Let Me Just Pinch Myself

I haven’t been back to Japan for over 15 years. I knew it would always be my next destination after touring the United States and sampling its automotive culture back in 2018, but that one pesky global incident got in the way. Funnily enough, this time I once again managed to create a plan that fit everything I wanted to tick off almost (too) perfectly. Three weeks of car culture from start to finish.

First up was Osaka Auto Messe. I can’t say that it’s one of the automotive events that I’ve longed to visit. To be fair, Tokyo Auto Salon wasn’t either and OAM sits deep in the shadows of its bigger, more world famous cousin. But I think that gives it a level of authenticity that TAS might not have in comparison. It’s an auto show that continues to serve the Japanese domestic market and the Japanese domestic market only without bowing down to the needs of a global one. After all, I was in Japan to experience Japanese culture.

Having not been to an indoor auto show since Autosalon (the Australian version) in 2010, nor one of this scale before, I admit I was a little overwhelmed. I forgot how many people could be crammed between rows of car displays and vendor booths, which made taking photos difficult at best. But that was mostly forgotten when faced with the sights, sounds and smells of everything I have been idolising for the last 20 years. I had finally made it.