Posted January 16, 2016 by Jonelle Patrick7 Comments Awesome Stuff To Do

Bling ALL The Rides

Q. What’s got four wheels and sparkles and can totally give you ear damage?

A. The cars on display at Tokyo Auto Salon, of course!

Yes, there’s a gigantic car show dedicated to over-the-top blingmobiles. Sure, there were plenty of ho-hum cars there too, but it’s the lowered, skirted, spoilered, rhinestoned-encrusted, flame-covered, subwoofer-blasting eye candy that everyone pays good money to see.

Hostly favorite DAD brought gold and silver twinklemobiles, completely paved with crystals... — Hostly car accessory favorite DAD brought their gold and silver twinklemobiles, completely paved with crystals…

...right down to the tailpipes! — …right down to the tailpipes!

Crazy holofilm made an appearance... — Crazy holofilm made an appearance…

...and they didn't cut corners when it came to lighting up every corner of the interior either. — …and they didn’t cut corners when it came to lighting up every corner of the interior either.

This boombox on wheels was all business in the front... — This boombox on wheels was all business in the front…

...and party in the back. — …and all party in the back.

And this ultimate tailgate wagon added monster subwoofers and video, so you wouldn't even have to leave the parking lot to catch the game. — And this ultimate tailgate wagon added monster subwoofers and video, so you wouldn’t even have to leave the parking lot to catch the game.

This one takes urban assault vehicle to new levels, with a machine gun mounted on the roof. — If you’re really serious about urban assault, this one has a machine gun mounted on the roof.

Let's not forget the little lady. — Or you could blast your way out of those inevitable Tokyo traffic jams by smothering them with roses.

Or the kids. Because it's never too early to start the training. — Pocket Rocket Jr. Because it’s never too early to start the training.

And naturally, there were flames. — And of course, no auto show would be complete without flames.

There’s still time to go see these delights for yourself if you’re in Tokyo right now, because the Tokyo Auto Salon continues tonight until 20:00 and tomorrow (Sunday 1/17) from 9:00 – 17:00 at Makuhari Messe. Admission is ¥2200 at the door. A map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

•

Are you as delighted by all things Japan as I am? Would you like to find more posts like this spicing up your email from time to time?

It’s easy to get all the amusing, thought-provoking, conversation-starting Japan swaglets, the minute I post them! Scroll down to the “I want more Japan” button, enter your email, and click the button. You can unsubscribe at any time, of course, and I promise: no ads and no sharing of your information EVER

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!

7 thoughts on “Bling ALL The Rides” ›

wow shiny! what’s a goombas?

Jonelle Patrick says:

January 17, 2016 at 9:47 am

Ah, sorry, American slang (><). A goomba is…that kind of guy. The kind in the picture, doing dumb stuff with other guys. You know?

Reply
- Mchan says:
  
  January 17, 2016 at 6:41 pm
  
  and what does it mean?

That Lambo looks like it drove right out of the Trapper Keeper I always wanted. :O Is there another one of these coming up? I have several car nut friends and I feel it is my duty to rub this in… er…. take pictures and report back to them.

Jonelle Patrick says:

March 2, 2016 at 11:04 am

It happens every January – sadly, only once a year! But if you’re in port you gotta go because it’s amazing. (Also, big selling point for me, the lines for the mens room were WAY longer than the ones for the womens bwahahahaha)

Reply
- Ben says:
  
  March 2, 2016 at 4:54 pm
  
  Long lines to the men’s restroom?? Outrageous! Surely just as many women come to look at the all-female car models. 😛
- Jonelle Patrick says:
  
  March 2, 2016 at 5:09 pm
  
  Yeah, you probably noticed I didn’t include any snaps of the frickingly ubiquitous car models, because they constantly attracted huge scrums of cameramen and my curses everywhere I was trying to elbow my way through to just SEE THE SPARKLY CARS, DAMMIT!