How about we get back to looking at some good old fashion photos, huh?? Yes, yes, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted any photo sets on the site, but there’s a huge reason for that; I simply haven’t had the time to. The YouTube channel has been jampacked with videos the past few months because it is so much easier for me to churn out new Vlogs while I’m on the road. Editing video is a much easier process for me than processing photos because I’m much more picky about how I want my photos to look. I still shoot a lot, probably more than I have before, believe it or not—I also take more time going through the photos now because my tools have expanded as have my skills as a photographer. At the core of it, this site has always been about both the written content and the photos that accompany it. That’s still my focus. It just takes a lot of time to go through the photos, organize them, write copy, and post them here. I don’t know if you guys have ever done any type of blogging before, but it is incredibly time-consuming. I used to be able to post so much more simply because I wasn’t doing anything else. As I’ve gotten older, there is just so much more on my plate now. The Chronicles started-off as just a side project for fun and now it’s my main source of income. As such, I dedicate so much of my time to everything involved with making it sustainable…

While I’m traveling, I do have pockets of free time where I am editing the photos I shoot. But those photos mainly go up on my Instagram now. Whenever I’ve processed an entire set of photos from an event, by the time I get home, I look at them on my PC and realize that I don’t like the colors or little things I nitpick about them. So I start over, LOL. I just can’t get the same colors from my laptop that I’m used to seeing on my PC. And the screen isn’t what I’m used to so I miss the details I enjoy on a bigger display. I’m very hard on myself so there are times when I’ll just scrap something completely and star over if I’m not happy with something. Even the photos you’re seeing below have been tweaked after I got back home to California. And I finished them a long time ago while I was in Osaka. I’m kind of glad I didn’t post them yet because I would have hated myself for doing it when future me wasn’t truly happy with the photos. I can ramble on much more about this but it gets really in-depth. That’s another reason why I don’t have time to put these posts together while I’m on the road—I WRITE A LOT. Sorry if you’re a child and are used to things being short or exist in a world of only brevity. I’m a long-form type of human. I write a lot, I shoot a lot of photos, and my videos are long. Basically everything that the current algorithm on social media hates and suppresses. But hey, I’ve always stayed true to what I care about the most when it comes to my content, and that’s quality of work. That’s what made me successful over the years and why I think my work is still relevant now 15 years later…

Okay, let’s get to the subject matter at hand. I have so much stuff that I shot in Japan to show you all still. Why am I starting with photos from a Kyusha car meet that is a far departure from what I typically post? I don’t know honestly. I remembered the other day that these photos are done so I should post them first. Then I looked at them and didn’t like them and fucked with them again. You’re seeing them now because I really like these photos and also I really like the contents contained within the photos. I’m always trying to see something new when I’m in Japan so when I had the opportunity to see a Japanese classic car show IN Japan, I was stoked. I knew there would be a ton of stuff I haven’t seen before and after coming to Japan for now ten years, I need a little bit of variety, you know?

There isn’t too much that needs to be said about the event itself. I had a few days where I had nothing planned after I arrived in Osaka and my good friend JC Pepino messaged me about a Kyusha meeting on Awaji Island. I thought it’d be perfect if we went to go check it out because Sara Choi mentioned a few days earlier that she wanted to go to Awaji. Neither of us had ever been so we made a day of it. I’d go see some Japanese vintage cars and she’d get to see Naruto Park or whatever it’s called. Of course I vlogged about it already and it explains all this. If you missed it I’ll attach the episode at the end so you can see all these lovely cars in motion. Enjoy!!…

This Datsun Bluebird was one of the first cars I spotted when I pulled my camera out. It had its secondary headlights removed, replaced instead with ducting that fed into the engine bay, a BRE front lip, and RS Watanabe wheels…

A C110 Skyline followed closely behind the Bluebird, this one with ‘GTR’ badging, a FRP front lip, over-fenders, and RS Watanabes. I wonder if this was an actual GTR, since so few of them were made in Kenmeri form. It’s highly unlikely it is and if so, it’s one of only less than 200 real GTRs that were ever produced…

This C10 Hakosuka GT looked fantastic in white with contrasting black bolt-on over-fenders, front chin spoiler, and classic Hayashi Street wheels…

While the C10 coupe was immaculate, this 2000GT Skyline sedan had no problem showing-off its five decades of age here on Earth. ‘Patina’ would be the appropriate word to use here for this sedan. The body looked pretty straight but the rust has begun to eat away at the surface…

Slammed A60 Celica XX (What we know as the Celica Supra here at home) with an FRP inverted hatch, paint-matched roll bar and Speed Star Racing MKIII wheels. What I find the most odd about this particular Celica XX is that it has Toyota Soarer seatbelts which can be spotted in the photo…

Fourth generation Toyota Corona Mark II sitting low to the floor tucking a set of 14-inch Focus Racing Five wheels…

You don’t see that many red Hakosuka Skyline coupes very often. Spotted this one cruising by the lot with a front chin spoiler, black over-fenders, black Watanabe R-Type wheels and a polished roll cage inside…

One of my favorite 1980s Toyota platforms is the second generation Soarer. I love how boxy they are while still retaining a very sleek appearance. This white GZ20 Twin Turbo model featured bolt-on flares, a front lip, and Work Meister CR01 wheels…

Glitter red MX30 Mark II with a shaved rear trunk, bumper deletes, custom vented front fenders, and rear trunk spoiler and rare SSR Tomcat Speed 1-piece wheels…

