For the past two years, I’ve purposely extended my Spring trip to Japan so that I could stay for the Chan-Oka Honda Meet. The name comes off a little weird to us in America but it’s named by and after the guy who hosts it. Chan-Oka is a very-devoted Honda enthusiast who focuses primarily on tuning and styling from the early 2000s era of Hondas from the West Coast (California, Seattle, etc.). His group of friends absolutely love this particular type of style. They study it using whatever resources are available to them online and also by looking through old issues of Honda Tuning and Super Street magazines. Many of these guys have never been to America before but it’s actually pretty surprising how good they’ve become at replicating this specific look. I guess you can say the same thing about Americans or people from other countries and how they try to replicate Japanese car builds while never having set foot in Japan…

It’s always nice to see how far people are willing to go when they’re pursuing something they enjoy. That’s one of the main reasons why I enjoy going to the Chan-Oka Honda Meet. These guys go above and beyond to execute this style thoroughly. Some will go even as far as to import complete cars to Japan. The idea is to build a Honda that would come-off ambiguous to both the creator of the subject matter and the one who is paying homage to it. Like if you saw a photo of one of these Hondas, would you question where the photo was taken because its indiscernible to the casual eye?…

This year, which was our third year going, Yasu and I decided to load-up my newly completed EK9 to display it at the Chan-Oka Honda Meet. What’s more fitting than having a car at this event curated by someone from California who was there during the height of this era’s popularity? Yasu thought the car might be too “JDM” since it doesn’t feature very many products from the U.S. market and it’s styled like a traditional Osaka Civic, but it’d still be cool to see it surrounded by a bunch of other really well-built Hondas. It’s like we all got together to have a piece of California but transported that piece to Saitama, Japan. It was a lot of fun. I love seeing their interpretation and how they put their ideas together…

The venue itself isn’t very big but they’re all about quality over quantity. There are zero clapped-out Hondas here. I guess you can say it’s like the old Eibach Honda Meets from back in the day but condensed with all the riff raff and bullshit out of the way. It took us over 14-hours to get to Saitama from Osaka and back, but I look forward to it every year. It was the perfect spot to show off the EK9 we had just finished before we put the car away for the summer…

Hideo Shingu decided to go with the Mugen-theme for this year’s Chan-Oka Honda Meet. His 97-spec ITR conversion wore a rare Mugen front half spoiler, Mugen sides, Mugen Gen. 1 wing, and a set of Mugen M7 wheels. If I remember correctly, this might be his first-time attending with his Type R…

Inside he has a woodgrain Mugen SW6 wheel which you don’t see very often…

Mounted to the rear is the ever-popular NEXT! Miracle Cross Bar. Here you can also get a quick glimpse at a Spoon Sports SW388 wheel which he uses as his spare…

Classic 15-inch Mugen M7 wheels which barely clear the Spoon Sports brakes up front…

Rare Honda Access headlight shrouds to give that 97-spec face some contrast…

Likely the most complete collection of rare Technica Sport Vision parts for the EG6 chassis belongs to Masaki Fukuda from L2P Japan. Though the catalog was never that large compared to more popular tuning parts creators like Spoon or Mugen, the Vision line-up provided some really high-quality, simply-styled pieces that many didn’t even know existed…

Masaki Fukuda has these hard to find Vision products because he himself has a vast collection of parts for this particular platform. If anything, he may have the most when it comes to the 92-95 Civic platform. On any given weekend, he could show-up somewhere with an entirely new, complete, look depending on what theme he chooses. I think he just prefers the Technica Sport Vision stuff because it’s so simple and understated, yet those in the know KNOW just how impressive it really is…

If I remember, he actually has multiple sets of these rarely-seen Technica Sport Vision MUE VR-1 wheels…

An ATC-produced Vision steering wheel…

Not Vision-related but there’s an S2000 cluster-swap inside Fukuda’s EG6. Better cluster vision I guess lol…

I remember when I was much younger, every Honda enthusiast wanted a set of Technica Sport Vision Imus seats. They were even hard to come by back then but seeing a clean set in 2024 is like holy grail status…

The exterior aeshetic is just so understated but timeless in its approach. There’s a Technica Sport Vision front lip, Vision amber corner lights paired with Denji projector headlights, Vision Type DC mirrors, and the silver Vision MUE VR-1 wheels. The removal of the OEM side moldings also make such a huge difference that people don’t talk enough about…

Tsuchiya’s EK4 Civic sitting nice and low, tucking some tires which are wrapped around 15-inch white Sprint Hart CP-F wheels. The exterior is relatively stock otherwise, other than the Spoon mirrors…

