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JDM Sight Seeing.
A lot of us are stuck at home more than normal, and something I've started doing when I'm bored is looking up shops/significant places in Japan. A lot of these places are being run by older guys who aren't going to be around forever. It's fun to pull back the curtain and see where all this stuff we love so much comes from. To me, It's made it much more grounded in reality. These places aren't some far away magic land, but just normal shops that have ups and downs like we all do. Feel free to contribute, even if no one posts on this thread, I'm going to keep updating it until I run out of places to visit on Google Maps.
Yashio Factory.. https://i.ibb.co/Lky5ZvT/Yashio-Factory.jpg Top Secret.. Look close and you can see the famous R34 GTR parked https://i.ibb.co/n0BzWNn/topsecret.jpg Signal Auto.. https://i.ibb.co/grGG9fH/Signal-Auto2.jpg Signal Auto's Body Shop, Show-up.. https://i.ibb.co/Z1kQ1RL/Signal-Auto1.jpg Mine's.. https://i.ibb.co/mBTHbFR/Mines.jpg Garage Defend.. https://i.ibb.co/mqdgkFt/garagedefend.jpg Side street of Garage Defend.. https://i.ibb.co/Vp4RFsD/garagedefend2.jpg |
Veilside..
https://i.ibb.co/tmchyjH/Veilside.jpg Awesome to see Veilside is still doing it's thing, even in times when they aren't super popular right now.. https://i.ibb.co/YZ2DbfY/Veilside2.jpg Tsukuba Circuit. So amazingly Google Maps street view went on the track, but they had to be escorted by a safety car! Great thing is it's an S15, is it a Spec-R or Spec-S? https://i.ibb.co/hCSBQ6B/Tsukuba-S15.jpg TRA Kyoto (rocket bunny, etc.) https://i.ibb.co/44f42PF/TRA-Kyoto.jpg This photo is an older one, it's cool because he's got the foam in bags sitting on top of the infamous s13 coupe. That's how he used to shape his kits, I think now he uses design software. https://i.ibb.co/R0kWSmV/TRA-Kyoto2.jpg Top Fuel..pretty amazing shop. https://i.ibb.co/QbfdvMd/Top-fuel.jpg Tom's.. https://i.ibb.co/sQ93J9c/Toms-1.jpg The fact that Tom's had a supra in their side garage couldn't be better.. https://i.ibb.co/CKSx0t0/Toms-2.jpg Mind Control Racing Factory..Their neighbors must hate them. Looking through the shops history, it looks like it's always very busy looking. https://i.ibb.co/4dhy2r5/MCR-Factory.jpg |
So finding this one took a little work. This is the old location of Kid's Heart, the originators of the Sileighty. They closed their doors a few years ago, and their address isn't something I could find easily. I used articles by Driftworks to help pinpoint where it used to be.
https://i.ibb.co/wYF3yqY/Kids-Heart-RIP.jpg This building was built on the corner of the Kid's Heart lot. I'm thinking its still owned by someone who was involved with the shop, based on the name. https://i.ibb.co/nMvkMLz/Kids-Heart-RIP2.jpg HKS Technical Factory. This is where, as a customer, you go if you want to deal with HKS directly, and not through one of their dealers. This is the side of the building, as there is a big tree in the front and it's hard to see from the street. https://i.ibb.co/tLDrf6n/HKS-TF-1.jpg HKS's main factory, ad the bottom of Mt. Fuji. Pretty amazing. They own a ton of land, all surrounded by this green fencing. The factory only sits on one side of it, and they have some random strips of road..maybe for testing?...covering the rest of the grounds. https://i.ibb.co/7nq9jBY/HKS-Fuji-1.jpg The main entrance to HKS is the only place you can really get a good view of the facilities. https://i.ibb.co/QMwPJdy/HKS-Fuji-2.jpg Fat Five Racing, Daigo Saito's shop. HKS liveried GT86 sitting on a container, no biggy.. https://i.ibb.co/QpgdWty/Fat-Five-Racing.jpg Down the street is HeyMan Products.. https://i.ibb.co/MZD5hC0/Hey-Man-Products.jpg This is behind Garage Defend. I believe this lot is for USA bound cars.. https://i.ibb.co/ft9pn49/Garage-Defend-USABound.jpg Car Modify Wonder.. https://i.ibb.co/fvdt1HS/Car-Modify-Wonder.jpg Charge Speed..it's in a really congested area. https://i.ibb.co/M8jz1x0/charge-speed.jpg Bomex, it's the building in the back, it was hard to find a good angle of it, this was the best I could do. https://i.ibb.co/yBsPzLn/Bomex.jpg This place is connected to 326 Power, but I don't think it's the official shop. The 86's made it post worthy IMO. https://i.ibb.co/ZfR2QZ5/326-power.jpg |
BN Sports. The street view had an empty lot, but the closest satellite shows a PACKED lot.
