Japanese custom car culture is amazing. We Westerners love it for exactly what it is and appreciate its rich history. Though many of our ideas and styles have made its way across the world, we still very much want to leave (Japan) unchanged. The community is great there because it is so very unique and has such a diverse array of styles. Not to mention overall craftsmanship is top-tier a majority of the time and tradition is so strong. Our automotive community in North America has in large part been developed based on many of their styling cues and ideas. They have inspired us through the decades…

Western custom car culture is also amazing in its own way. We have taken what we have learned from Japan and created our own distinct style that has many of their influences but has developed because of our way of living, our culture. Japan loves Americana for many reasons because it is so unlike their traditional culture that they have also come to appreciate our methodologies when it comes to automotive projects. It sounds cool that things have come full circle and we mutually inspire one another, BUT…

I often worry that this meshing of styles essentially takes away from what made Japanese car culture so special. We lose a little bit of that special ingredient because they’ve come to adapt to what we do here. And it’s not always good. The larger that bridge gets between the two, the smaller the world gets and we lose certain elements of ourselves when we exchange what we learn from one another. Sure it may seem bad to someone like me, who thinks Japan is doing just fine on their own, but on the flip-side, the Japanese may not mind it so much. Maybe some grow tired of tradition and want a new way of looking at automotive culture. They want something different…a proverbial lightening rod to spearhead a new set of ideas…

At the core of it all, our “USDM-style” if we HAVE to call it that, is very much based off of what we’ve learned from Japan. It’s a part of that algorithm that makes our style what it is. We’ve gone and manipulated the fuck out of it and mutated it into something completely our own, but it is still there. The new wave of automotive customization in Japan is developed based on what we have created using the manipulated algorithm here in North America. They’ve adapted. Now I don’t know what to call it. “JDUSDM“-style? “USJDM”-style? I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t need to be defined. There are certain things that we do really well here that have helped to further and inspire the growth of Japanese car culture…but there are also some really bad things that they’ve also taken that aren’t necessarily positive…

I mean, I get it. They’re tired of seeing the same thing all the time too. They want to switch it up every now and then. Even they want to follow popular trends sometimes. But I sure do hope they don’t stray too far from what they’ve created over the decades….

The new age of Japanese automotive enthusiasts do such an incredible job of emulating what we do here that they haven’t created their own unique take on it at all—they’re just doing what we do here, but better, lol. Like, WAY better. You know how we have those builds that look great on the Internet, then you see them in person, and you’re like ‘holy shit, that looks terrible in person. It looks way better in photos.’ I can’t honestly recall a moment when I’ve ever said that about a build in Japan. A majority of the time, I find myself thinking ‘oh wow that looks exactly like it does in photos, maybe better’. And that’s because they have a level of devotion to their craft that many of us don’t have…

The downside to that is that they’re using some of our shitty ass parts too while they’re learning about the things we do here. They don’t know XXRs are fucking trash, they don’t know that most of us have that ‘I just brushed my teeth and then drank orange juice’ reaction when we see Cosmis wheels, they just want it because they see that we use that shit here and they don’t know its shit. To them, it’s just different from their norm. I wonder if they think Formula D cars look good too? They’re probably not thinking to themselves “What the fuck are STR wheels and why do they look like fucked-up meth-head CE28s?”

“The grass is always greener on the other side” is the old saying, and it holds true even for our respective car communities. We want what they want and they want what we want because neither of us have it…

If Wekfest USA is grass, trust me, our grass is doing fucking great. It’s one of the best patches of grass in North America, and it is still growing. It’s thriving. We water our lawn and treat it real good with some quality fertilizer…

Japanese car culture as grass is also doing very well. It is also thriving. It has always thrived. The quality of the grass is spectacular because the Japanese are really good at growing and maintaining their grass. They have tools as well as technique that is unique to their environment. Not to mention the people growing the grass are highly skilled and more importantly, they are devoted to their craft of growing said grass…

Wekfest Japan is Japanese grass at its core, but its like this new grass that has this top layer grown with American tools and fertilizer. The grass as a whole with these new elements added to it has transformed it into some new type of grass. It’s growing fast and so far, some in Japan (not necessarily involved with the WFJP event) think its a better form of ‘neo grass’. These same people feel like this greener grass may only continue to thrive if they continue to add foreign or western fertilizer. They come to know this greener grass only because of the new tools and substances…

What happens when the original layer of fertilizer, that core Japanese layer on which this grass was originally grown, is gone? Grass is generational and at some point, the old stuff gets cycled-out. What happens when you have only this new grass birthed from Western tools and methodologies? What if the people maintaining the grass forget how to grow it the traditional way? And what if, at some point in the future, they just never learned about anything other than the ‘new and improved’?…

I think that is why media is so incredibly important to our community—as a whole. The way we’ve always learned and exchanged ideas since the very beginning is via print, and now digital, media. The photos and text that have been presented to us in various forms have been so undeniably influential to us all. If you really think about it, many of us have only begun to travel any and everywhere within the past decade to experience car culture from a different perspective. Previous to that, all we’ve really had were narratives that were offered to us…