Inside the engine bay is a nice tidy B16A set-up which still retains factory air conditioning though the power-steering has been eliminated for a cleaner look…

The organizer of this event, who we know as Chan-Oka, has built himself an Integra GS-R that mimics something you’d see back at home in North America. He’s never been to the States and does all his research studying magazines and online media, but I feel like he’s executed the style faithfully…

His Integra is in fact a U.S.-imported GS-R so it still retains the left-hand drive configuration and complete interior, but the face has been swapped for a JDM Integra Type R. The whole car was also resprayed and features OEM Type R sides, rear, and a custom one-off front lip which was inspired by the classic FEEL’S Honda Twin Cam lip…

Custom teal Volk Racing CE28 wheels in 4-lug format paired with a set of AP Racing brakes up front…

The engine bay has also been resprayed and cleaned-up, hosting a newer K-series powerplant with an RBC intake manifold that’s attached to a Mugen air box which was originally designed for the FD2 Type R chassis. Nice touch with the classic Chronicles decal also…

Blue-stitched MOMO steering wheel to match his DC5 Recaro seats and we can’t forget the FEEL’S shift knob…

Seiya Suzuki’s Mugen-complete Integra Type R is perfection when you consider the full parts list and the way everything is executed. It’s the prototype for those who want to put together a DC2 with a Mugen theme…

Perhaps the only thing most Mugen diehards would change would be the Spoon Sports brakes but they honestly look pretty cool contrasting with the mirror-like custom Mugen MF10 wheels…

Suzuki has the rare Integra Type Rx seats in yellow which he pairs with a Mugen steering wheel, Mugen knob, and Mugen cluster surround…

The engine bay still retains much of its factory components but with the addition of a Mugen intake, Mugen header, Mugen strut bar, both oil and radiator caps, and the highly sought after Mugen Formula Head Cover…

Most of us know Shunichi Sato as one of the ultimate EP3 Civic Type R enthusiasts but he recently dabbled in a new project in the form of this USDM-imported Honda Civic SI, or what many in Japan deem the “Wonder Civic”. If I recall, this was once the project of “Supertwinz” John Nguyen from California. I don’t know what the full story is but somehow it ended-up in the possession of Sato over in Japan…

I later found out that it was actually a project car for Sato’s wife. She’s had some input into the build-up thus far like the silver Modex KS-CE wheels which were designed by legendary car guy and driver Keiichi Tsuchiya…

The engine bay is in remarkable condition considering the Civic’s age. Everything is intact and looking as it should had it left the showroom floors in the ’80s…

Classic MOMO steering wheel with a gold Honda Grand Prix Champion horn button…

I can’t recall another time in all my years when I’ve encountered a set of IMSA Japan EVA seats. Seeing them inside the E-AT was a pleasant surprise…

Mitsuki Ikeda’s EM1 Civic SI-inspired coupe build on bronze Mugen MF10 wheels and a pair of ARC winglets. For those unaware, the Civic SI coupe was never available in Japan so you’ll often see Japanese enthusiasts try to replicate the look of the EM1. This one was done quite well…

The engine bay has been cleaned-up and the shock towers extended before being repainted Milano Red. There’s no EM1-spec B16A in here though, as the factory engine has been upgraded to a K20A set-up. Most of the components in the engine bay now have been coated black which makes the yellow Spoon Sports valve cover pop even more next to the polished ARC Induction Box…

Masafumi Eto’s Integra is another one of those Type Rs in Japan that backdated and swapped to a ’97R bug-eye face. This is a popular swap for those who enjoy USDM Honda culture and he’s gone above and beyond to also faithfully execute his interpretation of our style back at home. The exterior is relatively stock in appearance but the details inside this ITR are what make it special…

Eto has even gone as far as to swap in a B18C5 Type R engine from a USDM Type R! But before he did that, the engine was sent to Spoon Sports for a full refresh. I don’t think this happens very often, if at all, and this might be the first B18C5 to go to Spoon Sports to be torn apart. He’s also accumulated a vast collection of new old-stock Comptech USA stuff including, but not limited to, the air box, header, billet wire cover, and front strut bar…

The car is still the original right-hand configuration but he’s replaced the factory Type R wheel with an OEM Acura steering wheel. How wild is that?…

If that’s not enough, he also went through the trouble of sourcing rare Canadian Type R front/rear seats which you practically never see, especially in Japan…

Mokusan’s CR-X was one of my favorites from last year’s event so it was nice to see it once again in 2024. He has the same set-up as 2023 with the complete Mugen CR-X Pro.2 aero kit, but he swapped his TEs out for a fresh set of Desmond Regamaster EVO wheels…

