welcome to the 2024 Osaka Auto Messe. Kansai’s smaller however more refined and intimate version of Tokyo Auto Salon in which we covered early last month.

this event has been running for 27 years, since 1997 to the west side of osaka at the intex location. attending most of the previous years since 2020 i can personally feel the event growing whether it’s the vendors, booths & companies inside or the extremely large number of japanese and foreign customers entering through the doors spectating some of japan’s finest brands & cars over the course of a 3 day period. an event i highly encourage all car enthusiasts to come to especially if you’re in japan visiting, you will not be disappointed.

below is through my eyes over the course of a day at the event. as always, enjoyy x

the custom car world of Kansai, Japan – Osaka Auto Messe 2023 – similar to Tokyo’s Auto Salon – Osaka has its own kind with a little twist of style and presentation. the last time this event was held was early 2020 right before the peak of COVID and the world closing. back again after 3 years it was very warming to see how many people were out and about attending the event. i made sure i was there at a decent time on saturday morning with my camera loaded to make effort to go through most of the halls and shoot.

this event is held at the port of Osaka near Nanko – Intex Osaka. This event has been running annually since 1997 so has plenty of returning and renowned car shops and business’ showcasing their cars and art every year. It’s estimated that well over 200,000+ people spectate this car show event over the course of the 3 days. If you’re into cars new and old just like the Tokyo Auto Salon i highly recommend visiting this show at least once in your lifetime.

below is my selection of photos from what i captured over the course of the weekend, enjoyyy x

the most recent double-rounds 7 & 8 of this years 2021 D1GP series once again held at okuibuki ski-resort in shiga prefecture, kansai 2 weekends ago here in japan. post tsukuba 2000 (last 2 rounds) the following round was planned to be ran and held at ebisu circuit, minami course however due to a little spike in covid cases it was postponed until late november therefore we were back at okuibuki in no time.

there are only 4 rounds left of 2021 both being doubles. end of october at autopolis and then late next month at minami circuit, ebisu. it has been an absolute blast shooting this years season and very excited for the last 2 courses especially as the weather is starting to shift over here dramatically.

a very large congratulations to nakamura naoki and the team for coming 1st for both rounds on saturday, sunday and placing 1st in top qualifier on sunday also. an absolute humbling and pleasure of an experience to be apart of such a determined and talented team. as usual here are some selects over the course of 2 days, just under 100 or so images constantly waiting for the sunsets as you can probably tell by looking at these.

we have a very large number of exciting new and re-vamped products still in the works will be 100% released well before christmas this year, potentially from halloween onwards. your support, patience and following is always appreciated.

biggest loveeee. caseyy x

since kansai all stars it has been reasonably quiet on the driving front over here in japan. as usual the lead up to kansai all stars every year is very full-on for all participants and garages involved so it is very common to have some down time post the event.

fast forwarding a month last event nakamura naoki, his son nakamura ryuu, aki fujio & friends had a very small, intimate and rainy day at meihan d course. a little day to give the next generation some time to practice and get some seat time and drive with some of the best.

below are a few photos i took over a 20 or so minute period, rain was pretty full on. i have also put together an 8 minute RAW POV onboard video from my little action cam on youtube in which i will embed into this post also. be sure to check it out – naoki and his son properly driving together for the first time which was amazing to watch and capture. PS if you want to see any photos larger just right click and open in new tab – have laid them out this way as there are a few in this post.

big love, always. caseyyy x

suzuka twin circuit hitomiGO practice day. enjoy 11 minutes of uncut raw footage. can’t wait to drive this car again x

R30 perfection at kyusha expo event in maishima late twenty-sixteen x

october/november two-thousand-eighteen – now available online – CLICK to shop now x

the only other day i managed to get some in-car footage. onboard at tokushima kart land free practice. ¥4000 to drive the entire day. enjoy xxx

You might remember a few weeks ago some videos going viral from Nakamura Naoki’s newest S15 being tested for the first time. Being there and driving with Keisuke, Jamie and Nishio I decided to have a small break when Naoki and Miki showed up just to get some shots of the car prior being loaded to Australia for this years WTAC drift challenge next week in Sydney Australia in which he will be competing in. The initial plan was to head down to Okayama Prefecture to Bihoku Highland Circuit so the car could get up to speed and under some pressure properly however due to the multiple typhoons that hit Honshu over the last few months it was Motorland Suzuka that managed to stay mostly dry.

The newly painted S15 chassis – a 3 color fade painted by Naoki himself welcoming red up front for his newest and largest sponsor VALINO tires fading into pink and purple for the true N-Style feel. This is the same body that he has previously been driving in such as Kansai All Stars in 2017 etc. A few months prior to this day the SR20DET was removed and a 1000HP T88 2JZ that was purchased straight out of a Toyota Aristo, backed up with a holinger gearbox all tuned and set by Garage REMS.

Enjoy the images

This was the first time Nishio from Otokichi Family in Mie had seen the car also.

Shane Bingham from Stacked Inc always by Naoki’s side helping wherever and whenever he can maintain and prep cars.

A strong combination of grippy Valino tires, soft and forgiving Stance coilovers and Naoki’s insanely aggressive, snappy driving this car  lifting wheels off the ground everywhere.

Apart from a water hose popping off after 3-4 sessions and whatever tires were bought there car was somewhat faultless. I have been shooting and spectating Naoki drive for around 8-9 years now and this was one of the fastest and grippiest cars I have probably seen run, period. I wish him all the best at WTAC! If you didn’t get a glimpse of the videos check them out on the SHIRTSTUCKEDIN instagram x