When you think of Japan you probably think of the cars, big cities, vibrant lights and people scattered everywhere. Driving through the city at night it is EXACTLY like that. Leaving Tomei quite late we found ourselves driving around and around Shinjuku, Shibuya and Harajuku looking for accommodation. I snapped this image off whilst strapped into the back seat of our tiny hire car, it was taken in the dead centre of Harajuku, at one of those large intersections, but nothing quite as large as the one in Shibuya.
Late night meetup just before some mountain action! It’s funny how I spotted a PS14 out the window after Daikoku ended up taking us to a street meet. The next night here we are with all of the group about to head up the mountain. Have a killer weekend everyone, PEACE!
Last month I decided to buy some Fuji colour film and see how it compares with Kodak olour film I’ve been using previously, mainly to see what I like better and which to use for Japan next month. Being told the tones and colours are different between the two, by the looks of the roll I got developed yesterday I really like the colour and tones the Fujifilm develops. In saying this I have to get my hands on some black and white film and try that. On the other hand I have a roll of 120 film that is waiting to be processed, if that turns out well I’l consider taking Rob’s Dianna F to Japan for something different.
This is a photo of Peter Holloway’s PS13 which is currently in it’s build progress. I shot an article on this RocketBunny kitted machine last month, check it out here. Really looking forward to this car being finished.
A couple of months prior to Japan I was speaking with Alexi Smith on a regular basis trying to sort out our trip, mostly discussing the events we scheduled to attend. He mentioned that during the time of Ebisu Week there would be a couple of grassroots drift days held down south at Nikko Circuit. Alexi said at some of these low key events you may be lucky and see some pretty crazy cars out on the field, possibly a D1GP car? Or maybe D1SL? During the JZX Day on the Monday I was standing on the outside of the ever so famous first corner at Nikko, the 3 wheeled entry. This white on white JZX100 Mark II comes screaming down the front straight, smashing into 3rd. A transition like no other, dropping the rear right wheel off the edge causing the front left to leave the ground.
Downshifting to 2nd gear and smashing the limiter making instant smoke at the rear. What an entry. A 1JZ has never sounded so good. These guys really can drive, it is honestly unbelievable how consistent they are lap after lap, easily the best drivers in the world. I could only imagine a D1GP driver tearing up this tiny little track, but then again I think to myself, it surely couldn’t get much better than this? After all it is Japan…
Last December a fellow by the name of Yuka Fujii got in contact with me from Chiba, Tokyo Japan regarding an image to be used for Tokyo Autosalon and for their new website. Surprisingly enough it was a friend of the Purple Wins 180SX I shot at Mobara Twin during the final round of MSC.
Opening the letter not knowing what to expect I found a kind written note which was a little bit hard to understand as it was written with an English translator, but the message was still clear. Alongside the letter were some cool, unique stickers…
I won’t bother posting a photo of the 180SX, you can probably figure out the car by this cool little sticker they sent me. Also some more traditional ones in the background. Not only a letter and stickers but I also received a little wooden charm which smells like wood-fire, something I will keep forever. The Japanese are so kind, I’m forever thankful.
More stickers, letters and other items to store in my Nikko Circuit envelope where all my belongings are kept from last Novembers trip. Thanks guys!
During the first week of March is Skyline Week, Nick Rombouts and I took his R31 Silhouette up our local mountain, Mt.Nebo last night to snatch a few photos. As this car isn’t driven daily anymore both Nick and I have realised how cool it is to drive it back on the road, especially up a mountain. As we were racing against the clock to grab the last few minutes of the sun it was a pretty quick ride up the hill, as a matter in fact my thongs began to melt on the passenger side floor, it got pretty hot! Arriving to the S bends on the side of a cliff the sun was completely gone, the camera wouldn’t focus and it wanted to set itself higher than 4000 ISO. Luckily I bought my tripod which I never use anymore. Lighting the car on the front headlight with an iPhone to get the camera to focus worked reasonably well.
Happy R31 Day everyone, stay tuned for more Skylines through until the 5th of this month.