The 16-inch EVOs look great on the CR-X, wrapped in Dunlop Direzza rubber, and the bigger spoke windows help to show-off his AP Racing brakes…

The Regamaster wheels look fantastic on here, especially with the white-on-white color way…

Inoki has one of the best street-styled S2000s in Japan with really good wheel/tire fitment and ride height to pair with his S2000 CR-look. Behind those concave TEs are a set of Exceed Japan big brakes too…

Ryudo also has a similar aesthetic on his AP2 but unlike Inoki, he’s had a carbon splitter, carbon side pieces, Spoon mirrors, and Desmond wheels…

If we’re talking proper early-2000s West Coast Honda styling, all you have to do is look at this EG6. No aero additions, just a very OEM-style look with painted moldings, clear JDM corners, Vision Type DC mirrors, and the car hammered on Sprint Hart CP-R wheels…

CP-Rs have always been one of my favorite wheels and always hold this very nostalgic feeling to them…

You can tell that the wheels are a central part of this build as well being that he even went as far as to display an original ad for the wheel and have an extra inside as a spare…

Mori’s EG6 looks great with a Mugen front lip, Sprint Hart CP-F wheels, and I love that he paint-matched his OEM sideskirts with the SiR silver side moldings…

This EK3 Civic Ferio features a B18C swap, Backyard Special front, First Molding Type B mirrors,  a set of silver Mugen MF8 wheels, Mugen Ferio wing, and incredibly-rare Mugen rear spats…

Not 100% sure what front lip that is but it might be a carbon fiber NOVA Engineering piece. Whatever it is, it pairs nicely with this silver NA1 NSX which sits on double-staggered Volk TE37 wheels. Something about Sebring Silver NSXs which are done so simply is so good…

Kohei Miyata from Level One Japan found himself a Monaco Blue Pearl NSX-T in North America and had it brought over to Japan. He’s taken his time to carefully select parts for it and the NSX-T currently features an Advance front lip, Backyard Special sides, Spoon Sports mirrors, and new NSX-spec Mugen MF10 wheels in bronze…

Kenzy Kenji’s Honda Jade Green Metallic EK parked in its usual spot at the Chan-Oka event running a First Molding Flugel Plate and custom ‘Mag Blue’ Enkei NT-03 wheels…

Koji Uematsu’s S2000 is one of my personal favorites from Japan. I like not only his selection of parts but how it all comes together. Nothing really looks out of place when you look at this S2000. There’s a good flow to it…

Takeru Tojo is one of the few guys I know, actually he’s the only one, that is down to not only purchase a Mugen RR but also modify it heavily. He also sometimes swaps the rear trunk and bumper over to a USDM rear-end, which to me, is crazy. For this year’s event however, he went back to the more traditional RR-look, but added Spoon Sports mirrors and Desmond Regamaster EVO wheels…

Most of the photos I captured of my EK9 I had already put in a previous post but I do have some that I hadn’t used yet. After we pulled into the lot in the morning, Yasu and I realized that they had saved a spot right up front for us to park at…

Here’s a different angle of Kohei Miyata’s Monaco Blue NSX-T where you can see the Marga Hills rear spats…

Kiyotaka Nakajima brought-out his Honda Beat once again this year, still wearing a Gulf-inspired livery, full Mugen aero, and tiny Volk TE37 wheels in white…

Check-out the rare Mugen dual-exit exhaust on Sato’s Wonder Civic…

I’m not totally sure but I think this Honda Today is also owned by Chan-Oka. This area where the Today was parked at might be one of the best spots in this lot since it had good light bounce off the container and has those colorful pallets in the background. The Today itself is rad, sitting on Sprint Hart CP-R wheels…

One more of Miyata’s NSX as he was heading-out…

After most of the cars had left, it seemed like a good time with the sun-setting to get some photos of the EK9 before we loaded it back onto the tow trailer…

The guys who stuck around to help clean-up also moved their cars around so we could get some more photos in the empty lot. The sun was hitting just right so we had a good 30-40 minutes to get some good photos…

There’s an elevated section of this venue where you can get some good overhead shots too so we all climbed-up…

Having the railing there kind of obstructed the photo but I was still able to squeeze in a group photo. I guess I could have Photoshopped the railing out but it looked unnatural to me after I tried. Anyways, that’s all for this one. Haven’t really had a chance to sit down and do an old-fashion blog post like this lately. It’s a friendly reminder that this actually takes forever. But hopefully it’s something you guys appreciate still after all these years. Thanks for looking! And please come back because I definitely have more content for you guys…