https://i.ibb.co/YyDzPy1/BN-Sports.jpg https://i.ibb.co/cvxwkDm/BN-Sports2.jpg Blitz.. https://i.ibb.co/DbhQSXv/Blitz.jpg Blitz back lot.. https://i.ibb.co/0yXM2Hw/Blitz2.jpg Bee R.. https://i.ibb.co/N33vc2m/Bee-R.jpg Side entrance of Bee R.. https://i.ibb.co/bQkgMbY/Bee-R-2.jpg 4 Heads (for those who follow NoriYaro) https://i.ibb.co/jbTbHLw/4Heads.jpg And some random R35 widebody I found sitting at a light.. https://i.ibb.co/Ks2tP7f/Rando-R35.jpg |
Dude this amazing to see. Thanks for doing the work. There’s so many names in here I haven’t thought of in years.
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I should have traveled to more tuner places when I was stationed out there. I only have a few pics from Superautobacs I'll have to dig up. This brings back feels man. I miss those Lipton milk teas and Coco's something fierce.
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unless you have an invite or a person bringing you, don't walk in. Most of these places are not that easy to get to and it is a gigantic waste of time to see if you can get in or not.
Like Toyota Technocraft. Sure you can go to the address in Yokohama, but unless you have an invite the security guard will flat out refuse to let you in. places on the list of any automotive enthusiast should always start with the easiest places to go with the largest number of cars to look at: Nismo Omori Factory (showroom open most days) Nissan Zama Heritage Collection (by advance reservation only, free) Nissan Engine Factory (next to Omori Factory) Honda Collection Hall (at Twin Ring Motegi), open but Motegi charges a gate fee to enter the premises) it's almost much easier to just see the shops and cars at Auto Salon or Auto Messe. |
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It makes me beyond happy to see that Yashio Factory is still around. Don't really hear much about them these days.
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Cool stuff. I've done a fair bit of scouting maps in Japan, I like doing it the hard way and have found some pretty cool small shops. Typically I search via satellite through countryside outside of urban areas for lots of parked cars. Occasionally you'll find yourself upon a boneyard of Schassis, corollas, etc. Pretty fun when you're bored.
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RWB..
https://i.ibb.co/Bygfk9c/RWB.jpg Tein Manufacturing Plant.. https://i.ibb.co/MZD7wp5/Tein-1.jpg Kazama Auto.. https://i.ibb.co/VB6XZh3/Kazama-Auto.jpg So this one is a little sad to see, These first few photos are of Do-Luck from 2012 (ala Speedhunters), and they look like they are no longer there. I look for other locations, but all I can find is a corner storefront of a strip-mall with a sticker on the door. I always loved their GT-R builds. https://i.ibb.co/HPxDYJJ/Do-Luck-Shop-064.jpg https://i.ibb.co/6Ys7PTK/Do-Luck-Shop-070.jpg https://i.ibb.co/nBSMDr1/Do-Luck-Former2.jpg https://i.ibb.co/N9mcHnw/Do-Luck-Former.jpg |
Is this post for updated pictures or pictures of old school shops?
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I'm posting the most recent that google street view has. If the shop is no longer there, I'll still take a photo, and just add some context..maybe some photos of what it was.
