Well, now for something completely different. I know that I’ve been giving you guys a healthy dose of track coverage and video lately, but today is not anything close to that. In preparation for my adventures in 2016 to go back to Japan, I thought I’d give you guys some coverage from overseas. I don’t know too much about this event, but I do know that it is a meet that was organized by my friend Atsushi Honda as a charity event. You guys will probably recognize the name because he was over here last month with Yasu from Japan for the 2015 SEMA Show. He stuck around to check out Super Lap Battle as well and was really helpful as track support for Yuta. Yasu mentioned that Honda was doing this charity event and asked me if I could contribute to some merchandise for it. All the proceeds would go to a charity so I wanted to help out. Yasu stayed a few more days after Honda went back to Japan but he managed to get back in time to cover the event for me. It is pretty rare to have events this late in the year but there is always time for a good cause…
Now, I called it the “Lowfest Tour” because it is actually a part of a series of events in Japan. I think the best thing about this particular meet is the name itself, which is the “Beautiful Leg Meeting”. Yes, you read that correctly. I assume it is a direct translation from Japanese, that is why it sounds a bit odd but I believe it is called “Beautiful Leg” due to the fact that it is one of those events that is catered more to cars with wheel fitment and stance, hence “beautiful leg” or stance/car posture. I don’t know, it could mean something completely different but I think it is just one of those things that is lost in translation and we should just accept it for what it is. I mean, it only adds to the ever-present quirkiness that is Japan and their culture in general. I actually think the name makes a lot of sense but that might be because I’m fucking crazy, haha. All you need to know is that it is a car meet filled with some highly-interesting cars that was put together for a good cause…
On a side note, I shiver at the thought of the search results that come from typing in “beautiful leg meeting”. It could be very good or incredibly creepy, but could very well have nothing to do at all with cars of any sort….
I actually have to hop onto a flight and head to Florida in a few hours so I’ll keep it brief today. I honestly don’t even recognize some of these cars in these photos as some are modified to a very extensive amount which makes it hard for me to recognize the original make and model of the build. I’ll try my best but if I do make a mistake or am incorrect at any time, I apologize…
The photos themselves came out pretty awesome. Yasu went back home to Osaka and then bought himself a brand new Canon 5DMKIII and the shots are just incredible, and he’s by no means a photographer either. I think he has a pretty good understanding by now since he shoots a lot for fun but you can definitely tell the improvements he’s made, as well as the quality of the camera itself…
Enjoy.
PHOTOS: Yasutaka Shimomukai
WORDS: StickyDilJoe
RB Odyssey Absolute on Work Meister S1 wheels paired with custom rear quarter panels and vented/widened front fenders. Kit looks to be a custom one possibly maybe adapted from a JOB DESIGN kit or similar…
Honda Elysion on Work Gnosis wheels. Thank you for reppin’ The Chronicles on the front windshield…
Kenji Yamamoto’s Honda Elysion on 3-piece Work S1 wearing a Mugen front grille…
Syouhei Toyoda’s RB Odyssey from INFECTION car club on Work Meister M1….
Syuichi Hosoda’s RB Absolute from INFECTION…
This Absolute own by Shiniti Kubo on Touring Gold SSR Professor MS1 is also from INFECTION….
Sho Kobayashi’s RB1 Odyssey from INFECTION…
Work Emotion CR 2P wheels in bronze/silver configuration…
This RB1 chassis Hondas are powered by K24 engines so it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to see them turbocharged, but it is also common for VIP-style builds in Japan to run faux-intercoolers…
Nice white E46 M3 coupe on AC Schnitzer Type 1 wheels…
Another angle of the E46…
Lexus GS430 with a bevy of aero add-ons from various companies on Superstar Leon Hardiritt Bugels…
Y32 from N-Style Customs featuring a full Sessions aero kit and a fully-built RB26DET engine that has been stroked to 2.7L…
Toyota Crown Athlete from N-Style Customs featuring a built 2JZ-GTE engine housed in a very uniquely-painted engine bay…
Lexus RC F-Sport coupe bagged on Airrex suspension…
The FD2 from Runzip Design that you guys should be pretty familiar with by now after seeing lots of it in my Japan trip coverage…
The Exceed/Chronicles/Autofashion booth at the Beautiful Leg Meeting event featuring Tomoyuki Sasaki’s Civic Ferio….
Toyota Soarer on Bold World air suspension and SSR Executor wheels…
The Work Wheels Japan booth featured a Honda Stream on their new Zistance line of wheels…
Nothing better than a classic R32 GTR on Volk Racing wheels…
Honda Accord Wagon with a strange quote on the side that reads, “Fickleness is not carried out! Only earnest!”… Kinda makes sense…
Honda Civic Ferio rocking a CTR front lip and bumper on Work Seeker wheels…
A couple more of the RC coupe on Work Gnosis wheels…
Norifumi Kobayashi’s Honda Accord Wagon from LEVEL ONE Japan….
