The beginning of each year brings one of the greatest shows I'll attend for the year.
The Tokyo Auto Salon or TAS is one of the shows that encompasses what car culture is all about Not just JDM cars (and trucks) but also a mix of some US muscle More and More Euro's and a very fun mix of trucks from the little Kei to Lifted and through one of my favorites, Vans, like the Hiace
Each year seems to get bigger. Unlike the US's SEMA show, the crowd at TAS continues to grow. What used to be a slightly busy VIP entry on Friday evening, felt more like a huge mob of people, a crazy amount of people that were all waiting in line practically silent, with no pushing or complaining (gotta love japan)
I always find TAS to be so inspiring and a refreshing start for the year. This year had the added bonus that I had some specific parts I wanted to hunt out for my EK9 project.
Entering TAS for me is like the first time you arrive in Tokyo and Head down into the rail station, its slightly overwhelming, like entering a mix Disney and Vegas swirled together into an Anime or Super Mario Brothers game. It really doesn't get any better than this.
So back to TAS, after waiting in silence for like an hour it was time to head in, dropping down the escalator, descending into what I can only describe as car heaven
And now, the sprint begins
So depending on why you're attending TAS, now is the time to knock out whatever is the most important, first. For me, once the gates open on Friday I try and sprint through the entire show as quick as I can, staying ahead of the major crowds, otherwise its almost impossible to get clear shots or views of the cars. For me the next 4-5 hours are a complete sprint.
If you're wanting to pick up any parts or merch, now is the time, by the time Saturday or Sunday come around most if not all are sold out. I found most are also set at a good price, but between the regular enthusiast just trying to get something from their favorite companies or the resellers (buying everything) it all goes really quick.
So for me there were a couple booths I really enjoyed. Like Works Wheels with their re-release of their iconic VS-KF wheels
One of the other standouts for me was Honda's Display, which also overflows into the Mugen display. Honda had their new Prelude on display along with some awesome race cars
The one company that seems to come out bigger and with some of the coolest builds is Liberty Walk. This year with everything from a group of Bathing Ape cars to a widebody Miura. Their booth space was huge and always completed crowded
There has been an interesting growth in the Euro scene in Japan. Over the last couple of years I've been seeing more and more. This year also had the addition of Adro who displayed Kits for the Porsche and BMW
It was really cool to see Varis showing love to the S2000 with 2 new kits. They always have an impressive display with Kits for the Civic & GRs (Yaris, 86 & GR Four)
This year I was lucky enough to pick up some cool parts for the EK9 from Vertex and Trust along with being able to see and talk to some people about the BBK, Seats and Chassis bracing pieces that I was interested in.
As always I recorded a full walkthough of the event. Check out the youtube vid below, if you like check out my other coverage from my week in Japan.
Enjoy!!
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