Japans Largest Automotive Store & MCR Factory in Nagoya
Day 12 was upon us. We woke in Nagoya and wanted to check out the Woow circuit Super AutoBacs, featured in the Driftwiorks outsiders video. We missed this place on our last trip, and from what I had seen online, this is one of the best Autobacs in Japan.
Day 12 was upon us. We woke in Nagoya and wanted to check out the Woow circuit Super AutoBacs, featured in the Driftwiorks outsiders video. We missed this place on our last trip, and from what I had seen online, this is one of the best Autobacs in Japan.
I’ve said this so many times, but this experience became one of the most overwhelming parts of the journey. Downstairs was the traditional chaotic Japanese Autobacs, with 100s of sounds all playing on top of each other in each isle while you overloaded with choice.
Appeal, Unique, Tires, Oil, Batteries, Accessories, Car audio and Service.” That’s what AutoBacs stands for. The first store opening coincided with the paradigm shift of car ownership in Japan when the car became an expression of identity rather than an A to B commute machine. Today, Autobacs has 641 stores in total, 597 in Japan and 44 overseas. It’s a fascinating must-visit spot for anyone visiting.
Super Autobacs is much more than just an auto parts store. The idea was to create more of a lifestyle store with the Super Auto Bacs line. It features automotive related goods such as books, DVDs, music, etc.
There’s the generic car section for people who want air freshers and cup holders, and then there’s the modified car section you can buy anything from an ECU to brand new Bride seats. A selection of the latest wheels is on display, aero, stickers, everything you need for the modern Japanese car.
I’m not sure how you would figure a suitable air freshener for your car. With hundreds of options, it leaves you baffled. Talk about the paradox of choice! How do they keep track of all this stuff?
Upstairs is housing a diecast model car shop to rival any other example in the world. Inside, every scale and size imaginable is on offer. As a young lad, I spent a lot of money collecting model cars, so this was almost too much., Seeing this many 1/18 diecast models brought back feelings I had suppressed for a long time. I had to fight urges to purchase a whole selection of stuff.
After you’ve gathered yourself looking at the scale models, you then have to comprehend the print media shelved at the back. The same anxious feelings kick in, an endless sea of choices, you could spend an hour just trying to figure out what you want here also. I picked up a couple of 86 related books, a few small bits, a cup holder, and a drain plug for the 86. It was tough resisting the temptations.
I heard they are thinking of changing the look of these stores, as they have completely remodelled the one in Odaiba in Tokyo, which probably makes more sense for them as online competition grows. Super Autobacs is supposed to be a hangout spot for people.
For tourists, this is the type of shop we want to see, total Japanese overload with stuff everywhere. I wasn’t too excited by the Odaiba shop; it felt very European, and the next time we visit Woow circuit, they could have revamped the shop. I’m sure foreigners aren’t even on the radar when it comes to their core audience. I recommend seeing this madness before it’s gone or toned back to a more European flavour.
After Autobacs, we took a trip down to where Kids Heart used to be. The shop wasn’t doing great when we visited in 2016, and when we arrived, the entire premises was utterly wiped off the map. It was hard even to see where it used to sit, a sign of the changing times and the decline of Japanese car culture.
Down the street was Garage Defend, which we visited in 2016, right before the Americans came online. Unfortunately, this was closed, so we chanced to check out MCR Factory up the street. They were all on the same stretch.
One guy was working at MCR on what he told us was a Bride S15 streetcar. Their shop is quite the traditional looking Japanese setup, with not much room outside. There was an S14 Silvia buried in the tyres.
He let us in for a look around, they had a lot of stuff, we had a small chat about where we were from and that, but he appeared to be working away, so we didn’t want to disturb him, as we were leaving he ran out and fave us some cool stickers and a keychain.
What a colour! It was great to see this car up close finally.
The Bride 15 out the front wasn’t too shabby either.
This place was packed. They had plenty of spare parts up on the walls.
Their collection of cars in various states.
D1 GP Champion Masashi Yokoi’s S15 was stripped in the corner.
There was plenty to look at, and we could have given hours in this shed.
MCR has always had one of the best liveries; it’s hard to beat that colourway.
Organised chaos, I’m sure! Almost felt bad shooting the place this messy; I’m sure the lads would have preferred if it was a bit cleaner. Regardless the guy working there was ok with it.
What an excellent little shop. We have been a big fan of these guys for many years. You might have seen them in the Driftworks doc also a few years back. We didn’t want to get in the way, so we said our goodbyes and hit the road.
We hit the road with our sights set on Rocky Auto. We drove through Toyota City and couldn’t believe the number of Toyotas on the road.
With little gems like this EP82 and more, the sun was setting, but we keen to see Rocky before we left the Nagoya area altogether.