Japan's Secret Car Meet Unearths Gems From The Far East

JDM cars are starting to lose their status as delicious automotive forbidden fruits. As many of these Japanese automotive treasures can now be imported state-side if you have the dough. Even American farmers are getting in on the action by importing those cute but practical Kei trucks.

That said, some JDM cars remain so rare or so underrated that they tend to remain in the Land of the Rising Sun. The only way to see these gems is to go to Japan and hang around at a car meet or an auto show.

One of the dudes that did just that is Dino DC, a digital content creator living in Japan. He managed to attend the Okutama Sunday cars and coffee, a simple car meet that happens once a month in a quiet town west of Tokyo.

However, nothing is simple about the cars he got to see.

Described as a temporary automotive museum of sorts, the car meet saw plenty of clean, third-generation Nissan Skyline "Hakusuka" GT-Rs both in two-door and four-door forms. Also present were Toyota AE86 Truenos and mint-condition Datsun 240Zs - the forebear of the current Nissan Z.

Those are becoming rare nowadays but still somewhat expected from a Japanese car meet. A far rarer spot during the event, however, was a third-gen Prince Skyline. Prince was the original brand the Skyline marque was sold under before the Nissan merger back in 1967. Suffice it to say, examples of this "non-Nissan" Skyline model are as rare as white crows.

Incredibly enough, there were several rare Euro car models as well. Chief among these is a well-kept Mercedes-Benz W126 Koenig Specials fitted with old-school BBS wheels and a Louis Vuitton-themed interior. For the uninitiated, Koenig Specials GmbH is a German-based tuning house that built a twin-turbo Ferrari 348 TS that was auctioned off last year.

Also making an appearance at this "hidden" car meet was a lovingly restored mint green Lotus Europa sitting on a set of Watanabe wheels. This particular Lotus is a mid-engine car that touts a fiberglass body and an unusual design that can only be described as the embodiment of the brand's "simplify, then add lightness" mantra.

Other particularly interesting rides in this Japanese meet include a limited-edition Alfa Romeo 143 Ducati Corsa Special, an Autozam AZ1, a Bertone-designed Fiat X1/9, as well as several Bosuzoku-style cars and motorcycles, among others. Some American cars also made it to the meet, specifically, a very clean 1970s-era Dodge Charger with genuine Mopar components, as well as a classic Shelby Cobra GT350.

Now obviously, we can't mention all the cars featured in the video here. The bottom line is, Japan's car meets are events that any car nut should see at least once in their life.