It’s been a strange time for me. I mean, there’s a ton on my plate lately but it’s just been a really odd feeling just being stuck here and not being able to go to Japan. Typically my Japan trips are amazing adventures for me to capture new content but the actual traveling part of it is usually my time to reflect and think about things going on in my life. It hasn’t been easy trying to process all that is going on in my mind just sitting in my office because I think the movement is important for me. Just the physical act of going somewhere allows me this type of release that I can’t get here at home. My moments of reflection are vital for my sanity. I need to escape from my own mind sometimes but without these long flights and quiet times for me to just process, I honestly feel like I’m going a little stir-crazy…

While I’m still unable to travel, and for good reason because Japan is currently in yet another state of emergency, Yasu has been carefully managing life and business in Osaka while still attending events. He doesn’t go out too much because work has kept him pretty occupied, but whenever there is an opportunity to go do some car stuff, he’ll likely go to support friends. Like the Asanoshima FF event, Yasu randomly let me know that he was gonna go to Central Circuit for a small track day and wanted to know if I wanted photos. I’m not gonna say no to new content so of course I was all for it. He also hadn’t shot in a while so it was probably a good idea that he got back into it since there were more events coming up as we head towards the summer. I don’t think there was anything major going on at Central Circuit that day. It didn’t even look like a competition or anything from the looks of it. I can safely assume that it was probably just more of a test and tune or simple track event for fun. You’re gonna see a lot of cars you haven’t seen before since many of the cars that attended aren’t the typical Japanese show cars you see that we post photos of. These are more local guys with cars that they only bring out for racing. Some of them are very rough around the edges and some represent an older style that was popular back in the day from the Kansai area. Once you see the photos you’ll understand what I mean. Enjoy and thanks to Yasu for shooting!…

Kakeru from NGR’s freshly-painted EG6 which was actually done by Exceed Japan. Rare to see a Civic from NGR without a livery but when you have quality paint, there’s really no need…

TRD widebody SW20 MR-2 which has been further modified in the rear with an additional flare. Very aggressive front splitter and canard set-up as well along with what looks to be carbon doors…

This event had a little bit of everything from your wild widebody MR-2s to this classic two-toned AE86 Levin running some SSR Longchamp wheels…

Black EF8 CR-X SiR with widened front fenders and a headlight-delete to bring some additional airflow into the bay…

White EK9 Civic Type R on white TEs from WHARP RACING…

A little surprising to see more than one CR-X at a circuit event being as we rarely see them much here stateside anymore. I had noticed that they were also starting to become a bit more scarce in Japan the last few years I’d been there…

Not sure what wheels these are but this EK4 Civic had a nice carbon duct in the front bumper as well as a fiberglass headlight replacement duct…

Do you guys remember the Banzai Attack EF9 that I used to always post about back in the day? The white one with the BMD wheels and the K-swap? Well that car is long gone now, I assume either sold or parted-out, but Banzai Attack is definitely still around and still messing around with the EF chassis. Here he is with his current Civic, this one still possessing a B-series powerplant…

One thing I’ll always appreciate about the Kansai area is their undying love for the SSR Type-C wheel. They always seem to pop up on Civics in that area, almost as much as TEs do…

Quite the diverse collection of FF Hondas that day at Central Circuit…

This EK9 was very wild in appearance, featuring a orange/blue/yellow motif with color-matched canards, and blue accents throughout, including the trim of the custom headlight duct…

Many cut-outs in the rear bumper with an OEM CTR rear lip still affixed to it in blue…

Under the hood is a B16B motor utilizing a modern coil-on-plug set-up and individual throttle bodies…

Here’s a better angle of the individual throttles…

Silver EG6 Civic running a pair of canards, a pair of TE37 wheels, and a pair of SSR Type-X…

The EK9 that we all once knew as the Car Make ACROSS Civic now in the hands of a new owner. The car remains relatively unchanged minus the wheels…

One of the best-looking NGR builds is this EK9 CTR wearing a full Red Bull-inspired livery and a Mugen SS front lip…

This Civic wore a Petronas livery with spaced-out front fenders for added width and a JBlood front…

The B-series set-up from the white EF8 CR-X I showed you earlier…

T. Ryuji’s “Blue Shark” NGR EG6 looking great as always…

Kakeru’s red EG6 with the aggressive front stagger…

Everyone lined-up and ready to go out for a few laps…

This EG Civic with a B18C-swap looked like it had some pretty extensive work done to it throughout. The front end remained unpainted so I suspect it must have been a recent addition since the rest of the car was painted in an iridescent blue hue…

The B18Cl set-up featured a wrapped header and J’s Racing carbon intake…

From the rear angle you can really see the paint and how it color-shifts under the sun…

The last time we encounted a Team Gachapin Racing decal was when we hung out with the guys from RANDAM in Osaka….

Ryuji throwing up the signature “gun” hand for a photo…

Hopefully the carbon fiber Tactical Art front lip survived the track day…

Another of the silver EG6 from earlier…

Banzai Attack on the move…

Speaking of RANDAM, here’s the widebody EF9 Civic that we encountered years back when Yasu introduced them to us along with their FC RX-7 and white EK. Good to see this car still intact and in full working order…

The Tactical Art front lip on this EK has seen better days. Still a great looking Civic though. I like the tie-in of red accents…

Here are some more photos of the Petronas-inspired Civic…

Switch panel inside the Civic with an additional screen mounted in the center. The factory cluster has also been swapped-out in favor of a digital display so I wonder what the second screen is for…

The gutted interior featuring a bolt-in cage and an ATL fuel cell in the spare tire area. Here you can also see that the rear hatch is made of FRP…

Friends and crew helped swap a new set of Advan rubber onto the Civic…

A couple more of Kakeru’s EG6 with the vibrant Milano Red paint. I can only assume Yasu took a lot of photos of the car because he was proud of his labor, haha…

Another shot of the white EK with the carbon canards and what looks like red Billion air ducts in the front bumper…

Civic Ferio on the track ripping down the straight with a Lightning McQueen livery…

I dig the yellow tint on the headlights of the red NO GOOD EG…

T. Ryuji heading back into the pit area in the Blue Shark…

Incredibly aggressive Integra that has been widened front and rear which I encountered once at ASLAN when we visited…

A look at the rear of the WHARP RACING CR-X on bronze Volk TE37V…

Yet another rare sight at a circuit in Japan is this Civic CR-X del Sol. You hardly ever see these in Japan anymore so I’m sure Yasu was just as fascinated as I was when he captured this. He also has an unhealthy obsession with del Sols so I can imagine his excitement to see this…

With that said, that’s all I got from this event. Thanks for looking everyone and I hope you enjoy seeing regular photo coverage back on the site!…