My brother flew in on Friday and we headed to Yokohama for a few days where the 20th Annual Hot Rod and Custom show was being run by Mooneyes. I tell you now I know nothing about restoring and modifying/customizing old bikes and hot rods but my brother flew in to visit me and asked me to go with him to the show as a press photographer. I took the chance to take a few days off (which means more work now that I am back!) and hang out with my little brother and learn more about his hobby. It was also a great chance to simply take photos and practice with the Nikon D5100 and 35mm 1.8G lens. I took over 1200 photos but will only post a few here since most readers here probably aren’t that into bikes but can appreciate some interesting photos!
My brother arrived Friday afternoon and we chilled at my place and then headed out for sushi at Choshi Maru. The weather was terrible and it was the coldest day of the year. Saturday morning was all rain as we headed out to Yokohama. We were pretty happy arriving at Yokohama Pan Pacific Hotel in Minatomirai to discover we had a pretty good view from the 15th floor. Here are the views from the east and west sides of the balcony at night. Day shots are also in the mini gallery below.
The show itself was held at Yokohama Pacifico, one of the Tokyo Areas many large convention centers and exhibition halls. Mooneyes who hosted the show brought in many prominent customizers from all over the world to showcase their work. Thousands of enthusiasts rode in on their very own customized bikes from all across Japan. The show itself was actually on Sunday only but as press we were present during the setup day on Saturday and at the dinner event and Dice Party afterwords. On Sunday morning several of the top legends from overseas prepped their bikes in the back and then rode in for the opening ceremonies. My brother and I were in the back snapping shots and here are a few of the ones I took. I thought black and white was cool for these shots except the last one which is color but looks like he is getting a push start into blackness…
The show was all about bikes and hot rods after all and we were mostly there for the bikes. Here are a few of the nicer pictures!
And I just had to try a few panning movement shots, here is one that did not turn out so bad!
The weather ended up getting real nice and I had a good but tiring time over two days immersed in a new type of pop culture that I had not experienced before. What I saw amazed me, thousands of Japanese enthusiasts all with bikes as hot and crazy as many of the show masterpieces, but it honestly did not surprise me as I have come to learn from living in Japan that when it comes to hobbies or shall I say obsessions – from bikes like these to modified sports cars, to animation and idols, the Japanese are probably more passionate than anyone out there.
I just dropped my brother off at the airport. It was a short visit but he has his family to get back to and I have to get back to work!
Here are more pics!
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