We don’t have history books to look back on to see what we did and how we did it. We’re literally making history as we speak. The cameras that we hold in our hands, the phones, our social media platforms, the magazines (the ones that are left) and the blogs, those are the closest things we have to history books. That’s why it is so important that it is presented the right way. We have all the tools to record what is happening around us but so many of us are only concerned with pointing those tools at ourselves…

I’d prefer that the old way remain. I enjoy the status quo. It’s great that the Japanese can take inspiration from the things we do to our cars. It’s an honor, really. But I hope that in their quest for growth, they never forget their core or where they came from. Seeing some of these builds, being able to capture them in both photos and video, does nothing but remind me that I hope we never forget this period in our, now-joined, rich history…

We’re in a space right now where the new and the old can co-exist. The west continues to be inspired by the old ways of the east, and the east stimulated by the advancements in the west. How do we sustain? Providing an outlet for people to absorb as much information as possible, to see with their eyes what exists out in a world beyond their own. Everything that we’re capturing, creating, it’s all information, it’s history, it’s education.

…and it is right there in front of us.

Now, let’s get back to some amazing builds from Wekfest Japan. I promise this will be GOOD…

Shun Miyamoto’s JZS161 Aristo representing PUREVIP in Japan running a Junction Produce kit, custom radiused and flares fender work, sitting on a set of Work Meister M1R…

If I remember correctly, Miyamoto ended the day with the “VIP of the Festival” award…

Mie Ueda’s Nissan F31 Leopard is one my favorite builds from Japan looking spectacular on staggered 15-inch SSR Longchamp XR4 wheels with an RB25DE swap under the hood and individual throttle bodies…

Daisuke is yet another PUREVIP Japan representative with a Infiniti Q50 sedan sitting static on T-Demand suspension and OZ MAE Crown Jewels…

Racing Padock Miyoshi continues to push the envelope with their wild FD3S RX-7 builds, debuting this gold chrome vinyl-wrapped FD with RE Amemiya aero…

Sometimes all you need to do with an E46 M3 coupe is an aggressive drop and some OZ Pegasus wheels…

It was a family gathering in this USDM LHD 240SX slammed on i-Force 3-piece wheels…

We don’t see very many of the newer Volkwagen Beetles at events like Wekfest Japan but this was a fine example of what these cars are capable of…

Kazuya Hatobe’s EG6 Civic SiR running classic Spoon Sports SW388 wheels, Sergeant front bumper, First Molding front lip, and Denji projector headlights…

This Integra with a US-spec face, P1 front lip/splitter, First Molding hood, and C-West sides was a real hit when it debuted a few years ago at Wekfest Japan so it was good to see it cruise into the roll-in area once again….

Seiya Suzuki’s Phoenix Yellow Mugen DC2 Type R from L2P is looking spectacular as always…

Suzuki has recently added 17-inch MF10 wheels to give his Mugen-theme a slightly different look with the bigger diameter…

Yuta Saito’s EP3 Civic Type R with a rarely seen Buddy Club front bumper…

Mag Blue Volk TE37 wheels with a concave face are a nice contrast accent with the yellow of Saito’s Civic…

This Civic coupe has been re-imagined to appear as a US-spec EM1 Civic SI complete with badging and all…

Yanagi’s DB8 Integra wearing a classic Spoon Sports carbon lip and Desmond EVO Brite wheels paired with Spoon brakes…

One more of Masanari Matsuura’s Integra. Interesting to see that he got rid of the door-mounted Spoon Sports mirrors that he retrofitted from an S2000 set and has gone back to the more traditional look…

Every time I see a side-profile of an Integra wearing full Mugen aero, it always makes me think of the Mugen aeroflow diagram:

Seems fitting to get a photo that matches it…

Takanori Hanzawa’s DC5 Integra with a Max Racing front bumper and newly-released Desmond Regamaster EVO II in the updated “Almighty Grey” colorway…

Takeru Tojo’s Mugen RR is constantly changing, making an appearance at WFJP19 on Regamaster EVO II wheels and the controversial decision to swap-out to USDM taillights…

Seeing this set-up is starting to confirm my unspoken theory that Advan GT wheels look good on everything…

Let’s all sit back and take a few moments to appreciate Masumi Nakano’s orange KGC10 Hakosuka…

Yousuke Tsuji’s Pandem widebody Porsche Boxster…

Mao Nakai’s 987 Boxster, running a different variation of the Pandem kit with custom Work Meister S1 wheels patterned after the Nike Air Jordan ‘Elephant Print’…

Seiji Ookawara’s Vertex Lange S14 Silvia might be a bit extreme for some but I actually find it pretty impressive how he’s able to drive around with that massive rear wing and static at this height. The car just has so much presence…

Masanari Furukawa’s C210 Skyline sedan with a full roll cage and Work Equip40 wheels getting towed into the show to keep the car looking extra fresh…

