What a weekend. I’ve finally had some time to unpack, get some rest and reflect on what was truly a fun day at the second Garage Sokudo Matsuri. First up, a huge shout-out to everyone who braved Melbourne’s terrible weather to bring their cars down for display, as well as our exhibitors who put so…
READ MOREWith Melbourne getting so cold lately, we’ve had some incredible foggy nights. I took the SK15SPL Silvia out for a late-night drive and grabbed a few photos. It’s always strange how photos never quite capture just how dense the fog really is. At times there was less than four metres of visibility. Driving through completely…
READ MOREAfter spending more time driving and working on the SK14SPL S14 Silvia during my last trip to Japan, I feel like I’m really starting to enjoy the car and understand what I want it to become. The goal has always been to have a car to practice drifting, build my skills and enjoy driving with…
READ MOREIn my many years of preserving 2000s tuning history and culture, I’ve met some amazing people around the world. But there is a small group of guys in Japan who are truly keeping the golden era alive. I was lucky enough to be invited to a very intimate event at Link Circuit in Fukushima called…
READ MOREYesterday still doesn’t quite feel real. After months of messages, planning and late-night ideas shared over the internet, Drift Kyoeikai finally happened at Minami Chiba Circuit in Japan. We spent the night before the event in Chiba hanging out with the crew, eating pizza and staying at an old izakaya turned homestay we somehow managed…
READ MOREWhen anyone mentions JZX, most people automatically think of the JZX100 Chaser, to the point where Mark IIs and Crestas often get called Chasers too. I guess there is an association of Toyota four-door = Chaser. But there is another JZX chassis that no doubt has a cult following, yet somehow feels like it slightly…
READ MORELast weekend we were invited to attend the huge two-day MotorEx here in Melbourne. For those interstate or overseas who might not know it, it’s one of Australia’s biggest car events, showcasing hand-picked cars from nearly every corner of car culture. Modified 4WDs, full restorations, high-end show cars, drifting, and of course a strong mix…
READ MOREWhen it comes to one of the most unique Japanese wheel stories, I think the Regamaster from wheel manufacturer Desmond has to take the cake. Desmond, responsible for achieving some major milestones in Japanese tuning history, was quite an understated business. It was more of a behind-the-scenes brand, with not much public knowledge surrounding the…
READ MORECompetition drifting as we know it today sits at the top tier of global motorsport, but it comes from relatively humble beginnings. Through the 1980s and 1990s, amateur drifting began building momentum at local circuits across Japan. Two key figures in the automotive space, Keiichi Tsuchiya and Daijiro Inada, came together with a vision to…
READ MOREI always carry my camera with me everywhere I go, not to shoot anything specific, but to capture the natural, spontaneous reactions and moments that happen while I’m in Japan. This photo set is from my last trip in November 2025. My Fujifilm X-T5 lives next to me in the car, so I’m always ready…
READ MOREI wholeheartedly believe that the car scene and industry here in Melbourne is growing back to the vibrant levels of the early 2000s, with many local and international businesses getting involved. We attended the 2026 Black Label Invitational car show yesterday, but this year only as spectators. It was great to see so many familiar…
READ MOREB.I.M Creative Studio, a subsidiary of tyre giant Bridgestone, was a project tasked with moving the brand into the wheel market, much like Yokohama did with AVS and Advan. Over the years, BIM created several iconic wheels. But the real groundbreaker for BIM was the Drift Master wheel, introduced around 2003. Targeted squarely at the…
READ MORENakamura-san of G-Corporation has always been a creative force, designing aero and parts since the early 2000s. That creativity goes far beyond car styling. It carries through his product design, graphic work, and overall presence as a brand. I was lucky enough to be given a tour of Nakamura-san’s S15 Silvia drift car, which is…
READ MOREI’ve always believed the younger generation is the future. As the older generation, it’s on us not only to educate but to learn from them too, and events like this really reinforce that. This past weekend I attended the Fourwinds Summer Tour meet here in Melbourne. Run by Taped and Peach Garage, it’s an annual…
READ MORE1990s and 2000s drift style are very different, yet they’re often mistaken for one another. It’s not about the era the car was released, but the era it’s styled to represent. A perfect example of this is Denis’s S13 Silvia, a car that captures the quintessential 1990s look. Denis has nailed the essence of 90s…
READ MOREOur second Blurry Nights meet in Japan with Sotobo Old School went just as well as the first, maybe even better. The turnout keeps growing, and the mix of cars never fails to surprise: drift, grip, street builds, kyusha, and even a few VIP rides. This time we were lucky to have some Mid Night…
READ MOREI’ve finally been reunited with the SK14SPL S14 Silvia since buying it earlier this year, and it was looking a little neglected. The car has been with Mikami-san at 3UP, who went through the whole thing and refreshed most areas to make it as reliable as possible. The mission? Just to get back behind the…
