Car Make Across & JJ Cup Rd. 5 At Central Circuit Japan 2022…

Car Make Across & JJ Cup Rd. 5 At Central Circuit Japan 2022…

I typically go into most of my Japan trips without a schedule. It just works out easier that way. Things never go as planned so I’d rather just wing it most of the time and see what happens. Of course, there are specific things that I do want to do and see so I will make time for them. But, I was going to be there for an entire month and there was really no point in planning every single day out. The way Yasu works, my schedule was gonna get screwed-up anyway because he operates a lot like me. We would wake-up, get coffee and then decide what to do. These photos from the JJ Cup circuit event came to fruition randomly out of the blue. Neither I or Yasu knew that there was a track event that week. We were visiting a shop nearby and had some extra time to kill after, so Yasu asked if I wanted to make a stop at ACROSS to say hi to Joe. Typically I don’t think he is there during the day time but Yasu called and he just so happened to be there…
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A Modern Day Look At The Legendary Top Fuel Japan…

A Modern Day Look At The Legendary Top Fuel Japan…

I should preface this story with a warning that whatever you’re reading is based on my own memories and my own research. They say that “everything on the internet stays forever” but that is certainly not the case for so much of the early 2000s car content. A lot of it is missing now, websites have disappeared, assets from servers are gone, and we are left with whatever we can find, which is scarce. Especially when you consider how much Japanese car content wasn’t on the internet back then so it’s even harder to dig-up information now…

As the title states, this is a look at Top Fuel in Matsuzaka, Mie, Japan in 2022. If anyone has visited them recently and done a story about them, I don’t know about it. It’s actually quite hard to find information on Top Fuel because the term “Top Fuel” is terrible for SEO. Like, you search it and all kinds of shit comes up, just nothing about Top Fuel, the tuning shop in Japan. For the younger viewers, this shop is iconic. Top Fuel shaped so many of my generation’s ideas on what a Honda should look like and how it should be built. It defined an ideal for us. I don’t think anyone has gone there lately to do much of a deep dive on their shop, considering the pandemic and all, but had they, it wouldn’t matter to me. This is my story on Top Fuel, what it looks like now, and how its history was the foundation for my love of Hondas. I don’t think I would be a Honda enthusiast today had it not been for Top Fuel. And had I not been a Honda guy, there would definitely not be “The Chronicles”…
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Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 3…

Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 3…

As I found myself going over the photos I shot from my visit to Top Fuel late last night, I decided that I would wake-up, eat lunch, and head to the office to get the final portion of this Wekfest Japan coverage up. I know for many of the Japanese, this coverage comes a little later than expected but hey, let’s just say we are saving the best for last, okay? Lol. As if these photos would be the finishing touches on yet another great year of this event. It’s a shame that I missed last year’s show, since it was the only one that I’ve missed since we started doing this back in 2014, but I’m glad a lot of the spectacular car builds returned from the 2021 event so I could see them…
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Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 2…

Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 2…

Welcome back everyone! It looks like there has been an influx of new viewers and visitors coming in from who knows where. For all the new people, thanks for visiting and I hope you stay awhile. I think this most recent Japan trip has brought a completely new audience to the site and to my socials, which is always cool to see. I never expect it, but I think people just like seeing car content from Japan. And being that I was probably one of the first foreigners to make my way back there since the world shut down, it makes perfect sense. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at some pretty impressive builds from the inside of the Port Messe venue in Nagoya. In year’s past, I think I didn’t shoot as much as I would inside due to the low-light but it’s one of the best-looking natural-light venues I’ve ever seen. I just had more fun shooting outside when a lot of the cars were in motion or not arranged so strategically. But this year, I made more of an effort to collect photos from inside because this is the final year Wekfest will be held here…
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Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 1…

Wekfest Japan 2022 Coverage… Part 1…

Now that all the videos are done and 14 different episodes are up on YouTube, I can FINALLY get to the photos I shot while I was in Japan for a month! I love making videos but there’s nothing I enjoy more than shooting photos. I mean, photo content is a mainstay here on The Chronicles but I opted to release Vlog episodes first because I just don’t enjoy editing photos on my laptop. The colors are just so different than what I’m used to here at home on my desktop and I’m also spoiled with this giant monitor I have in my office. It just wouldn’t be doing my photography work justice if I did everything off of my laptop. Not many will notice but even the Vlogs are slightly different compared to the ones I create at home…
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The Finale Of My Adventures In Japan…

The Finale Of My Adventures In Japan…

A month and a day in Japan. It’s time for me to go home to Los Angeles. It’s been fun but the summer is coming and Japan is not the place to be during those months. We pick up this final episode right where the last one left-off at the Chan-Oka Honda Meet. There were still many cars to go over and I provide some insight on how I feel about West Coast Honda style/culture being translated to Japanese Honda builds. After the meet, I head to the parking lot to give you guys a look at one of the coolest Mini builds ever before heading over to “Built By Legends”. There, we get an in-depth look at their ongoing Spoon Sports concept EG6 Civic build and try to understand what the whole purpose of the project is for…
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Abandoned Hondas At Real Company And Collecting Rare Parts In Japan…

Abandoned Hondas At Real Company And Collecting Rare Parts In Japan…

As my adventures in the Kansai region of Japan near an end, I find myself in the countryside of the Nara prefecture where I visit Real Company. This Honda modification shop is about as traditional as it gets, playing host to both Civic race cars as well as many more that have been left behind to be reclaimed by nature. It’s always interesting to see what types of gems Yasu and I stumble upon. There are a surprising amount of cars that have been out of service for years, slowly being overtaken by the elements. After that, I take you back to Exceed where I show you some pretty rare parts that both Yasu, myself, and my good friend Cody have been collecting to send back to the good ol’ USA. I came to Japan for many reasons and one of them was to secure products to send home for business as well as personal use.
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You Won’t Believe What We Found At Top Fuel Japan…

You Won’t Believe What We Found At Top Fuel Japan…

This one might be one of my favorite episodes yet! Just based purely on all the stuff I unexpectedly found while in the Mie prefecture. First we visit one of my all-time favorite shops for the first time ever, Top Fuel in Matsuzaka. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, thinking that Top Fuel had shifted their focus to other cars and hadn’t placed much focus on Hondas anymore. I thought it would just be a empty shop with a bunch of Suzuki Swifts being worked on but boy was I wrong!! After that we stopped by Voltex in Suzuka for a visit which was also very cool because neither Yasu nor I had ever been. This area is so rich in tuning history that there was so many surprises. Wait until the very end, it’s a wild one! You’re gonna love it!
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Stancenation G Edition Japan Has Some Crazy Good Builds…

Stancenation G Edition Japan Has Some Crazy Good Builds…

Hope you watched the previous episode because this is the second half of our journey documenting Yasu and I bringing the old Phaze2 Integra from California to its (possibly) final major event at Stancenation G Edition Nagoya. I’ve personally never been to this show before but I’ve always heard good things about this event series. There are usually A LOT of cars that participate in this series, with this Nagoya event featuring over 700 cars. Yes, you read that correctly. I went in with no expectations thinking that I’d just take this event as a new experience and I was pleasantly surprised!! I take you guys on a walkthrough of the event while also simultaneously covering all that was happening with the Integra. I don’t know how many Americans have been to this show before or how many have documented it but here is a very rare look at what a Stancenation event is like in Japan. It’s so different than what we have in the U.S. and definitely features way more than just the typical “stance” builds you’d see in North America. Japan just does it different, and more importantly, better. The quality, the details, the quirkiness of Japan…
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