Lexus GS430 from Maverick car club…
Infiniti FX with a Porsche-like front bumper and Vossen wheels, also from Maverick…
USDM Infiniti G37 coupe bagged on VIP Modular wheels…
Y34 Gloria draped in iridescent paint with pink interior and purple Work Wheels…
GS430 running full T-Demand suspension and SSR Professor TF1 wheels…
JZA80 Supra slammed on BBS LM wheels…
Aggressively seated Subaru BRZ on AME Tracer wheels…
Older model Toyota Crown with very aggressive, more modern VIP-styled aero and WED’s wheels…
Another LHD USDM Infinti G-coupe, this one also on VIP Modular wheels…
Nissan Silvia Spec-R in rootbeer brown with really aggressive wheels and front camber combo…
EK4 Civic SiR on CCW Classic…
Always been a huge fan of this red UCF20 Celsior…
One more of the Runzip Design FD2 Civic Type R…
Tomoyuki Sasaki’s Civic from Phaze2 Japan…
Another view of the booth display also hosting Yasu’s daily Lexus IS…
Another Soarer pasted to the ground via Bold World air suspension…
Winner of the “Best Winshield Banner” award had to go to this guy….
Custom widebody S15 Silvia from Phaze One rocking American Asanti wheels…
EJ1 Civic coupe with a beautifully executed engine bay….
N-Style Customs Y32 RB27….
N-Style Customs Toyota Crown Athlete…
Always intersting to see the Kei car scene in Japan. These guys really go all out with these rather tiny vehicles and the results are just wild…
I believe this might be a 2nd generation Toyota bB (The Japanese “xB” we never got since we received the Rumion which was sold as the second gen. xB). This thing is absolutely insane with the scissor/Lambo doors and custom paint. Also check out the center-exit exhaust with three tips and fender flares which house aggressive Work Equip 01 wheels…
Nice fender work on this UCF30 Celsior. The car itself is still running stock bumpers and sides but the front and rear fenders look to be radiused…
Great wheel fitment in the rear paired with the custom rear quarter panel…
Yuta Hakkaku’s insane RB1 Absolute from CRAWL…
Toshihiko’s purple RB1, also with a ton of custom body work, from CRAWL…
Kazuki Kameta’s RB1 Absolute from CRAWL…
If you’re super interested in all those RB1 Absolutes, you can check out this video of all of them from the Pleasurism site:
Crazy, right?…
Bad ass H22-powered Accord Wagon SiR with a ton of custom body work and SSR Professor SP3 wheels in black…
Nice sleek aero on this RB1 Odyssey. Love when the kits aren’t overly aggressive. Nice touch with the color-matched window visors as well…
I’m sure you guys have come to the realization that this particular chassis is insanely popular in Japan. Whenever I’m over there, I see a ton of these cruising around. Not all of them are modified of course but for the most part, they are very popular Hondas in Japan…
This Suzuki Lapin looked great with the custom front/rear flares. The front lip and side splitter add-ons are all very Rocket Bunny-esque…
Audi A4 B8 sedan bagged on Work Meister S1 wheels featuring Voomeran aero add-ons…
Custom Honda Stepwagn from Starlight on SSR Professor SP3….
…and closing out the coverage with this bad ass Toyota Alphard van. I fucking love these things. They looks so crazy with the squared front end. We get to ride around in an older model Alphard whenever we are in Japan and it is like a premium luxury van. Can’t even imagine what this one is like inside. The front end looks like a big rig semi truck…
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the quick trip to Japan. Thanks for looking!!…
It’s amazing how over in the states there is such a negative stigma on mini-vans while overseas, they are so epic!
Its because most car enthusiasts in the states associate good build platforms with vehicles that have above average aesthetics, driving dynamics and/or performance. Vans are innately the antithesis of performance. Ultimately, van tuning has little clout or staying power within the industry. It came and went in the seventies and will do so again.
Frankly, they’re irresistabke low-hanging fruit for people who just want to stand out. The main problem is that it’s waaaaaaaaay too easy to out-do a van in any and every regard…unless it’s a tailgate party.
I think Japan just has a more open mind when it comes to creativity. In the States it feels like anything that isn’t hi-end performance based is frowned upon but just as much work, design and thought can be put into anything, old or new. I give them kudos for expanding their variety of genres in the world of cars. Vans may come and go but they add to the diversity of creativeness in customizing cars just as in Europe and Japan has the older platform risen to the surface. Japan’s car culture is well above ours in diversity. Sure, I appreciate the 2015 Subi WRX on air and a body kit but I also appreciate what someone has done to an engine-swapped, raced-out ’75 Datsun B210. In fact there’s more work and design involved than just bolting on parts and creating enormous amounts of horsepower on top of what’s already there. I’m all for bringing old and different platforms back into play and looking at different years of vehicles that we may have forgotten or never considered.