READ MORELocated deep in Kanagawa near the seaside town of Odawara, Toto House isn’t your average tuning shop, it’s one with deep roots in the early days of drifting. When my friend Jeff invited me to visit, I excitedly accepted. It’s somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a long time, and for good reason. Toto House…
READ MOREWell, what a weekend. I took yesterday to switch off and reflect on how successful the Garage Sokudo Matsuri was on Saturday. I wanted to create an event that really embraced the Japanese car culture we all love so much and bring together a community of likeminded people, and that’s exactly what we did. Honestly,…
READ MOREBack in 2023 while out in Kanagawa, I finally had the chance to visit the legendary shop, Pro Shop Wave. If you’ve ever browsed through old issues of Drift Tengoku from the 2000s, you’ve probably seen their ads, absolutely packed with tiny images of coilovers, LSDs, wings, and everything in between. The shop has been…
READ MOREThis year we’re putting together something we’ve wanted to do for a long time – a day to celebrate the cars and the community that make Garage Sokudo what it is: Garage Sokudo Matsuri. Matsuri means festival in Japanese, and that’s exactly what we want this day to be. We’ll be taking over the big…
READ MOREFor anyone who doesn’t know, every week a bunch of the boys from drift team TBK meet at Brothers Kebabs. That’s where the name “Team Brothers Kebabs” comes from, a simple tradition of grabbing a kebab, talking cars, and enjoying each other’s company. Oh, and did I mention they all have great taste in cars…
READ MOREI love seeing car people with a passion and a taste for curation, thats why I really appreciate the guys at Shinzo Garage. If you don’t know, Shinzo Garage is a Melbourne based vartiety shop with a bunch of well curated goods, everything from old Japanese DVD’s, stickers, small selection of wheels and a collection…
READ MOREI finally managed to get some more detailed photos of the new V3 livery on the SK15SPL demo car. This livery pays homage to some of the great brands and workshops of the 2000s, many of whom I’m lucky enough to now call friends. The design itself is a completely custom tribal base in red…
READ MOREBack in March earlier this year, we finally got the chance to attend a Final Bout event, not in the USA, but in Japan, at Mobara Circuit in Chiba Prefecture. If you’re not familiar, Final Bout is a grassroots drifting event judged on team drifting and style, unlike professional drifting which focuses on clipping points,…
READ MOREFirst up, a huge thank you to everyone who came out to Garage Sokudo Twilight Underpass 2 over the weekend here in Melbourne. What a night. It was packed with some of the city’s best Japanese street cars, and honestly, I’m still buzzing from seeing so many old friends, some I hadn’t seen in nearly…
READ MOREWhile in Japan I had the chance to link up and shoot Fumi’s incredibly cool 180SX, a work in progress that already has serious presence. He hand-crafted the ultra-wide moulded rear fenders himself, and just weeks later had the front done too (which I would’ve loved to shoot). But there’s something special about capturing a…
READ MOREI managed to get out to Fuji Speedway in March to catch the Drift Tengoku Ikaten battle. If you’re not familiar, Ikaten is a team-based drifting competition where groups tandem a section of the track in full unison, staying tight, keeping consistent lines, and working as one. It’s a really fun format and not always…
READ MOREDuring my recent trip to Japan, I really wanted to shoot Kaeda’s S14 Silvia. He’s converted it to a 180SX front by cutting and modifying a set of steel front fenders. The car is still a work in progress and currently sitting at his panel shop in Chiba, but I wanted to shoot it before…
READ MOREI got invited by my friend Tsuba to visit his compound deep in the forests of Chiba, where he runs Takahashi Autoworks with his father and lives with his family. Tsuba spends most of his time here working on customer and friends’ cars, mainly drift cars. If you don’t know, he’s the leader of the…
READ MOREI was lucky enough to run a small event with Daikichi called the Daikichi Cup. These are usually held here at Gunma Cycle Sports Center, better known as Gunsai. Yep, the same Gunsai where all the classic Hot Version DVDs were filmed. We weren’t on the touge this time though, just the skid pad. The…
READ MOREIn Japan, Vernal Equinox Day marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It’s a public holiday, and many people take the opportunity to get out and enjoy the day, so as you’d expect, Daikoku PA had some incredible cars on display. A trio of old VIP-style Y31 Cedrics definitely caught my eye.…
READ MOREIntroducing the first episode of the Garage Sokudo B-side series, unfiltered, less polished content about what I get up to. Way easier to film, edit, and post. And what better way to kick it off than landing in Japan, spending the day at Nikko Circuit for the Winds Auto drift day, and ending the night…
READ MOREHere is a 35mm film dump from my recent trip to Japan, shot on Kodak Portra 160 with a Nikon 35Ti point and shoot camera. These days I don’t really shoot much on film, just more of a snap a shot here and there situation.
