Saturday night brought an even bigger surprise when I was handed an invitation to an exclusive RH9 party. “Here we go again!” I thought. And what a night that also turned out to be; the room was filled with legends of the tuning industry from all corners of the nation. Incidentally, this was the very first time ever where they could all be found in one room together – a very special experience indeed. And in a carbon copy of Friday, it was back up to the APA Hotel for another round of drinks.
I wasn’t even planning to stay for Sunday, thinking that three days was going to be enough time to cover everything, but I was wrong. There was still a ton of legwork to do. This led me out into the arena for some drift action, where Toyo Tires was showcasing its best drivers, including D1 champion Kawabata.
Back inside the main halls, I stopped to visit Inoue san and Star Road who were showcasing the new Glow Star wheels; beautiful three-piece forged items produced for them by Work. They looked absolutely amazing on their classic S30Z.
Not long after I decided to stop by Trust and take a closer look at the machines when I noticed a familiar face; Canadian Import model, Dannie Riel. Photos don’t do the Chinese/ French beauty any justice and she was pulling huge crowds as a guest model for Trust. At one point, I ended up taking her over to meet Smoky Nagata and, as she stood there posing next to the great man without a care in the world, I sensed Nagata’s tenseness. I asked him if everything was okay and he replied, “Doki Doki,” which means his heart was pounding. Oh the irony. Flying 217 mph (350 km/h) in a 1,200 horsepower monster is a walk in the park for him, but standing next to Dannie caused his hard exterior to crack! It was a great end to a truly hectic weekend.
I think I managed three hours of sleep a night between endless chain smoking, photo editing and enough booze to give me a mild case of alcohol poisoning. But that’s what the Tokyo Auto Salon is about, isn’t it? A weekend when you simply can’t sleep because there’s too much to see and do. Yes, the Japanese industry is still experiencing great difficulties in growth, but you don't feel that when you’re amongst it under the lights and hustle and bustle.
As you’ll see in my column, I have concerns regarding the current state of the industry, but the Tokyo Auto Salon is still the greatest car show in the world. And that gives me firm hope for the future. #pasmag
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