Juicebox in Japan: Japandoned
One of the more interesting scenarios we came across in Japan which I felt needed its own article was just how much-abandoned automotive gold was just laid out across Japan. From unexpected bad old Corsas to Japanese superstars.
I’m sure many of you already have seen countless articles online or just photographs of abandoned cars which for some reason are sat up and usually left untouched for decades.
This is simply something that just does not happen anywhere else in the world. Japan is one of the safest places on the planet which more often then not, cars are left to sit, unvandalized for their parts.
Not only is stuff left abandoned but so many cars that would be lusted after in other parts of the world are just left to rot in people’s gardens or on the side of the street.
I remember stumbling upon this Perfectly kept, south central Los Angeles Cadillac low-rider in the middle of the country side. It made zero sense and was such an eerie site to take in, Google maps, as usual, was taking us on an absolute adventure and to be honest ill be forever grateful to that annoying little app for bringing us down some mental back roads.
I couldn’t help but stare into every garden as we made it through the back streets to Tsukuba.
Japan has an eerie enough abandoned vibe to it in many parts, maybe it’s just the relaxed way of life and old timers but when you stumble upon stuff like this with no one around it further enhanced the apocalyptic vibe.
What happened? Who owns this stuff? Why is it abandoned?
How come no one comes to take it away? Questions we constantly asked ourselves.
This SW20 was a real gem, right after checking out the shed full of dodgy Ferrari MR2’s and all sorts, this was just parked in on the street.
Loaded to the max with all you could throw at an MR20 at the early millennium.
Inside there is a magazine feature, laminated, which hadn’t moved in years, you could see the faded seats, and Takata harnesses. What happened?
Across the street was a garden full of interesting stuff, Supras, Chasers etc.
All these machines from the Japanese glory days eerily preserved with moss.
This photo, even though not that special basically sums up how unpredictable this country is. As I stood there, essentially wiped out by this strange collection of cars, a Lada eases past in pristine condition leaving me completely perplexed by the entire scenario.
Further on down the road, things got even more interesting as we continually saw a steady flow of cool stuff that had seen better days.
This place across the river will haunt me forever, the amount of AE86’s, RX7’s, Silvias and god knows what else we could see behind the bushes will stay in my brain till the day I die.
What was this place? If only we could have got across for a closer look but there was no bridge. We just kept moving. There were so many more times where this happened and I wasn’t armed with the camera, strange haunting images of your dream cars left to rot in the country that created them.
As sad as it was to see, it was equally as interesting as this really wouldn’t happen anywhere else.