The next day, we were flung straight into the deep end. We hit up an Autobacs, which was just down the street from our hotel room, for a quick look; the car park at any Auto parts shop always has a few gems. Our aircon was broken, which resulted in an incredibly humid night’s sleep, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.
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.
In 2019 we went back to Japan. Hungry for more after “Japan Without a Plan”, we aimed to seek out AE86’s, Street drifting, Kanjo culture, tuning shops and much more.
In this eleven-part special, we buy another van and travel up the east coast, documenting as much as we could, getting ourselves into some hilarious situations.
Enjoy our journey through Japanese car culture over the next few weeks. This one has been a long time coming.
This car has always been a bit of a mystery; I had seen it a couple of times at various 86 days over the years or at a minimal number of car shows but never had the chance to have a proper look around it. It rarely sees the road these days.
Another show we made our way to in 2019, just before we left for Japan, was DB on the quay.
What I liked about this event was the dockside location and the varied mix of cars. Usually, our BBQ is primarily bringing Japanese machinery through the friends we have met over the years. I’ve always wanted to include more variety, but we seem to have a nack in creating bonds with people with the same interest, more specifically Japanese cars.
Ireland has a very diverse car culture, and sometimes it’s hard to bring a mixed bag of enthusiasts together as they tend to stay in their groups. We have a show called Japfest which promotes Japanese cars, and we have VW and old Ford events with a similar style, again usually bringing people from the same crowds together.
I love the other side of the Irish car culture, the lads that came before us, before the influx of Japanese cars on the Emerald Isle.
I always try to make sure I make my way to New Ross every July to check out Bolands Ford gathering. Long before the black hole of Japanese cars, I was obsessed with Sierra and Escort Cosworths; these cars will always have a special place in my heart.
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I originally shot this FD back in 2013 before moving to Canada; it hasn’t hanged much since then visually, and that’s a good thing. I’ve always loved the look of this car, and PJ shares the same opinion. He has retained its original style, only tweaking the aesthetics slightly to make it more usable.
Ireland has a very diverse car culture; in this episode, we head to two shows back to back featuring Escort Cosworths, MK2 escorts, Golf GTI’s and much more. These two shows give a glimpse into the incredible stuff dotted around the Emerald Isle.
This episode is packed with unique cars, a wild Japanese Altezza Demo car survivor, a timeless Evo III and the Perfect 500bhp FD RX7. Enjoy a little slice of the madness hidden away in the rural Irish countryside.
So you might have seen this very striking SXE10 Altezza from our latest video. It’s a pleasure to nail the car down for a shoot finally. We’ve been trying to nail this car down for a shoot for the best part of ten years. It’s a miracle that it still exists.
It’s rare to see street skids these days, drifting in this area used to be quite common not too many years ago. We took for granted as various mates got acquainted with two of the most famous street corners in Ireland, it was a go-to spot for many years, a meeting place in the night, we’ve shot numerous videos down here, and I’ve made many friends on this stretch of road.
Josh gets his S50 M3 powered E30 up and running, and we take it for a quick lap. Also, some bonus street action accompanied by shenanigans in Fast Barrys shed. Good times.
We uncover where my AE86 lived in Japan with the help of David from Japan car history check. We even discover an old for sale advert in Ireland and more photos which help piece together its past. Enjoy this 100th episode history special.
I’m not going to say a lot here, the images speak for themselves, here are the photos to accompany the Honda day from 2019 when we had the EK4 out on the track. It’s hard to put into words just how fun these noisy little Hondas are until you’ve driven one, and when you drive a proper sorted one the track on the limit, it only amplifies the pleasure in these Econo small cars. You can punish them, and they keep coming back for more!
The noise makes you feel like you are doing ten times the speed, the oversteer, the bang of Vtec lad! Honda knew what they were doing with the first twenty years of simplistic Vtec machines; anyways, ill leave it here. Hope you enjoy these pics.
– Neil