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Google translate your car/ drifting related term or description to Japanese, and search that. I find a lot better content using that method ^^^ Super cool thread, but definitely a bit sad. The drifting and Japanese tuner scene is dying, relatively quickly. Heightened by immense price gouging and regulations. This is a world wide problem, not exclusive to Japan, but I think much of these will be memories in the next decade. The hyper-inflation of drifting cars, products and "tuner parts" in the last couple of years within the states has had a massive affect globally and especially in Japan as their car prices are becoming too high for youth to get into the sport. Greed will contribute to the end of a very long term hobby for many of us here. / end rant |
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Damn, this is taking me back!
Also MCR Factory is the wildest place to see... the most random parts just kicking it. |
Some of you nerds may know this place. They do a lot of high performance engine builds in Japan. Years ago, they used to make some pretty great parts for the SR, RB, etc.. not sure if they still do or not.
https://i.ibb.co/1vvwHxT/Naprec-1.jpg Powerhouse Amuse. Pretty humble shop for doing some amazing things. That white GTR looking a little ignored did over 370kph on the Nardo ring in Italy a few years ago. https://i.ibb.co/jz56YkH/Powerhouse-amuse.jpg I liked this. Under the pedestrian bridge is where Powerhouse Amuse stores all the factory exhausts they take off. https://i.ibb.co/BNhHnx3/Powerhouse-amuse-2.jpg Phoenix's Power.. Looks like they were closed that day. https://i.ibb.co/yn38bd3/Phoenixs-Power-1.jpg Nismo Omori Factory.. https://i.ibb.co/gSL9HTS/Nismo-Omori.jpg https://i.ibb.co/Smq1LHY/Nismo-Omori-2.jpg Koguchi Power.. Street view only has it from the highway, there is a service road that runs right next to it, but they didn't drive that close. https://i.ibb.co/sFh4wFd/Koguchi-Power.jpg INGS+1.. Not their manufacturing, just a business office, very unassuming considering the level of work that they do. https://i.ibb.co/BCtR53J/Ings-1.jpg JIC Magic.. https://i.ibb.co/jHtWmKF/JICMagic.jpg This was a nice find. If you go up the road to the other end of JIC's factory, you will find two guys playing golf. If you look in the background, you'll see the guys clubs standing behind his K-van :bowrofl: https://i.ibb.co/wpqWqzP/JICMagic-Golf.jpg Hope you guys enjoyed the latest! |
Thank you for posting & updating this thread! Very cool :drool:
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NAPREC is doing all custom stuff. Under Suzuki TA S15 is all NAPREC. They still have all dry sump system and some heads and stuff
Yashio right now is impossible to get an appointment. They are expanding their workshop and now do a rental drift car service based on their YT channel. Yeah I had a friend tried to get their Silvia worked on and basically they don't even bother talking or calling him back. LOL There is also Yasuyuki Kazama (Best drifter in my opinion) still has his shop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWlGRJrBBuA Kind of underground but still does some amazing things..... |
I've gatta make up some general guidelines, I'm trying to keep this just to google maps photos only, unless you have photos you've personally taken and aren't on the internet.
I feel like its always more fun to see photos where nothing is posed/cleaned up. If the place is always immaculate, that's cool, if not, that's cool too. Love the photos of all the skyline stuff, I never heard of those shops! Glad to hear that NAPREC is still going strong, I'm sure they still do some of the best work. Every time I watch one of Sammit's videos, I'm amazed they get anything done in Yashio Factory's shop, that place is PACKED..it makes sense that they need to expand.. |
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This is Bell Deer, AKA Suzuki Alto Works Racing from WAYYYY back when Suzuki's were racing...
AKA, Miracle Next Bar maker... I've also been there and they had a Silvia N1 Car for sale with 10km on the clock unmolested. https://i.imgur.com/Pe976cz.png |
130R Yokohama. Max Orido's new full service shop with racing simulator and coaching from Max himself.
https://i.imgur.com/xVrTPok.png |
awesome thread, I've always wanted to visit japan but this is the closest I'll ever get. thanks for sharing.
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This thread is awesome, thank you for posting/updating.
