We get invited to a private gathering of drift cars in Chicago before Final Bout.
Here is a somewhat extensive photo dump from visiting a Fluke event at Nikko. This had a much more locals-only feel; we were the only attendees. First, we made a trip to the gigantic statue out by the Tsukuba circuit, as it is impossible to avoid if you stay near it. The statue is called Kamakura Daibutsu, and it’s a must-see if you are up in that area. The Nikko day was fantastic; I shot a few photos of Tec Arts and friends who looked to be having a day off from work. Winds Auto’s Hiromi and her husband Obata were there too. Nikko events never disappoint; there is always something to see.
A productive weekend at the shed, finding more Trueno problems, fitting the headlight assembly, checking out Foley’s forgotten S14 and more.
Another show we made our way to in 2019, just before we left for Japan, was DB on the quay.
What I liked about this event was the dockside location and the varied mix of cars. Usually, our BBQ is primarily bringing Japanese machinery through the friends we have met over the years. I’ve always wanted to include more variety, but we seem to have a nack in creating bonds with people with the same interest, more specifically Japanese cars.
Ireland has a very diverse car culture, and sometimes it’s hard to bring a mixed bag of enthusiasts together as they tend to stay in their groups. We have a show called Japfest which promotes Japanese cars, and we have VW and old Ford events with a similar style, again usually bringing people from the same crowds together.
The Irish motor festival was the brainchild of the guys at Drift games, they managed to secure Punchestown as a Drift venue once again and use of the massive exhibition hall which is right next to the drift track. It’s great to have another show on the calendar each year and we’ve always loved Punchestown.
Aidan is the sort of guy that just always lands on his feet. He somehow has a knack for finding exactly what he is looking for in the most unassuming of places. The story of this S14 is no different.
After what would only be an unforgettable night at Daikoku, we rolled the dice and chanced our luck. It was late, we had been kicked out of Daikoku and there was one place left on the list I wanted to tick off before we went home.
So as I stated in the first post, this was a considerably good night at Daikoku and felt like a split feature was worth the effort.
The wait was over, after a failed attempt to get into Daikoku on the previous night, we were adamant to make it here for a Saturday night no matter what. We hung around in the Up Garages close by and made our way towards Daikoku around 9 PM to get an early spot.
Off we went, out of Nagoya armed with google maps aimed at Fukushima. For those who don’t know, Ebisu is up in the mountains about 30 minutes away from Fukushima city, which itself is situated about 30 minutes from the coast where the Nuclear reactor is located.
As most of us tend to stay in our circles amongst the scene, a lot of cars never really come out of hiding for us to be exposed to here at Juicebox. This little B series is stunning.
Being away for a few years I really didn’t know what top expect at Japfest this year, if you were following the nonsense on the Instagram story, we went a little over board but it was with no regrets. Japfest an end of year calendar for most of the stuff we are into and most of the cars either come off of the road or go into hibernation for the winter.
A lot of people made it down regardless of situations that sprang up which either on the day or close to it. Somehow the weather was on our sides which enticed people to make the journey down. I genuinely would not have held the event if there was a monsoon of Irish rain.