There’s something about Kyusha cars (“old cars”) that really changes my perception about automotive culture. Compared to back in the states, Japan Kyusha cars are a whole other beast compared to Amercian classic hot rods. “To each their own” is a good way of putting it as most people outside of Japan will never understand Japanese nostalgic car styling, whether being small things that people just can’t quite accept like front-mounted oil-coolers with long lines ran outside the front grill, largely oversized fenders/quarterpanels, shakotan/body scraping static height that makes your teeth cringe from the sound of $50K+ classic cars rolling through perfectly flat roads, or just the wild body styling and loud exhaust pipes of more extreme Kaido-Racers.

Mikami Auto, a shop based in Hiroshima, threw another spectacular Kyusha car meet last weekend. So many cleanly built Japanese classic cars that would be the prize of any carshow back in the states. This is an event that could only be experienced in Japan as most of these cars never made it to the states and other countries due to emissions restrictions. Another setback is the value of these cars and how difficult it is to obtain a clean shell and the rare parts to go along with them. Alot of these cars have been with families for generations. To add to this, another thing that I really appreciated about this meet was the age-range of enthusiasts that were there. It was a mix of the younger-generation (mid-20’s+) to elders and their families that rolled up to the event, all representing different eras of kyusha styling and trends. It was a meet that every generation could enjoy as each aspect of kyusha cars were met through different builds.  There were also a good amount of vendors selling used wheels, collectibles and stickers.

Here’s a few shots from a day in the countryside of Hiroshima. Seeing all these cars strolling through the mountainside was something quite unique that I’ll cherish forever. I can only hope to experience this once again.

Lots more coverage to come.