Showa Pride: Celebrating the Classics in Japan [Gallery]
Perfect weather, swingin’ rock and roll tunes, a delightfully laid back atmosphere and some of the coolest vintage cars in Japan. If this sounds like the recipe for a fine Sunday then you’d be correct, and that’s exactly what we found when we headed to a car gathering in the parking lot of the Seibu Amusement Park in Saitama Prefecture just west of Tokyo.
With a name that basically translates to “Cherish Showa Automobile Meeting," the event was dedicated to both domestic and imported cars built up until the year 1989, when Japan’s Showa era came to an end. While it’s not the biggest classic car event in Japan, it included about 230 cars in the show itself along with plenty of other equally cool cars in the nearby spectator parking lot.
All of the familiar Japanese classics were on hand, with popular models like the Skyline, Sunny and Celica all represented along with plenty of more obscure vintage vehicles from the smaller brands like Subaru and Mitsubishi.
Whether the cars were factory original or modified, this was something that any fan of classic JDM machinery would love—and we had a fantastic time soaking it all in.
Throw in a decent helping of imported machinery from both Europe and the United States, and it’s easy to why this event has become so popular.
We’ve got selection of cars to look at in greater detail, but for the time being take a look through the gallery above for a nostalgic trip through '60s, '70s and '80s automotive history.
