Visit to the Japanese Classic Car Show

First 24: Reminiscing and a Tourist – AKA Being Nosey

In the early ’90s, my family called the westside of Long Beach home. It was home because my dad was serving in the US Navy on a frigate berthed at the naval station on Terminal Island. Nestled between the Terminal Island Freeway, Pacific Coast Highway, and Santa Fe Rd., the Century Villages @ Cabrillo which was the former US Navy housing community now serves local veterans and low-income families.

In that time, nobody wasn’t really placing future collector car status on their late 80’s Corolla, 4-Runner, Civic, or 300ZX. Oddly enough, I recall seeing Toyota Vans as we see the volume of stale crossover SUVs on the road now. Yep… I’m a crossover hater. Definitely, nobody was or is thinking now the family Ford Aerostar is a Barrett-Jackson high auction value-getter either.

Further down Memory Lane, one of my fondest memories was traveling by bike or bus to the Thrifty drug store (now Rite Aid) for a large scoop ice cream cone. I normally preferred the bus than a bike because… have you tried riding an 80’s Huffy Freestyle BMX bike across the LA River on PCH?

What amazes me, is how popular In-N-Out is. In Texas, Whataburger is popular but not how this chain is. You have to see it to believe it. So, I had to stop here and stuff my face… twice.

While playing tourist, I drove out to TopRank importers in Cypress. I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Yaska Kosuge and get a tour of his shop. He had some of the popular imports like the Skylines and Silvias, and some one-offs that were uniquely cool as well. One car I realized that are becoming popular are the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R and he pointed it out as well.

Think about it, the car is going to be in demand because the engine (SR20DET) has already been here in the states for years due to its drift-heavy brethren with heavy performance support comparable to Subaru’s EJ207, it’s AWD, AND it’s A friggin’ lightweight hot-hatch. It’s a baby GODZILLA – “You’re welcome,” says Nissan.

I really wanted to visit more vendors that are based here in SoCal, but time constraints AKA traffic caused me to decide to just wait to see who will show up at the gathering.

Later, I found myself visiting my former elementary school – Hudson Elementary, cruising down PCH, and walking the oceanfront. Again, going down Memory Lane and not necessarily in that order.

So, I stopped the morning of the gathering in San Pedro at the Omelette and Waffle Shop for breakfast which was a straight shot down the Harbor Freeway from the hotel. If you ever in town and need just a good breakfast, I highly recommend them.