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Thanks for the feedback guys, really appreciate it! I've got some more that I need to load up this weekend :)
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Really makes me want to take a trip to Japan. Definitely will be revisiting this thread over and over again.
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Found This 180sx while searching, I think that's a C-West wing on it.
https://i.ibb.co/2W6znpD/180sx-INThe-WILD.jpg Border https://i.ibb.co/NVn7XFQ/Border.jpg Impulse.. This photo is of the side, couldn't pass up taking a shot of this chassis.. https://i.ibb.co/MkZDjx8/IMPULSE.jpg Impulse.. entrance of the place https://i.ibb.co/z758XZ9/IMPULSE-2.jpg JUN.. Looks a little run down but it seems like there is still a good amount going on there. https://i.ibb.co/z62PLz1/JUN-1.jpg JUN.. Spotted this SR in one of their windows, that manifold is crazy. https://i.ibb.co/BjCp1Py/JUN-2.jpg NordRing.. GTR specialty shop. https://i.ibb.co/xM80gVd/NordRing.jpg N-Style.. One of my favorite shops, great street style, and they build crazy cars in the middle of nowhere, place is surrounded by rice fields. https://i.ibb.co/bscZ6sx/NStyle-1.jpg OS Giken.. Always pictured this place way bigger, pretty amazing they do what they do out of such a small operation. https://i.ibb.co/6RBX1BG/OSGiken.jpg Rays Engineering headquarters.. https://i.ibb.co/sR16zFY/Rays-Engineering.jpg Run Free.. well, what's left of Run Free. https://i.ibb.co/vJZk8zT/Run-Free-1.jpg Tomei.. https://i.ibb.co/SQc6SRx/Tomei-1.jpg Thanks for looking guys, appreciate it! |
i would send my s14 to powerhouse amuse or mines for a full build if i had the time and funds. maybe power house for asthetics/suspension and mines for power. dreams.
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Wow this is a great thread. Thanks for sharing!
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This is amazing. Thank you!
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Oh man that JUN SR manifold is so rad. New age of window shopping.
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Did some more for you guys :)
Cusco https://i.ibb.co/jRL3YJc/Cusco1.jpg Feels https://i.ibb.co/d03CGcD/Feels.jpg Feels - If you go down the side street, you can catch the employees washing their uniforms!! https://i.ibb.co/SRHZRCh/Feels-Laundry-Day.jpg G-Corporation https://i.ibb.co/HrLLM6P/G-Corp.jpg RE-Amemiya, awesome shop! https://i.ibb.co/kBcTG80/REAmemiya1.jpg RE-Amemiya has a Mazda Cosmo chilling in the show room..no big deal.. https://i.ibb.co/pJ2XYvX/Re-Amemiya2.jpg Side Parking lot of RE-Amemiya https://i.ibb.co/19f2Pnk/REamemiya3.jpg Spoon Sports https://i.ibb.co/S3T7T1f/Spoon-Sports.jpg Hard to see, but it's Tanabe's manufacturing plant. https://i.ibb.co/6FfN0k8/Tanabe-Manufacturing.jpg |
Don't know if it counts because it's not a Google Image. But I went to Koguchi Power in late 2019 before all the shit kicked off. I took a heap of photo's at the shop but i'll just share a few to not overload.
https://i.imgur.com/tA6t5U0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/G892kEm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/B6CLhCe.jpg |
awesome! That place is hard to see from the road, so to find some photos that aren't staged or cropped are great! Thanks :)
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It's pretty funny there is a convertible Mustang parked in front of G-Corporation.
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Man, so many of these shops look like they're barely surviving... tough to tell. Some are so legendary like JUN and it breaks my heart. RWB always looks like a mess but they seem to be crushing it, at least in the marketing area, so hopefully it just 'looks' that way for the other guys too.
