Hey everyone! We’ve missed you and are back with tons of exciting updates, we’ve been completely swamped lately with trips and projects.
I spent 2.5 weeks in Japan, exploring the culture, food, and beautiful places like Hakone, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Meanwhile, Sandra has been working hard on our Toyota Cressida kaido racer and preparing for Summer Touring and our Pop-Up Shop. Dylan’s been filming non-stop, so we have a lot of content lined up for you.
In this video, join me as I return to Japan and visit some amazing spots, including Noby Booth, Wing 21, and Liberty Walk in Nagoya. You’ll get a peek into the incredible car scene and see some iconic builds.
The first shop on the list was Noby Booth, a shop that has thrived in the AE86 world since the late ’80s and has been completely frozen in time.
Pulling up and seeing the old building with the owner’s Longchamp equipped, race-style Trueno sitting out front surrounded by a few other stunning cars immediately got me going. The choice of wheels, bright white paint, race-inspired parts and what I later learned was a Noby Booth rear spoiler, all added up to being one of the most excellent cars of this platform I have ever laid my eyes upon.
This place is AE86 and 4AGE heaven, stocked with new and old parts from floor to ceiling. The owner has been in business for over thirty years and his love for the platform showed with the walls of the shop being adorned with pictures of Hibino, old race events, Team Mouse, etc.
Next up was Wing 21; which unfortunately was closed for its “regular holiday”. This didn’t stop me from spending a few minutes wandering around on the sidewalk admiring all of the cars sitting on the lot. Wing 21 is a tuning shop that was founded in 1999 and has been a staple tuner in the Nagoya area. Once again I was staggered by the white Zenki S14 parked out front and its aggressive aero and tire setup.
A trip to Nagoya wouldn’t have been complete without a stop at Liberty Walk. I explain my thoughts on their brand quite thoroughly in the video but for those of you that like to read, here are my crib notes:
I appreciate Liberty Walk for their innovative fusion of Kaido Racer influences, drawn from iconic cars like the S30 Fairlady Z, Kenmeri C110, GC10, Bluebird, and others, with contemporary vehicles. They’ve brilliantly applied this classic style, especially that of silhouette race cars, to a range of modern platforms, including 90s and 2000s Japanese sports cars and even current supercars, creating a unique and striking aesthetic that bridges the past and present in automotive design.
I may not be a huge fan of supercars but I am a huge fan of appreciating as many facets of Japanese car culture as possible and it’s hard to think of a brand that executes this better than Liberty Walk.
There was definitely an era in North America where seeing dozens of Liberty Walk kitted R35 GTRs on air-ride got a bit boring; but I’m glad to admit that over the last few years, the brand has really elevated itself so far past that in my mind. Seeing their facilities in Japan first-hand and witnessing the wide variety of incredibly well-executed cars they possess across their collections really shifted my mindset on their brand.
During my visit, the team at the Nagoya HQ actually recognized me from the video we made there in January 2023 and offered to take me to their secret showroom a few minutes away which was where they had the F40, a bunch more kaido racers and their Lamborghini drift car. The hospitality I always seem to receive at these shops in Japan never fails to blow my mind.
This is just the beginning of what will likely be another video or two from this trip so stay tuned!
As always, thank you for watching and supporting us. Hopefully we’ll see you at the Checkpoint Pop-Up Shop on August 17. Enjoy!
The team at Checkpoint Japan is ecstatic to announce our fourth annual Pop-Up Shop will be taking place on August 17, 2024! The event will be held at the Lordco Head Office – 1525 Kingsway Ave in Port Coquitlam, BC from 6:00 PM PST.
Full details about the event can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/BAPdvLxQQ2fpkeTL/
We are always adding new goods to our store, including a ton of car fashion accessories and vintage racing apparel.
Check it all out in the Checkpoint Japan Online Store.