Japanese car gatherings always bring some pretty adorable pups to be seen…

This event brought a little bit of everything, even a couple Dekotora trucks showed-up. Either that or they were just there resting being that this parking lot was a popular rest stop in Awaji…

Kihito’s naturally-aspirated DR30 Skyline coupe on Chevlon Racing wheels. I had a chance to see this thing in detail last year at both the Wekfest Japan and Stancenation Aichi event. Believe it or not, the owner is only 19 years-old…

A side-profile shot of the GZ20 Soarer so you can get a better visual of how great these cars look…

Another car that I have an odd fascination with is the Nissan C130 Laurel platform. I don’t know what it is about these things but I just love how they look. They’re a bit bland in stock form but when you put some wheels on it, hammer it to the floor and put a front lip on it, it looks amazing. I guess you can say that about a lot of cars but maybe that’s why I dig it so much. I enjoy things that are bland that are made stylish with aftermarket parts. Yeah, that makes sense…

The only way to make it cooler is to put Techno Phantom wheels on it like this guy…

The same reason why I enjoy the C130 Laurel is one of the reasons why I sometimes like the Kenmeri Skyline more than the iconic Hakosuka…

A maroon Fairlady 240Z-G running bolt-on flares and Watanabe re-released Kobe Seiko “Gotti” wheels…

This lovely older couple and their dog looked so happy cruising in their Caterham Seven. So cool that this Caterham rides on Watanabe R-Type wheels and Advan A050 tires…

E70 Corolla Wagon with a front chin spoiler, SSR/Colin Star Shark wheels, and a full cage…

Datsun Sunny B120 pick-up truck running the popular front chin spoiler, over-fender, and RS Watanabe package…

Datsun Bluebird showing some rust and body repair sitting low on SSR Longchamp XR4 wheels with gold faces…

The Kyusha gathering not only brought-out some classic cars but also groups of motorcycles from yesteryear…

Absolutely loved this silver C111 Yonmeri Skyline sedan from Kamikaze★Speed. I don’t know enough about these cars to know where that clear headlight cover piece came from but I think this is actually a coupe piece and the front grille has been swapped froma Kenmeri…

Being in Japan is very weird in that going to events like this expose you to so much. Back at home, I’d probably see like 1-5 Hakosuka Skylines per year but at this meet, they were EVERYWHERE. I’d say there was easily at least 25 of them at this event. After a while, you just get used to seeing them…

Interesting to see brick headlights on this slammed Yonmeri. If I remember correctly, this is what is referred to as a ‘Musashi Grille Conversion Kit’ which utilizes headlights from a S110 Toyota Crown…

This Kenmeri with a whole family inside had some huge bolt-on flares on it, enough to cover the top part of the rear wheels…

This Kenmeri that followed had even bigger flares and is actually a replica of the ‘Skyline 2000GTR Racing Concept’ from the 19th Tokyo Motor Show which debuted in 1972…

One of my favorites from this meet was this 1972 Skyline Sedan Deluxe. Loved the yellow headlights, the ride height and gold Watanabe R-Type wheels…

The rusted C10 Hakosuka 2000GT sedan heading home once the meet was coming to an end…

A trio of Kaido racer builds representing Liberty Walk. They might be hard to recognize since some of them have extensive exterior modifications but, from left to right, you’re looking at a C230 Laurel sedan, a C10 Hakosuka, and another C230 Laurel but with a Y31 headlight swap paired with what might be a Mercedes Benz-inspired grille?…

Custom pink-painted Yonmeri Kaido racer from Route55…

Stunning bright yellow Datsun S30Z from Pro Shop Nakagawa with a paint-matched front air dam, black bolt-on flares, black fender mirrors, and a custom front splitter…

Speed Forme Hakosuka democar running their front/rear over fender kit paired with modern Volk TE37SL wheels…

After the meet ended, we left and stopped by the local rest area not too far away because we saw some more cars parked. I thought I had seen everything already but this area also had some great cars….

Spotted this Kenmeri earlier when it first entered the meet but didn’t get to see the Hayashi Racing Yayoi Sakura wheels on it until we encountered it here…

The best thing about this parking area, simply known as “Awaji Service Area” was this massive working Ferris wheel. It served as a nice backdrop for photos of this area and you could even see it in the background of some of the photos from the meet. I liked this area so much that we’d later plan a meet in this area when Der and Kristian arrived…

One of my favorite photos (and unfortunately the least ‘Liked’ photo of all the ones that I posted on Instagram when I was in Japan) was this group shot of the enthusiasts from Tokushima West Style car club. This Mark II was having issues and these guys were all working together to push the car down the ramp after leaving the meet. After they found a spot to park it, they all just sat down and hung out with one another, as any other car club would when a car breaks down. A couple of the guys went to go see what was wrong with the car and the others just sort of hung out there for moral support. Some of them spotted me trying to get a photo of them and they even smiled and acknowledged that I was there, which was cool. I don’t know, I thought it was a great shot, but not too many others really liked it, lol. I guess you had to be there…

With that said, we conclude my set from the Kyusha car meeting in Awaji. I think there was actually a name to this event but I never found out what it was. My friend JC from Work Wheels actually told me about it over DM and just gave me the location. Whatever it was, it was a great time and one of my favorite things to do when I was out in Japan for 40 days. Thanks to JC for the invite. Up next should be the massive collection of photos from Attack Tsukuba that I captured. It’s some of my best work yet so stay tuned for that one! Thanks for looking!!…

Here’s the Vlog if you missed it!…