READ MOREI finally managed to grab a few shots of my friend Kakeru’s Kouki S14 Silvia out on the cart track at Mobara Circuit, something I’ve always wanted to do. When he’s not drifting his track-spec purple 180SX, he’s out cruising in this. To me, this is the ideal street car, AVS Model 5s, OEM aero…
READ MORELast month, I had the chance to organise my first car meet in Japan alongside my friend @sotobo_oldschool. We called it Blurry Nights, or ぼやけた夜 (Boyaketa Yoru), a fitting name for a late-night meet at a PA. The cars that turned up were wild. A bunch of local Chiba guys rolled in with their Kaido…
READ MOREI’d only just arrived in Japan, and the very next morning I was up at 3am, heading out from Ota City in Kawasaki to meet my friend Daikichi in Saitama. The plan was simple, make our way to Nikko Circuit for the Winds Auto Drift Day. If you’re not familiar, Winds Auto is a shop…
READ MOREAfter many years away from drifting, I really wanted to get back into it. But with S-chassis prices skyrocketing in Australia, I couldn’t bring myself to try a newer-generation chassis. My heart still belongs to the S-chassis, and I didn’t want to drift the SK15SPL because of its condition, it’s a one-owner car and dead…
READ MOREIt’s a freezing day in Chiba, and I’ve just spent the afternoon with some friends, eating, catching up, and meeting others along the way. While we were hanging out, my friend @sotobooldschool was chatting with one of his seniors and mentioned he wanted to take me to a shop in Chiba City. It’s around 9pm…
READ MOREI finally managed to snap some photos of the SK15SPL with the new V2 chrome/gold chrome livery. I decided to switch it up from the V1 glitter/gold style to try something new, and I really like it. The way the chrome/gold shifts under different lighting is wild, really gives the car a whole new presence.…
READ MOREWow, what a weekend! After a crazy few weeks preparing for our first-ever Black Label event, where we revealed the new livery for the SK15SPL S15 Silvia, I’m finally rested up . I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who purchased something, took photos, had a chat, or even just stopped by,…
READ MOREI know a lot of y’all have probably seen these photos on Instagram, but I’m working on archiving all my photos on this blog so people can view and save them in high resolution. This was the first ever Sokudo General Store pop up event in Melbourne, Australia, back in October 2024. We had the…
READ MOREFirst off, a huge thank you to everyone who came out to the Twilight Underpass meet this past weekend, the first-ever Garage Sokudo meet. It truly means a lot to me, especially hearing from people who said they never bring their cars out or that it was their first time attending a meet in their…
READ MORETucked away, surrounded by wheel boxes and stock, on the top floor of a parts store in Chiba lies the original Kunny’z JZX100 Chaser that competed in D1GP in the 2000s and remains there to this day. This is my personal favorite livery of all the Kunny’z D1 cars, and seeing it up close was…
READ MOREYesterday, my good friend @haophu_ organized a private car meet for @dave_driftgames as he was visiting and wanted to check out some of Melbourne’s cool cars. Despite the short notice, the meet turned out to be pretty awesome—an intimate gathering with close friends. After hanging out for a while, we wrapped it up by introducing…
READ MOREWhenever I arrive in Japan, my first stop is to catch up with Daikichi, stock up at a conbini, and visit his father, Mikami-san, at 3UP—a legendary tuning shop in Saitama specializing in S-chassis and SR20s. Mikami-san is a true icon, having competed in D1GP and D1SL in the 2000s, driving a 180SX, S14, and…
READ MORELast month, just before closing out the year, we made it to the Team Reverse drift day at Mobara Twin Circuit. It was great to finally meet so many people I’ve only known online until now. Huge thanks to Drift Team Liberty for hooking me up with some stickers. I’m already looking forward to getting…
READ MOREHanging out legendary workshop Julius in Yokohama with Jeff and his JZX100 Cresta!
