Japan in a Van – Heart Up World
So we were keen to get back to Japan. Our first taste of it was a plan that fell apart back in 2016. We wanted to get back out there and give ourselves plenty of time to try and do whatever we could. We had a very loose plan, go to 86 fest in Okayama on the third day, meet some Honda guys, collect some 86 parts and catch up with the CSS crew; we would make the rest up as we go along.
We gave ourselves 19 days; we figured this would be enough time to cram in a good chunk of the stuff we missed out on last time; I had a loose list of tuning shops and other bits and bobs; nothing was set in stone except for 86 festival as it was a fixed date, everything else was subject to change.
We had bought a Toyota Alphard from our friend Steve, who hooked us up with the Elgrande the last time, and we were travelling down to meet him outside of Okayama.
Reuben Picks us a winner…
Instant excitement to see Kei trucks at the terminal.
The hilariously long water taxi road across Osaka bay!
Twenty-seven hours of straight travelling took its toll on us; we had to catch trains, planes, boats, busses, and more trains and make our way up the mountain to the middle of nowhere to pick up the new machine.
The only thing keeping us going was the scenery, the Japanese landscape was spectacular, and to be honest, we were all a little nervous as we were very excited about this trip for a long time. After I finished editing the last video, I wanted to get back there as soon as possible to try to get another taste of what’s left.
We were left wondering how many years of this stuff is still possible or if any young people are getting into cars, or if there was still a solid car scene present in Japan. We planned to visit tuning shops and chat with people and ask them how they feel about the car scene.
The start of the trip was similar to the last time. We would fly into Osaka, get the bullet train down south, meet our mate Steve, pick up the van and make our way up north, stopping anywhere we could along the way; we would sleep in the Alphard if we had to, so we kept the crew to the three of us for convenience.
Our Japan trip had a habit of going from zero to one thousand in a flash. A full day of travelling had us exhausted; we were pretty much at wit’s end and about to crash. Once we were picked up at the train station and brought to Heart up the world, the place instantly filled with energy. It was completely unexpected.
When we got there, the owner was thrilled to see just how excited we got about pretty much everything. It was a great first experience and an excellent way to kick start the trip. They wanted us to stick around for the night and have beers, but sadly, we had to meet Steve in Okayama city and sort him out to get us our new 2005 Toyota Alphard.
This was Renault four was completely unexpected!
It’s hard to describe what it’s like unless you visit, but your brain suddenly goes into overdrive; everything is interesting. There’s stuff to absorb everywhere at these type of shops, a rare Tommy Kaira machines inside, a cool 180sx out front. Japanese people must have thought we were odd for being enthusiastic, as this is stuff they grew up and have probably been looking at for years.
Check how cool this Probox looked!
Too much to take in! There was stuff hiding everywhere.
One of the worker’s cars. He was keen to show us his Lexus which was buried down the back.
An unexpected sight.
35 wheels on a MKII? Why not?
The place was packed with the good stuff.
There she is! The 2005 Alphard G, I really do miss this thing.
What a shop! Loved the name and the logo.
This was a nice treat too, it was fully seam welded, The Orange MKII’s were a cool touch.
Oh, man! I couldn’t get enough of this Pro Box, I had gone down a rabbit hole on youtube looking at the Races they have at Tsukuba, I wasn’t expecting to see this at the shop.
The owner races Toyota pro boxes and has one of the fastest ones in Japan; that was a nice little bonus too; we were off to a good start. I’ll leave you with the rest of the snaps we took that day.
Hopefully, I can get these out to pair up with each episode of the Video series, as it’s always nice to have some photos to look at from these trips.
Cheers
Neil
2 Comments