All Japan Day 2021

With the way the world is at the moment (I am trying to avoid the dreaded C word – you know what I mean) I just want to thank everyone involved in hosting All Japan Day (AJD). It is not hard to imagine that the 2021 version could have been cancelled, a victim of the C… but it wasn’t! So let’s give thanks to the volunteers who gave up their time and come with me for a day out featuring some of the best Japanese cars Adelaide and surrounds has to offer.

As for many, the day didn’t start at Wigley Reserve but rather on of the various pre-meets beforehand. For yours truly and the ever faithful R33 it was a trip to one of the few E85 stockists in town (not for my car but friends who require the corn juice) before hitting a car-park meet for some breakfast and chat.

Had to resist taking my camera out but walking out of the servo it was hard to resist so out came the phone!

This Integra Type R gets me every time – rapidly moving onto the unobtainable list though as prices continue to go up for them!

It is always good to see cars that you might not otherwise see, this Evo was glistening in the morning sun.

A mate of mine gave me this analogy after I told him the 33s design was just spot on. ‘R34 GT-Rs are like caviar on bread whereas R33 GT-Rs are like butter on bread, smooth’….

Once both cars and drivers were fueled it was time to head to AJD proper, I heard a number but can’t quite recall exactly, so I am just going to say near 450 (?!) cars were involved in this years event so the roll in is definitely a good time to grab some pics, especially before the sun comes fully up and goes wild!

Time to unload, not all cars are road legal so credit to their owners for making even further effort and trailering their cars down.

Of course some people could just drive right in!

Of course, so long as your car is Japanese All Japan Day doesn’t discriminate on age!

Which is good for everyone as their was everything from modern wonders to classics.

We like diversity and I am not talking about an old, old wooden ship!

Hero cars, this N1 sporting an R1 engine is a constant fixture at AJD (it belongs to one of the volunteers).

This is one way to arrive in absolute comfort, in a V12 none the less mind you! How long until we see a G60 enter in the show?

Any rotary fans here? This paint was show quality.

I feel the term ‘clean’ gets thrown around a bit too much these days but this R32 GTS-T really embodies the term.

With great paint, a set of wheels and a few other touches it proves you don’t ‘need’ much to create a great car.

I have to admit that this year I noticed a lot of R34 GT/Ts, as GT-Rs gain popularity so do their related models. A rising tide lifts all boats as they say.

This car was presumably resprayed in what looked to be Millennium Jade.

Of course it is not all Skylines! I am guilty of gravitating towards them but this NSX also caught the eye, the plate an obvious nod to one of the greatest drivers ever.

Speaking of plates, make of this what you will…

This A70 Supra was looking fine in a dark shade of green, a nod to its Japanese past with the JAF badge at the front, the equivalent of our ‘Royal Automobile Association’.

Final touches… there were lots of people making sure everything was 100% spot on.

This old Corolla (?) was a real pick of the day for me, looking immaculate inside and out, I didn’t see the engine bay but I am sure it was like the rest of the car. As an added bonus the car was full up with what appeared to be a family making the most of the day, goals!

Once you are directed to your spot and parked up it is time to check out other rides, chat with owners and enjoy the day! As some people did once you had checked the cars you could hit the eateries around Glenelg and not have to worry about parking!

A man, a parrot and a Skyline walk into a bar….

Toyota sedans are another rapidly appreciating car class!

Another car on the dream list, a Majesta, I was told this is the only 2014 model here in SA?!

I had a really good chat to the owners of both these cars, the white one is being brought back from a more extreme track style set up to something a bit more road friendly. This is one of the great sides of AJD, the ability to talk to like minded enthusiasts.

The yellow car was purchased from interstate, the JDM front end conversion has been done to it, it is not a JDM model as such.

This little Kei ute was a hit with the kids and those of us who are still a little kid on the inside!

Decent set up, I believe it is running somewhere in the region of 500kw at the wheels!

You may have seen this Brumby on social media, it is a car that has been very well put together.

The owner was happy to chat to people who were keen to know more on the car. The Subbie heads did talk about the engine but I forget the details…

This RX7 was still running a bunch of the Mazda dealer type stickers typically applied to it in Japan.

A really well done 300ZX – exciting to see the new 400ZX when it arrives.

I really do think a 350Z would be a good buy for a street registered track car at the moment. With a relatively cheap buy in price the modern-ish rwd, NA platform screams honest, reliable thrills to me!

Full points for the commitment and creativity here.

An R33 I have seen on social media before, always interesting to see cars in ‘real life’.

Later in the day I went for a bit of a walk to have a look at what else was in the streets surrounding the event – never disappoints.

A lot of coordination going on here between the body, bonnet, wheels and brake calipers! Not to mention the ‘LOL’ plates.

Tell me the last time you saw a 180SX with a stock front bar…

A Crewman gets the job as tow rig for this well presented drift car.

Speaking of drift cars, is this missile enough for you?

One of the cleanest Stageas/Cars going, I met the owner at the now defunct Exhaust Technology 7 or 8 years ago when we were both having our cars done. We chatted that day and have been mates since!

A lot of people would like to have this Supra in their home.

I need a TME enthusiast to tell me if this is an AJD model or JDM version? The RalliArt stickers mean I would bet ADM if I had to!

Back in the show grounds I thought I better snap a pic of my car! The R33 getting the call up after a last minute car swap. I need to do those brakes…

I grabbed these off a mate on the day, great timing to whack them on the dash for the full JDM kudos and extra 10 rear wheel kilowatts that comes with such things… Embarrassingly I forgot to put my wiper nut covers back on!

This was one of my neighbours on the day, a cool little Kei car. Note the JAF badge again…

I spoke to the owner of this car a few years ago and ran into him again this year, lovely car mate! Another observation I made was the number of R33s entered appeared down, maybe owners are too scared to bring them out? Maybe they are all being sent overseas?

My last black R33 post in this article… for a little while at least! You don’t see many wearing the stock rims, the GT-R wing is nice too. The old style plate leaves me to think the owner has had it for a while…

Mean and green, as you can see in the recent pics the sun has really come out by this stage of the day making it harder to get a good pic!

Some of this years ‘Hero’ cars that get to park front and centre, this crazy LFA, which despite the QLD plates has been residing in SA for some time. Next to it a 22B, legendary…

This WRX is show like quality and has been a regular at AJD.

The livery on this R32 is inspired by the AXIA car from Japan back in the day – pretty cool!

Couldn’t tell you much about this… my guess from the plates is that it is rare and a 1976 model!

Cheeky Nur tucked in among other cars, Top Secret fettled too!

I am a huge fan of the Lexus LC500, I think it is like a mini LFA, in my eyes the rims aren’t the best feature of it but good thing everyone is different!

The green or ‘Nori Pearl’ as it was officially called on the information sheet, (with Tan interior) is the only example of the limited ‘Inspiration Series’ here in Australia! This car is a shade over 200K if you are interested.

I am not sure exactly why, maybe the huge number of cars, the reasonable temperature or just the fact we haven’t been able to have these big events recently but I felt like this was the most enjoyable AJD I have been to yet! I look forward to the 2022 event!