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His D1 JZX Just sitting there. Was so awesome to see up close. https://i.imgur.com/Q1U6d8c.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7FXGOZz.jpg https://i.imgur.com/KTM2YZR.jpg https://i.imgur.com/JvEMX7b.jpg Koguchi's current drifting machine is this S14. Had a bunch of good parts on it as you'd expect. https://i.imgur.com/3ueVAzc.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xWVlJJu.jpg Best till last. His infamous 180SX. Waiting to be restored. Which he eventually will. https://i.imgur.com/bpjMTXU.jpg |
Very cool thread idea! Here are a few more to add that I found randomly while I was there in 2016 visiting family. Uploading from a phone so not sure how these will turn out, I will edit on pc if needed.
Be-take https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f1f109dca1.jpg Some random place down the street from Be-take https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5490279c1c.jpg Gallery https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3bf27268e1.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1fa4482ed3.jpg Feel Yokohama(the only place I was able to actually stop at) https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d5c341f77e.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...64fbb4f37e.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5611fdb0e9.jpg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
ZERO/SPORTS & ZEROMAX:
https://i.imgur.com/LLYDDRv.png |
I took these in 2013 while on a business trip to Japan.
https://live.staticflickr.com/8525/8...dcac6ccc_c.jpgMy Photo Stream-957 by gnakata2007, on Flickr Coolest restroom https://live.staticflickr.com/8523/8...b788d735_c.jpgMy Photo Stream-958 by gnakata2007, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/8533/8...81ed2296_c.jpgMy Photo Stream-959 by gnakata2007, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/8542/8...d61ed8ed_c.jpgMy Photo Stream-982 by gnakata2007, on Flickr Here is a link to more including the Nissan headquarters showroom - https://flic.kr/s/aHsjEN4WMj |
oh shit, i forgot about zero sports! thanks for the contributions guys! I know there a ton of shops out there, so this thread shouldn't run out of places to see for awhile..
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Also they look rundown or closed because Google maps ALWAYS goes super early in the morning to beat traffic.
Here is a few Feed - Fujita Engineering https://i.imgur.com/jpMTktk.png MCR - Matchless Crowd Racing - Known GTR R34 and 35 https://i.imgur.com/VMS9QbB.png LAP - Auto Produce Boss - their S15 was insanely fast in the day https://i.imgur.com/s5YYZWj.png |
He is still my favorite drifter of all time. I didn't want this thread to die
Kasuyuki Kazama - Rodextyle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGy9WJODrP8 https://i.imgur.com/QWkLZ7E.png |
A few observations and questions -
One, whats up with all the corrugated steal buildings? While cool, and I'd love to have one, they look very Soviet-Era / 3rd World. Two, Japan looks very run down (outside the glitz areas). Is this a correct assessment? I get this feeling that there was tons of growth and expansion with all these "modern" buildings in the 80's and early 90's and then the economy collapsed and much of the country never recovered, renovated or continued to expand like it had 30 years ago. |
i won't let the thread die, just been pretty busy lately. I have a few more saved up, and I'll try and make some more time soon.
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Here's a place that isn't special to the S-chassis crowd, but is special to me. I flew to Hiroshima then took the train to Onomichi to inspect a Carrera RS 2.7 at this shop. The owner, whose name I've now forgotten almost eight years after (edit: found his card, his name's Shigeru), was kind, spoke better English than I did Japanese, and kept me hydrated with chilled green tea on a 90 degree, 95% humidity day.
We took the road in front of his shop under the highway, up into the hills, and then did a 200kmh run down the highway back to the shop. After that, he put the car up in the air and the forward mount of one of the front control arms was rusted nearly completely through! He has tons of vintage race parts hidden in his shop, and he maintains multiple 911s and a couple 356s for locals. Has a fondness for Lotus Europas and Caterham Sevens as well. I took the train back to Hiroshima, took a shower, hopped on the train to Up Garage in Asaminami Ward and walked back to my hotel just outside the Peace Park. It was fascinating. https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag..._Road_Star.png Here's Autech Tsukada/ATTKD: https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...ted)_ATTKD.png |
Dope thread @burnsauto !!
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Such great stories! Keep em coming please
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Good stuff man!
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Also, been to/by so many of these shops. I miss them :( |
I've got a bunch more, I'll get them up before the weekend.
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