Shin-Maiko Sunday, Nagoya, Japan: The Japanese Car Culture(s) in One Parking Lot

"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy) 07/06/2016 at 21:25 • Filed to: None

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Shin-Maiko Sundays started as your typical car aficionados’ meet, back in 2010. Just like everywhere else in the world, a few people would gather, show off their cars, talk about them and make new friends. It usually takes place near Nagoya Airport, but for the next 3 months, it joins forces with the local Cars and Coffee, bringing even more cars to Auto Planet’s parking lot, a massive dealership in Aichi prefecture, that primarily focuses on imports.

The Japanese society is known to be one of the most homogeneous there is. Only 1.5% of the population comes from a foreign country (some of those accounted “foreigners” are actually born and raised in Japan and only speak Japanese but come from parents that don’t have Japanese blood), very few Japanese can speak any other language and being an island, Japan is often seen as a country that is a bit cut off from the outside world’s influence. People are taught from a very young age to do their best to fit in this society and not try to stand out, be noticed. This is a behavior you see every day when living here. And you do notice it when looking at cars. Every day cars in Japan kind of look the same. Box shaped kei-cars driven at an average speed of 25mph for their entire lifespan.

To escape this daily routine and all the pressure often put on them at work, Japanese need hobbies. Some spend time in ear-splitting Pachinko parlors, other go fishing or build figurines. A few, on the other hand, will decide to spend their hard-earned money and free time on a car. And, based entirely on my own experience, backed by no statistics whatsoever, when Japanese get into a new hobby, they don’t mess around and REALLY get into it. This is where things start to get interesting for us, car geeks on this planet.

Those people want something unique and they make sure to bring their precious ride, be it a slammed R35 GTR, a kei-car filled with “kawaii” dolls or a perfect looking E30 M3, to local events, allowing us to see how some of the remaining people to enjoy cars, in a country where new = good and old = bad, fight this normalization of their society.

Here is Shin-Maiko Sunday from June 12 th 2016, aka your typical Japanese car meet.

Lotus themed Suzuki Cappuccino. Notice the carbon fiber bonnet coupled with leather belts

Daihatsu Copen...

… home of an army of Lilliputian wrestlers.

Ever wondered what Zagato would do if you gave them a Toyota MR-S (MR2 Spyder for most of you guys)? Well, wonder no more and behold for the VM180 Zagato, produced by Toyota Modellista.

Another MR-S with a body-kit, this time of unknown origins.

Lancia Delta Integrale(s) 16V

Alfa Romeos represent less than 0.1% of the Japanese domestic car market. They would definitely deserve more presence!

Alfa Romeo Giulia…

…with such a nice interior!

Good looking trio if you ask me!

Cue the “NSX? More like NS-Sex!” well deserved joke. (Not Suitable for Sex??)

You knew Volvo’s prancing moose, welcome to the Scuderia Peugeot 407.

Pair of Kuhl Racing R35 GTR

Alongside with a Kuhl Racing Prius and a Kuhl Racing Beetle.

Extremely rare Yes! Roadster, German handmade sports car (what could go wrong!)

With a rear-end that seems to come straight off of a Mitsubishi Eclipse aftermarket catalogue.

Not all Miata were created equal. Extremely rare M2 1001 Roadster.

Americans were not forgotten with this pristine GT350.

GMC vans and custom made cup holders are strangely popular in a country where tiny cars are kings. Awful parking, but to their defense, they would not fit even if they tried.

More Cappuccinos.

Honda S2000

Suzuki Swift with… something on the roof?

Ok, that is a bit creepy.

I wasn’t the only French thing on that parking lot that day! Renault Spyder.

If I were to own this beauty, I would happily make it my daily driver. And I don’t care if my wife and my back complain about it!

Honda Beat

“Come at me, Brah!” 

Mean looking 500E

Everyone’s favorite! 

The local AZ-1 club met up that day also.

What to do when you’re tall and can barely fit in your AZ-1? Get the tiniest steering wheel available on the market!

Intermède filled with cuteness.

My friend’s R5 Turbo 2!

Yes, it’s a replica.

Good looking nonetheless.

This M3 drove along with me for 10km on the way to Shin Maiko Sunday. Lots of drooling on my side obviously.

Datsun Sunnys showing their guts for us to see

Another Seven.

Gaijin owned Porsche 914. It is his first car that he bought when he was 19 in Canada. He brought it here with him.

No Japanese car show is complete without a Mitsuoka Viewt!

Minions! Also popular in Japan.

Very clean 2nd gen GTI

Fiat 500

Peugeot 106 Rallye. The last of the lightweight fun Peugeot.

Skyline DR30. I don’t think a car can get more eighties’Japan than this!

Let’s wrap this up with even more cuteness!

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 09:05

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Why didn’t I think of this? Love it

Flavien Vidal > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction 07/06/2016 at 09:06

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lol the car was honestly quite terrible, but that was pretty well thought :)

DutchieDC2R > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 09:12

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Im heading out to Japan in September, is your e-mail still Flavien.myfamilyname......? I have a whole bunch of questions before I head out lol.

