One of the highlights of visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon happens not within the show grounds but rather, right outside, in the incredibly massive visitors’ carpark. With such an amazing car culture that’s been cultivated over decades, you can definitely expect owners of some interesting cars to show up when the biggest aftermarket automotive event opens its doors.
I’ve actually skipped heading out to the carpark for the past two Auto Salons i attended, for a couple of reasons. One being, the sheer size of the carpark. After walking around the massive halls of the Auto Salon, just the thought of venturing out to the carpark is enough to make your feet ache. The carpark that caters to Makuhari Messe is incredibly vast. Another reason for missing out on my previous excursions was the weather, with TAS being held smack in the middle of winter and the exhibition arena located quite near a big body of water, it can get rather windy and rather cold. But, this year, i made it a part of my agenda, who cares about the cold! I could have sworn i saw a couple of snow flakes fall when i was entering the carpark, but since i was already there, let’s go!!!
Over the course of the next two posts, i shall bring you pictures of the cars i saw as i walked the carpark grounds, in pretty much the same order as i saw the them, that should give you a rough idea of the incredible random awesomeness of cars i came across. My commentary will be short and i’ll try to let the pictures speak for themselves. I’ve saved some of the more special stuff for Part II, so i hope you’ll stay with me.
Sometimes you come across things which make you go WTF…
I had no idea what to make of it…
So far, did you realise that almost all the cars were impeccably clean? Seeing a dirty car was something different! But dirt on an EVO is ok in my book.
Skyline spotting is almost like a sport for car-geek foreigners in Japan.
Battle ready Supra looking mean.
R33s are getting more popular once again, i love this classic combo of gold centered BBS LMs on a white car.
This S660 looked like it just got delivered!
We saw this rusty Swift back in Odaiba during the Fresh Meet.
Gotta love Centurys.
No idea why this GTR got the boot.
Beautiful old 911.
Sitting in between some JDM micro compacts. Look how tiny a 911 was! I wonder if it fits within Kei-car dimensions.
Mopar or no car!
Cressida wagons seem to be getting more love.
Mk IIIs too.
Everything about this Mk IV was going so well until that strange front chrome lippy.
Car enthusiast come in all shapes an sizes.
More Skyline spotting.
Like that strange Odyssey up above, once again i came across something that made me go hmmm!?!
What in the World???
I’ve always wondered how does anyone drive with these steering wheels.
In case anyone thought the above car was from the US of A. No it’s actually a JZX100 chassis car. I can’t tell exactly which one. I think it was a Chaser.
With space being such a premium in Tokyo, most residents can only afford to have one car, so i’m guessing the owner of this Panda 4×4 is probably as quirky as his/her car.
So clean… So magnificent…
Japan…
Looks like its going sideways just sitting still.
Hachimaru hero!
Sometimes you’ll come across surprises only after you’ve taken the picture! Like this Impul R33-R, one of only 200 made. I thought i was just taking a picture of an R33 sedan and only came across its special badging when i sorting through and editing my images!
The home of Godzilla does not disappoint.
V12 badging means this is the big daddy S600.
Great looking R33.
I don’t see much of these Bug eyed STIs anymore. They do look very distinctive don’t you think?
By this point, i’ve only covered maybe half of the carpark but it was getting even colder and with only a couple of hours to go until the Auto Salon closes for the day, i decided to head back into the warm fuzzy halls. Tomorrow i’ll show you the most interesting car i came across. Wait for it!
GARAGE36 