It’s eerily quiet down here. The flicker of fluorescent lighting and the hum of an industrial ventilation system is occasionally interrupted by the rapid throttle blips from a Corvette, but other than that, we could be in any Tokyo shopping centre carpark on any given shopping day.
And that is essentially the sign of a successful underground meet. No one knows you’re there, and no one will know when you leave. Leave no tyre marks.
This was the vibe at the second Underground Tokyo Meet, held on the Saturday of Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 weekend. It was in stark contrast to the superstar celebrity catwalk which preceded the night before.
Saturday night was all about the drivers, not the priceless prototype GT-R from Nissan or the merchandise on sale from co-organisers Peaches and NVRFUCNSUC.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a little fanfare, but quiet and contemplative is more my taste. And anyway, there were more than a few celebrities from the local scene present on this night. Hidaka-san was out in his heavily modified 1970 Porsche 911S…
… And no Tokyo meet would be complete without an appearance from Souki-san and his ineffable Lamborghini Diablo, fresh from an engine-out clutch replacement, completed at a friend’s local garage no less.
As always, a real mixed bag lined the vast underground parking building in Shibuya.
It seemed like every man and his dog had come to check out cars and catch up with friends, but the vibe was totally different to last year, which was pretty rowdy. This time around, people grouped together and spoke in hushed voices, as if aware that pushing just one hair out of place could put an end to these magical gatherings forever.
Favourite cars? There were two stand outs for me, the first being this Bentley Continental R.
And the second was this Toyota Spyder (MR-S) wearing a very rare (and expensive) Bandoh GT300 kit by Mooncraft.
I’ll leave you here and let you walk around without my inane commentary. Just meet me back at the car in an hour. We’re parked on B2, area D2.
Toby Thyer
Instagram: _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