READ MOREIt’s a Thursday night in Japan, and my good friend @sotobo_oldschool tells me he’s arranged a small meet with some of his close friends: Team Poison, a famous drift team predominantly from Chiba, known for their matching purple cars. The team is led by @tsuba_s13, who drives a purple C33 powered by an SR20 (which…
READ MOREIf anyone knows me, they know how much I love Shibuya and Harajuku. Having been into Japanese streetwear for over 20 years, these areas have always been a central hub. However as I get older, it’s becoming harder to visit these areas due to the sheer number of people. When we were in Japan last…
READ MOREOn my recent trip to Japan, I was lucky enough to be invited by legendary engine specialist Tomei for a tour of their facility in Yokohama Machida, Kanagawa. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know how much I love preserving the golden age of Japanese tuning—so to be invited by one of…
READ MOREI got a message from my friend Zhe to meet up and take photos of the SK15SPL Silvia, which worked out perfectly because I’ve always been a big fan of his S13 Silvia and wanted to snap a few photos of it as well. The S13 is styled so uniquely, breaking away from the typical…
READ MOREI spotted this Mazda FD3S RX-7 in Tokyo, sitting on a set of Work Meister S1 3-piece wheels and sporting a full RE Amemiya FD3S widebody kit with its iconic yellow paint. The car’s presence, sitting so wide and low on the streets of Tokyo, was incredible to see. A few minutes after this photo…
READ MOREBefore I arrived in Japan, my good friend @sotobo_oldschool messaged me to say he had something from the early D1 days that he knew I’d love to see when I came to Japan. He dropped a few hints, but I wanted to keep it semi-mysterious so I could be surprised. We met up at a…
READ MOREWhile in Yokohama, I stopped by the legendary car shop WELD to pick up some parts for the SK15SPL Silvia. I had the chance to meet the owner, Ito-san, in person for the first time after following each other on Instagram for a while. If you didn’t know, Ito-san is the mastermind behind the creativity…
READ MOREI was lucky enough to spend the day in Chiba with some great people, including Fumiya, who drives this insane JZX100 Cresta. In true Tokyo fashion, the car is wide, low, and loud. Ironically, when Fumiya isn’t cruising the streets in his Cresta, he works as a taxi driver in Tokyo. The JZX sits on…
READ MOREI frequently visit the Philippines with my partner Steph to see family, but we usually stay down south in an area called Mindanao. Truthfully, I haven’t spent much time in Manila and have never done anything car-related there. That changed when my friend Justin reached out and offered to show me the car scene in…
READ MOREI know most of the people who view this blog are familiar with my S15 Silvia, but I thought I would introduce the SK15SPL S15 Silvia for archival purposes. Who knows, someone might come across it one day in the distant future. The car originally arrived from Japan with a Vertex Lang aero kit, a…
READ MOREI want to use this platform to share some of my photography. While I don’t shoot as much as I used to, I still enjoy taking my camera out and capturing moments. Anyway, here are some shots from my recent trip to Japan. I was lucky enough to bring my partner, my brother, his wife,…
READ MOREI thought it would be fitting for my first blog post to cover the first drift event I ever attended in person. It was the 2004 Full Lock Motorsports Drift Nationals at Calder Park Raceway here in Melbourne, which pulled an impressive crowd of 8,000 attendees. After spending a few years watching videos and seeing…
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