One of the more impressive debuts for this year’s WFJP event was this EF8 CR-X SiR sitting nice and low on SSR Formula Mesh wheels. Under the hood is a really nicely-executed engine bay featuring a B-series set-up running Kinsler individual throttle bodies. The interior at first glance appeared to be CR-X Exclusive because of the tan hue but it is actually created by 9010Design to mimic the rarest of the rare CR-X interiors…

While I was getting photos of the CR-X, in the corner of my eye, I saw the most epic tow rig ever, with a swiveling arm and bed that brings the S13 completely level with the ground…

Here’s another view with the truck itself…

Masaru Ishikawa pulling up in his RPS13 which was a huge hit last year when it debuted with his custom radiused front fenders and rear quarter panels. Ishikawa is known for some pretty extensive body alterations and the S13 convertible that he would debut at Wekfest had already been garnering a significant amount of attention, as he posted build photos and progress in the weeks prior…

Pulling up right behind his 180SX on a trailer was the high-anticipated S13 vert…

If the two S13s weren’t already taking up enough of my attention, the S-Style O.D.K AE86 then pulls-up and is carefully unloaded off of the trailer before the front bumper could be remounted. This thing had so much style, you couldn’t help but to stop whatever you’re doing to take a look at it…

Just a few feet away from all that, one of the best S30Z builds in Japan currently was just sitting as the owner had walked away to go take care of something…

This Fairlady Z with ZG flares and front half spoiler is the same S30 from last year that has the rare OS Giken TC24-B1Z complete engine in it. If you guys watched the Vlog, you got to hear this thing fire-up and it sounds utterly fantastic…

Perhaps no better wheel for this chassis than the famed RS Watanabe R Type…

One more because there honestly can’t be enough photos of this thing…

The Ishikawa Body Silvia unloaded and literally sitting millimeters off the ground. If I remember correctly, the fenders and rear quarters are based off the measurements from his black 180SX, which he then 3D-printed and remade for this convertible body…

One of the mainstays at the Wekfest Japan event in the last few years is this white-on-white Rocket Bunny imported 240SX owned and built by Takamasa Matsuda…

The engine bay has received a complete makeover, shaved smooth with wheel tubs added and an SR20DET swap powering the widebody 240SX…

Kousuke Mori’s USDM AE86 Corolla GT-S looked way different than it did last year when it appeared as a work-in-progress build at last year’s event. If you don’t remember, it was literally rolled-off of a trailer and parked inside the show looking like this:

As you can see, it looks like a completely different car in 2019. Surprising that he went back to the USDM front bumper though when he had a Trueno face before…

The engine bay is one of the best you’ll find at a Wekfest Japan event, featuring a shaved engine bay painted Desert Khaki hosting a newer fuel injected 4A-GE swap…

Individual throttle bodies with long polished horns…

Interesting to see some ‘Engineered To Slide” products on this engine being that it is a brand by an Australian car guy and fabricator. Just another example of how the Internet has helped open the doors for enthusiasts to engage with one another and exchange inspiration…

Beautiful custom header on Mori’s 4A-GE…

The build that really did it for me was the INAZUMA WORX KE70 Corolla, seen here bagged and seated on SSR Longchamp wheels. I became a huge fan of Masataka Ikeda’s work after witnessing his AE86 Trueno build from a few years back and I knew his new KE70 project would not disappoint…

His engine bay work is just amazing, with the bay always looking spotless, but not overly smoothed-out and too modern for the 80s Toyotas he loves to build. The heart is a 16-valve 4A-GE set-up with Mikuni carbs and a beautiful tubular header. Check out the booster delete and master/slave cylinders with those custom reservoirs. And let’s not forget the new hardware and full-sized GReddy radiator up front. It’s a nice mix of new styling techniques on a classic engine without overdoing it with crazy colored hardware and unnecessary dress-up. Just a perfect balance I would say…

The view from up-top. Here you can also see the INAZUMA WORX top hats as well as a peek at the custom brake lines that run into the chassis…

It’s great to see so many pristine sets of SSR Longchamp wheels in Japan…

Ikeda driving his Corolla into the venue tucking tire and riding real low….

Following right behind was Ishikawa and the S13 converible. Here you can see just how low the body is to the floor now that the body is radiused allowing the car to travel at this height. I would say that Ishikawa is about 5’10” or so in height and the roof line of the S13 is at his waist. That’s insane…

And yes, the car drives that way with no issues. Everything clears and the car can even turn sitting like this with those aggressive deep-lipped BBS RS wheels…

A few more of the S-Style O.D.K. AE86 coupe…

Work Equip CR-01 with matte bronze face and anodized bronze lip tucked under a bolt-on over fender…

The car just flows and flows so well. Good parts, better execution, great ride height…just magnificent…

And that’s it for Part 2 of 3. Just one more to go and I’ll try to crank it out by this weekend. I’ll be in Chicago for Wekfest so if Part 3 doesn’t pop-up, just know I’m busy and that I tried to get it posted, lol. Thanks for looking!!…