence IMO.

At the end of the day people just don't have the disposable income to throw on cars as they used to. The cars produced today are just not exciting to the car enthusiast and options are very limited compared to 10-15 years ago.

A sad thing indeed and things are only going to get worse

That said, Japan is a very beautiful country and the people are amazing. I would go back every year if I could

[raZ1911]

If your planing to go it might be best to go with a tour kinda thing like these guys do.

http://jdmgarage.com.au/tours/Media/?page_id=26

[Iron Mike]

Terry - It's amazing how into American culture the Japanese can be - especially given their wartime history with the US. I even saw a few dedicated american muscle car clubs at the Auto Messe - something I really did not expect in Japan!!

Four-twelve - may have just been your luck/my bad luck, but I'm very surprised you saw a few supras. These cars I found were bloody rare. As I mentioned before, none at the auto messe, only 1 on the streets, and none at any of the workshops I went to except at Top Secret where it was in a rusting scrap heap outside.

Steve - my GTR is my baby, I can't imagine ever getting rid of it or selling it to anyone, EVER!! Having said that, the Japs have a tonne of respect for the R34 GTRs - They are still a prized possession and highly respected & sought after amongst car enthusiasts, so you may be right about making a tidy profit

[eightsixboy]

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing.

I was going to go to Japan before my wedding but didnt have the cash, kinda glad I didn't go now anyways, I to like many thought Japan would be like you see in the mags or hot version dvd's, maybe it was 5-10 years ago, but by the sounds of it things have changed alot.

I wonder if thats the way Aus is heading with our car seen, in the last few years I see less and less modded JDM cars around, maybe its just VIC with there over the top hoon laws but its actually rare to see a modded skyline or S15 driving around, everyone seems to be buying evo's lol.

[Four - Twelve]

Just re read my post from last night. I mean't to say the FD2 was the only car I actually saw at a car related venue, the rest were all cruising the streets.

As the cars age, I can only expect it to get worse - I can't remember the last time I saw a VL turbo, and they used to be everywhere. I can only hope that the introduction of the 86 will inspire other companies to introduce new cars to the scene - hopefully at the affordable price as well.

[Iron Chef]

It's no real surprise - in Japan, cars over 10 years old start moving into the 'classic' category or get scrapped/exported out of existence. As far as RB-era GT-Rs go, a few die-hards still use them as dailies, but the vast majority are tucked inside sheds, only to come out for servicing/repairs/mods or for the local Skyline club meets. I was there for three weeks last year and only saw one BCNR33 (and no R32s or R34s) the whole time (outside of auctions).

As for the scene, well it has moved into vanning and VIP for the time being, but as the 86 has proven, the scene isn't dead by a long shot. You can bet your left nut the other Japanese manufacturers are busily preparing cheap RWD sports cars, probably sharing the chassis with a larger RWD sedan. I for one would love to see Mazda lop some serious money off the MX-5 and add a proper roof to it, then turn the Mazda6 into a RWD...then add a rotary-engined option....ok stop Chef, you're getting silly...

[StevenCJR31]

jeez i hope your wrong about the scene in aus going that way eightysixboy. . im guessing when we run out of oil we could end up drving soulless electric cars!!

[TTR34]

Good write up!

Came across this was on top so why not

[GTR-N1]

If the BRZ/86 launch was a flop, could we not assume that the 'scene' as one puts it, required 'CPR'?

Now that they've been a rip-roaring success, could they have been the litmus test for a new 'wave' to come?

[Truffles]

From readining reading posts like this over the years, I've gathered the tuning car scene in Japan was in steady decline. I've heard it does still exist but it's not as obviously and the information as readily available here. I guess it's harder being a foreigner and no speaking fluent Japanese to try and find these sort of non-official events. Most photos I'd ever seen of sports cars, as Ironchef said, were parked in garages/reccesses off the street and seldom driven. Given the volume they were sold in, they don't treasure those cars over there like we do here. Some do, but a relative comparison would be how many well sorted VT commodores do we see around (not many in my case)? Everyone has scraped them and moved on to something newer.

I'll still visit Japan in the next 2 years. The culture over there looks so interesting and different to here. If I happen to see a few genuine JDM 90's sports cars, bonus.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Truffles

[iamhe77]

If the BRZ/86 launch was a flop, could we not assume that the 'scene' as one puts it, required 'CPR'?

Now that they've been a rip-roaring success, could they have been the litmus test for a new 'wave' to come?

One can only hope

[BakemonoRicer]

Unfortunately the current wave of cars will never be able to achieve the cult classic status as per some of the vehicles built in the 90's...

Basically, the vehicles in the 90's were the pinnacle of over-enginered performance, versatility and feedback. Think of the MKIV Supra.....it was over-engineered to the point it has been tuned to be faster than a Lamboghini Adventador whilst being a pure drivers car which is why it has achieved such cult-status.

Nowadays, cars/supercars are fairly muted, safety oriented and rely heavily on electronics/paddle shift transmissions....which ultimately takes away from the driving experience. I mean, the Ferrari F40 is going up in value at an exponential rate because it was the last Ferrari which was a true "drivers" supercar...and because it was the last Ferrari with input from Enzo Ferrari. Basically what you had was a twin turbo V8, manual transmission, and an incredibly designed chassis...this simple recipe is all people needed to get the ultimate enjoyment out of a car.

Stricter rules such as emissions, safety, and so on can be blamed as one of the reasons cars are being "watered down" compared to those in the 90's.

[darksky34]

Unfortunately the current wave of cars will never be able to achieve the cult classic status as per some of the vehicles built in the 90's...

Basically, the vehicles in the 90's were the pinnacle of over-enginered performance, versatility and feedback. Think of the MKIV Supra.....it was over-engineered to the point it has been tuned to be faster than a Lamboghini Adventador...it was basically a pure drivers car which is why it has achieved such cult-status.

Nowadays, cars/supercars are fairly muted, safety oriented and rely heavily on electronics/paddle shift transmissions....which ultimately takes away from the driving experience. I mean, the Ferrari F40 is going up in value at an exponential rate because it was the last Ferrari which was a true "drivers" supercar...and the last Ferrari with input from Enzo Ferrari. Basically what you had was a twin turbo V8, manual transmission, and an incredibly designed chassis...this simple recipe is all people needed to get the ultimate enjoyment out of a car.

Stricter rules such as emissions, safety, and so on can be blamed as one of the reasons cars are being "watered down" compared to those in the 90's.

word. since 2000 the whole trend has been towards safety, electronics, family cars, etc. ie, boring!

[luke gtr]

Why did I read this?

I just want to keep living with the fantasy.

but srsly, the scene over here will keep declining as rules become stricter, and it becomes harder/more expensive to do things legally.

its a sad day for motoring.

[Truffles]

Unfortunately the current wave of cars will never be able to achieve the cult classic status as per some of the vehicles built in the 90's...

Cut down for the sake of not requoting, but extremely well put.

The world is a very different place to what it was 20-25 years ago. The Skyline went from 296,000 R32 units sold to 217,000 for the R33 down to 64,000 for the R34, to what Nissan considered the "progression" of the Skyline to the V35. Which is a good car but it doesn't embody what the Skyline moniker had been defined as over the past two decades. It was like everything else in the post 2000 era. There's too many reasons not to make cars like this anymore, regardless of the fact sales data may well be poor.

The Toyota 86 is the only real progression in a real Japanese 'drivers' cars in a long time and despite its appeal, it's nothing like the big 5 Japanese manufacturers were putting out in the early to mid 90's. It was a golden age but unfortunately lik the US muscle car golden age, the world just eventually out grows it.