So after we left Type One that afternoon, we had some time to kill before dinner so we decided to try to find FEEL’s/Honda Twin Cam. I had never been before but Ryan had visited over 6 years ago. He didn’t remember exactly where it was but he knew the general area so we just mapped it out on the GPS. Things were going pretty well with our search until a random ass rain storm hit. Mind you, it was like mid-70s in temperatures that afternoon and with the humidity, everyone was just walking around with swamp ass, haha. The rain only made things worse but in Japan, you just kind of have to respect the weather and understand that rainfall can occur almost any time of day. It rained on and off for a good thirty minutes and I ended up having to walk into a convenience store to buy an umbrella because I didn’t want my camera gear to get wet. Since it rains so often, umbrellas are readily available and cheap so I was able to get one for about $5 USD. It broke like 10 minutes later but fuck it, it helped a little. It was so windy that the umbrella just turned inside out but was still feasible. I wanna say that we found FEEL’S pretty easily but we didn’t. We just sort of stopped everywhere and took breaks. If you aren’t familiar with Japan, the food that they have inside convenience stores like 7-11 and Family Mart are fucking amazing. Their sandwiches are so good and the hot food that they have doesn’t look all dried and wrinkly like the foods you find in 7-11s here. Everything seems so fresh so we would just stop to get a drink and end up standing outside eating for 40 minutes because we would buy so much food. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there but man, one of the things I miss most about Japan is the convenience store food. I don’t even think we ate a fancy lunch that day because we were so busy eating sandwiches and shit…

By the time we arrived at FEEL’S, the storm was in full effect. Fucking sideways rain and everything. My boy Mark and his friend were supposed to meet us at FEEL’S but we took so long eating sandwiches that he was already there by the time we arrived and they were still at Type One when we first started looking for FEEL’S. None of us knew anyone at FEEL’S either so it was a little awkward being there with a big ass group of people. They didn’t mind having us there but it certainly wasn’t as welcome as it was when we visited Spoon and Type One in the past because we actually knew people over there. The guys from Honda Twin Cam just let us walk around and take photos while they continued to work. It was pouring outside so they were nice enough to allow us in there space to escape from the downpour. We didn’t stay very long because we didn’t know anyone there but I was able to capture some photos of the two demo cars they had there…

Before we officially get into Part 2, make sure to check out Part 1 if you haven’t seen it yet. The link is attached below…

The Chronicles Wekfest Japan Trip 2014 Coverage…Part 1…

Make sure to check out the photos after the FEEL’S stuff too. We had a very special dinner on a boat that circled Tokyo bay that shouldn’t be missed…

Okay, moving on…

The rain wasn’t something we expected but was still easier to deal with than the cold weather we experienced the last time we were in Tokyo in January. The wet conditions almost made everything more dramatic anyway and made our surroundings that much more visually appealing. This is the front of FEEL’S. It is a 4-story building, I believe, but I have no idea what else is upstairs. Maybe someday I’ll be able to get the full tour. There is a lift inside that can transport cars up every level so I can only assume that they have some pretty remarkable machines hidden upstairs. FEEL’S has been around for a long time and has been a huge part of the Japanese Honda community so that rich history must translate to some good stuff in their headquarters…

The moment we walked in, we were greeted by FEEL’S latest demo vehicles. The FEEL’s FD2 Civic Type R is a car that you should all be familiar with by now but the CR-Z may be new for many of you…

Honda Twin Cam’s CR-Z is actually on the latest cover of Honda Tuning. It is outfitted with FEEL’S own widebody aero kit and it is still a hybrid, but not the hybrid that you would think. Under the hood of this ZF1 is actually a K20/K24 hybrid motor that has been fully-built and features a set of TODA Racing individual throttle bodies….

Their ZF1 wears that traditional white/blue theme along with AME Tracer wheels. It was actually a little surreal for me to see this car in person because I had just written the story for it for Honda Tuning magazine a couple months before. Never did I think that I would actually get a chance to see this car in person…

It would have been great if I could get a shot of the engine bay but I didn’t want to disturb the people who were working…

A view of the widened front fenders of the FEEL’S CR-Z with a view of the downpour in the distance….

One build that I had always dreamed about seeing in person was the FEEL’S FD2 Civic. This is by far one of my favorite Honda builds from Japan and it is everything that you’ve ever seen in photos online. It doesn’t disappoint. This car is straight to the point and is executed with great precision…

The FD2 is completely gutted on the inside and the outside features FEEL’S own aero kit and front fenders….

