One of the great things about creating The Chronicles is all the wonderful people I have met over the last three years. There’s no better way to give back to the automotive community then to share experiences with one another. Being able to meet all these great people has presented me with the opportunity to learn about what the community is like not only in the United States, but throughout the world. About a year or so into the creation of this site, I met a Japanese enthusiast by the name of Takeshi Kobayashi. He was the owner and operator of his own shop, known as “Type_K Autosource”. He and his friends/clients are huge fans of the American Honda scene so he spends a majority of his days at work fulfilling orders for his customers for all things USDM-related. Not only did he bring over car parts and accessories, he brought over EVERYTHING he could from the U.S. There is a large chunk of the Japanese who are really into American culture and Takeshi’s job is to bring in anything he can from our country. I first heard of Takeshi when he emailed me about sending over a large order of Chronicles decals and shirts to Japan. At that time, I had no idea anyone outside of California even knew about the site so I was quite shocked. He was able to communicate with me over email and his english was actually pretty good. He filled me in on how I had fans over there in Japan and how much they loved the Hondas from the west coast. I knew that there were some Japanese that were into USDM stuff but really had no idea that it was that big of a deal. It wasn’t until Wekfest in either 2009 or 2010 did I finally meet Takeshi. Oddly enough, I was standing outside of a Safeway supermarket waiting for a friend when Takeshi came over to introduce himself. To keep a long story short, since that day we have become good friends. I mean “good” at least for two individuals who live half the world away from each other. Takeshi and Tetsuya from USDM Jam come out every year with some friends to experience some of the biggest Honda events in California and Me and the rest of the guys always make it a point to chill with them and hang out.

Here we are taking Takeshi out to enjoy some classic American cuisine…

It really is crazy just how different things are in Japan, from the food to the cars, everything…and it’s honestly really interesting to hear about it from Takeshi who has experienced life both in America and in his home country. Over time, we have developed a pretty good understanding of one another and we try to help each other out whenever we can. He recently put together a USDM-themed car event, known simply as “K-Day”. He wanted to know if he could throw my name on the flyer and of course, I was totally cool with it. I want to help him promote his events, no matter in what geographic location it is in. He’s a good dude and he does the same for me. I would really have liked to have been there for it, but timing and monetary issues prevent me from just picking up and flying to Japan to cover his event. Luckily for me and all of you guys, Takeshi and other enthusiasts from Japan were able to document the event for us and today I will be showing you some of the more intriguing Hondas from K-Day. The photos are mixed between Takeshi, Tetsuya Yamaguchi, and another Japanese Honda head who is from “Lowered 2 Perfection” or “L2P” car crew. He has his own blog that he updates sometimes and I was able to snag a couple of shots from his site. He owns the burgundy-colored 2nd generation Honda Element on bronze Volk TE-37s. I’ve posted a couple photos of it before but I’ve included a shot of it below for you guys that don’t know which car I’m talking about…

The photos aren’t in any particular order. I just grouped a bunch of shots together…enjoy…and thank you to Takeshi from Type_K for organizing this event and giving us Americans a glimpse of how they build USDM-themed Hondas in Japan…

This left-hand drive Acura Integra Type R is Takeshi’s personal car and is a real legit American ITR that he purchased and transported back to Japan…

This EG caught my eye when I first saw photos from the event. The front lip is a First Molding unit and the wheels, while I hope they are real Chevlons, are probably replicas…

You can see how the green under the bay glows and almost hurts the eyes…

The neon green isn’t really my tastes but it’s definitely different…

Side profile shot…

I liked this hatchback on Mugen M7s and rocking a BYS wing…

Love how he’s rocking a Chronicles decal…haha… All in all, sticker or not, it’s a good look. If this build was over in the U.S., it’d be pretty popular I’m sure…

EG9 Ferio on what I believe are Panasport wheels…

Note the Cali license plate, NWP4Life license plate frame…

…and the USDM “It’s JDM Yo!!!” and Chronicles decals on the back window…

I really liked this Prelude…Man, if you think the Prelude is an unpopular platform to build here stateside, it’s even more unpopular over there, so it’s actually quite refreshing to see one out there… The front lip is nice but I am unsure what it is, I’m sure Big Mike and jump in and elaborate…

A non-R DC2 Integra on bronze Volk SE37Ks…

Slammed CL-chassis Honda Accord…

Clean black DC on 8-spoke, 4-lug Volk CE28…

Seeing this Integra actually reminds me of Donut’s current DC2 build…

Gutted red EG on white Work Meister S1s…

Looked like this black Civic was getting some quarter panel work done to it…

Slammed EJ-Civic coupe with a First Molding front lip…

Slammed Ferio on “mag blue” Mugen MF8s…

Honda S2000 CR that is pretty much the Japanese doppelganger of DPK Carlos aka Mugen Boy…

…but unlike Carlos, the owner of this S2K who is a close friend of Takeshi’s rocks a Chronicles decal…haha…

The Element I spoke of earlier…

Love the color of this hatch on the contrasting Mugen MF10Ls…

White EK on red SSR mesh with original SSR center cap…

Mugen’d out Prelude down to the not-so-attractive Mugen wheels…

USDM front-end converted EF Civic hatchback on Work Equips…

This was an interesting look…

1st gen. Element SC on Advan RS-D…

Clean…I love how he kept the OEM mudflaps…

I’ve seen various shots of this EF sedan floating around on the internet…

Interesting engine bay…too bad the rest of the car isn’t all that much to look at…

Here’s a shot of a couple awards that Takeshi was presenting at K-Day…

That’s about it. If I come across any more from K-Day, I’ll be sure to post up some more….Have a great weekend…