I love Japan – I really do. I wouldn’t have spent more than half my life here if I didn’t. But there are some peculiar things about this country which casual observers just wouldn’t understand. Japan can be a curious place that’s full of bizarre surprise. From the sheer differences between Eastern andWestern culture, to traditions and the weird things you come across during your day-to-day life. After a while that initial element of surprise slowly fades away; you continue to notice peculiarities, but – just like the locals – no longer give them more than a uninterested glance. Here’s a good example: if I happened to see a middle aged man dressed as a woman and sporting a disturbingly-short mini skirt as he casually awaits his stop on the train, it wouldn’t be anything that would particularly grab me. Live in Tokyo for some years and these sorts of things become frequent occurrences. Cars too, fall into this category. It’s actually come to the point where I just don’t even acknowledge exotics driving by anymore.
There are so many supercars out on the streets of the capital, and with the line of work that I’m in, even modified domestics have began to seem almost normal. Therefore, I can say the element of surprise is somewhat missing in my life. It’s not that I’m jaded, but more a case of being a little spoiled, if that makes any sense.
So I’m very glad that back in August, when I dropped by Rocky Auto to shoot its carbon Hakosuka, we decided to take the half-hour drive up to Watanabe-san’s private garage in the mountain area around his house. Because it was there – just a few kilometers from our destination – that I spotted abandoned Japanese classics scattered randomly across the hilly terrain on each side of the road, an culminating with a sudden high concentration of cars in a wide open space. So once I had finished photographing Watanabe’s garage…
… I just had to take the Lexus IS350 press car I was driving back down the road for a closer look.
It turned out that a long time ago this was a yard where Watanabe-san stored some of his stock. As business picked up he ended up moving his operation to the center of Okazaki city, while this area and the hills around it – which he owns – remained a space to keep cars he no longer needed.
After jumping a little fence I walked down the gravel path where a welcome sense of surprise hit me.
What the hell did I stumble on? But more to the point, ‘What a bloody waste.’
There is no hiding the fact that the sort of work Rocky Auto performs on vintage cars generally requires donor cars to be sacrificed. Engines need to come from somewhere…
… as do transmissions…
… and of course, the occasional body panel too. Over the years Watanabe-san has sourced an incredible number of donor cars – vehicles that were found at junkyards or bought cheaply at auction, like this four-door Skyline.
They have served their purpose and after being gutted they have been left here to rot away.
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