Love the FEEL’S fenders and the headlight delete. AME Tracers have always been underrated so I’m happy that one tuning shop still uses them exclusively…

Here you can see how much wider the FEEL’S fender is. If I were to build an FD2 Civic, these fenders would be the first on my list of mods to purchase…

Interesting side mirror on the FEEL’S FD2…

I think we were all in a bit of awe at the sight of these two cars. Seeing them online is one thing but man, experiencing them in person is an entirely different animal….

After studying the cars, we made our way inside the office to look at what goods they had on display. I really didn’t take any photos in there because it was such a small space and I didn’t want to intrude, so I walked through and hung out while some of the guys purchased some authentic FEEL’S souvenirs…

How many people can say they got to visit both Spoon/Type One and FEEL’S Twin Cam on the same day? Pretty awesome but the best part of the day was yet to come. After we left FEEL’S, it was time to take a train back to the hotel where we were set to meet up with some other friends for a fancy dinner by the bay…

Of course, we stayed at FEEL’S longer than we should have and ended up having to rush back to the hotel. Dinner was supposed to be a classy, traditional Japanese meal so we wanted to get cleaned up before we went out again. The rain and humidity combined with all the walking we did was not ideal. Luckily, we were able to catch all the right trains in time and had just enough time to clean up…

Dinner was a short walk across the street and through the train station. The weather had cleared up so the evening was nice and calm. We had done multiple Kaiseki-style dinners in the past but this one was unique in that we would be on a boat. This boat would take us on a tour through Tokyo bay and would stop for us to view some local landmarks….

Our view before we boarded one of the boats that you see pictured….

Some of the guys waiting for dinner on a boat…

Fresh Sashimi on a boat, on a boat…

The Sashimi tasted every bit as amazing as it looked…

For guys like Dougie, who were making their first voyage to Japan, this dinner was an entirely new experience. He had no idea what a multi-course meal was like in Japan and just ate whatever came his way. As always, it wouldn’t be a Japanese meal without copious amounts of beer and alcohol…

I’m not gonna lie, it felt really good to see this sign sitting on our table. Wekfest has come a long way over the years. Finally arriving in Japan was a great accomplishment and I’m proud to have been there to watch it all happen. Breaking bread with friends on behalf of Wekfest was a sure sign that all of our hard work had paid off…

I don’t remember if this was the exact dinner or not but I remember there was a point when I stopped, looked around, and said to everyone; “this is why we work hard…”… Experiences like this is what makes everything we do worthwhile…

One of the founders of Wekfest, Kenneth Li, couldn’t help but capture the moment for his Instagram account while subtlety holding back a smile…

Anytime there is sushi on tap, this is the type of expression you should expect from Ryan…

Let’s eat!….

If eating fresh sushi on a boat by the Tokyo water front isn’t enough, allow me to add the lovely Ms. Elissa Alva to the equation…

Tempura and beer is always a good combination…

The Tokyo Sky Tree served as a background briefly as we circled the bay front….

An endless supply of hot sake shots in a box…

Elissa and Marvin King….

Udon noodles…

We also celebrated a birthday on this boat ride with strangers…

A view from outside the boat looking at another dining boat that was cruising the bay…

Chatting and smokes….

Dessert to wrap up our meal…

Ryan was all smiles…

Doug capturing a photo of Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge, which is a section of Japan that is infamous for its afterhours Wangan racers…

After dinner, we thought that it was a wrap for the evening. We put our shoes back on and started walking back to the hotel…and out of nowhere…we stumbled upon an evening farmers market where there was even more food. This all seems like some sort of crazy dream but it was all true. There’s nothing like eating a multi-course meal on a boat and then following it up with MORE FOOD. The night was still young so we decided to hang out and try the local cuisine…

One of my favorite Japanese snacks being made onsite, traditional Japanese Takoyaki…

Tasty Doraemon-shaped egg cakes…

Another one of my favorites, Okonomiyaki, which is a Japanese style omelet…

Someone was enjoying their first trip to Japan…

Doug putting his metabolism to the test…

We all got different types of food and tried a little bit of everything. Sure we were already full, but its hard to turn down fresh, hot, food while on vacation. With all the walking we’d be doing in Japan, shit, this was guilt-free eating….

Love these little egg cakes snacks. They got something very similar in Hong Kong as well and I remember loving it as a kid….

Once we stuffed our faces, it was time to head back to the room to get some rest. It was still pretty early but we had a long day ahead of us. Tomorrow, we were off to Osaka to meet our friends from Tactical Art…

That’s a wrap on Part 2. Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!!…