I finally made it to Tokyo Auto Salon and it lived up to what it’s said to be – a giant showcase of Japanese tuning culture with literally something for everyone. I’ll post all the pictures on the Brickhouse Facebook page so be sure to check that out. And I’ve been putting up some of my favorites on my instagram – @brickhouse_steve.
To touch on one phenomenon first, the cars are the main attraction for most in attendance but there is a sub-group there just for the girls. And they are ridiculous and relentless. The minute a girl poses next to a car you can count on not taking a picture or even seeing the car clearly until she moves. And if you look at the preview screens on their cameras, you get a pretty good idea of what they’re shooting – a lot of close up of boobs. It was humorous at first and turned pretty irritating through the course of the day from the view point of being there to look at the cars.
If I can recount one scenario of the sukebe (perverted) girl chasers that sums up their existence, there was a corner booth with a corner stage and an interview just starting as we were walking by. You could view the stage from the point of the corner or either side. There was a cute spokes model wearing a very mini skirt and a small bikini/tanktop top interviewing two guys (who should have been the main attraction); all three of them sitting on tall stools. She starts talking and the sukebe photographers come flocking, most taking a position at the point of the corner facing the interview head on so to speak. We were standing off to the left side by chance back a few feet but saw what was happening and stopped to admire their shamelessness. In front of us were two photographers separated from the pack positioning themselves directly in line with the direction the girl was sitting…and therefore a view directly up her skirt. And they were quick to react adjusting and leaning in with their telephoto lenses just to get a brief shot of whatever could be seen as she separated her legs a half centimeter to re-position on the stool. That in an anecdote is the girl chasers.
But back to the cars, here is a bit of a walk around and the event through pictures.