Great post, makes the wait less bearable for me...:P

Flavien Vidal > DutchieDC2R 07/06/2016 at 09:15

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flavien.vidal at this big company’s email spying on us all.com :) (yes, gmail.com lol)

Always eager to help people out with their trips to Japan, so let me know, if you ever come around Nagoya (most tourists skip Nagoya though lol) let me know if you want to have a beer!

Milky > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 09:26

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I really like this bumper, the headlights .... not so much.

Great pictures.

Flavien Vidal > Milky 07/06/2016 at 09:28

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Yeah it looked weird for some reason.. But I would not even have pictured the car it wasn’t.... weird. So is it a “win” on the car’s side? I don’t know... :)

PS: You got downgraded to 3/4 million page views!! :)

Milky > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 09:46

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Its got a slightly more aggressive look, but doesn’t scream F&F like most after market S2k bumpers. I’ve been looking at for sale ads and like every other car, its hard to find tastefully modified examples.

But yea Kinja decided to kinja and forgot how to count.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 10:49

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Great photos! Looks like a perfect day for that, nice and overcast. IDK why this doesn’t have hundreds of views and dozens of stars...

Bird > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 12:26

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Love that M2 1001. I’m hoping to find a nice one next year to bring back to the states. I’m very interested to see what one will do at auction here. Certain Miata models have taken a huge up turn in value recently. I don’t know if US collectors will ‘get it’ that the M2 models are more important than any model ever sold in North America or not.

Flavien Vidal > Bird 07/06/2016 at 16:50

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They are expensive here... 15 to 20k$ for one at dealerships and almost never seen at auctions. Not sure American potential buyers would understand why this would be more expensive than a brand new ND once on US soil. A Roadster Coupe, maybe, but not a M2 1001.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 20:18

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I would love to have a Cappuccino like this here in the states. I think it would be a real blast!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 21:32

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The Guilia looked fantastic. I also very badly want an Autozam.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 21:41

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I want a DR30 so bad, they’re just so cool.

Dave the car guy , still here > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 21:50

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Oh my god, thanks for sharing. I enjoyed every picture even the PT Cruiser.

Flavien Vidal > Dave the car guy , still here 07/06/2016 at 22:02

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Thx :)

AdverseMartyr > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 22:04

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That was very nice; you’ve got a good eye. Thank you.

Will this be happening in September? I’m moving to Okinawa then, and maybe I can find an excuse to grab a cheap flight up to this. Car shopping, maybe... My wife might buy that excuse.

Flavien Vidal > AdverseMartyr 07/06/2016 at 22:07

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Thx! And yes, it will, but it only lasts 2 to 3 hours on sunday morning once a month. Not sure it’s worth the flight from Okinawa haha

Variance > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 22:58

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Ugh, I want to import an AZ-1 so badly, but at ~6'2" I’m not sure if I could get a steering wheel small enough to let me fit, haha.

Nauraushaun > Flavien Vidal 07/06/2016 at 23:09

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I can’t believe how many Autozam AZ-1s there are! I saw one, once, in Australia and I was beside myself with excitement.

What’s so fancy about that Miata?

Great mix of cars.

Flavien Vidal > Variance 07/06/2016 at 23:23

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6'2 myself and I fit with the stock steering wheel... tight of course, but fine enough :)

Flavien Vidal > Nauraushaun 07/06/2016 at 23:24

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You will have infos on the car and other M2 here:

http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread.php…

AdverseMartyr > Flavien Vidal 07/07/2016 at 03:01

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Oh, I’d probably make my way to Osaka to grab some Okonomiyaki, and visit Costco in all likely-hood. Maybe try and catch up with a friend or two, and visit an Onsen (I was told Okinawa doesn’t have any which makes me wonder how I will survive.)
Do you happen to know which Sunday it will be?

Flavien Vidal > AdverseMartyr 07/07/2016 at 05:44

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If you go to Osaka, you have to eat 551 Nikuman! Eat also Takoyaki there, they’re good with that haha

Back to cars now lol. Easiest is to come to Cars and Coffee Nagoya. It’s every first Sunday of the month at 8am on the parking lot of AutoPlanet Nagoya. Shin-maiko sunday taking place at the same time and at the same place is only temporary. Search for ”Flavien Vidal cars and Coffee Nagoya” on Google, you’ll find the different photoshoots I did there(on my cell phone now, too lazy to find the links lol)

Flavien Vidal > Noah - Now with more boost. 07/07/2016 at 09:21

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haha, thanks, but my articles most certainly won’t be published on the FP anymore, which is why they’ll stay within Opponauts from now on :)

AdverseMartyr > Flavien Vidal 07/07/2016 at 18:13

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I recognize that red box. I always felt guilty about getting a nicely wrapped set of gyoza from them, and then ripping into it just to wolf it all down myself instead of visiting someone and sharing some of that well wrapped deliciousness. And I have Takoyaki on my mind as well... though I always burn the roof of my mouth off. I never have the patience to wait for it to cool down at all.

First Sunday of the month at 8am. Now to try and remember that for the next couple of months for when I move.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Flavien Vidal 07/14/2016 at 09:40

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Your friend’s R5 Turbo 2 on RS-Watanabes looks perfect!

Flavien Vidal > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 07/14/2016 at 09:48

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Oh yes it does... It’s awesome! :)