Ricochetrider
Member
3 recent film shots of random cars along the way.
first 2 photos with Prackica LTL, 50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar lens, on Ferrania P 30 film
this shot, below, taken with Voigtlander Bessa R3m, 50mm Voigtlander f3.5 Heliar lens, on Cinestill 50D film
first 2 photos with Prackica LTL, 50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar lens, on Ferrania P 30 film


this shot, below, taken with Voigtlander Bessa R3m, 50mm Voigtlander f3.5 Heliar lens, on Cinestill 50D film

Ricochetrider
Member
shot this back in July on the Voigtlander R3m, 40m f1.4 Voigtlander Nokton Classic lens on Ferrania P30 film

KoNickon
Nick Merritt
Good eye — the photo was taken in New Hampshire. I believe the town was Bretton Woods.
Yes! On route 302, just past the famous Mount Washington Hotel (site of the Bretton Woods monetary conference in 1946 (?). I pass by there regularly.
Guth
Appreciative User
Yes! On route 302, just past the famous Mount Washington Hotel (site of the Bretton Woods monetary conference in 1946 (?). I pass by there regularly.
It was a great wedding and a great day overall. The immediate family all had their hands full getting ready for the big event. So I was given the honor of driving the chrome-grilled MGB (sandwiched in-between the Big Healey and the Triumph TR6) from Concord, NH to the church up in Bretton Woods. That made for a great pre-wedding event.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
Sunbeam Alpine
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
Mike,
So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
Mike,
So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.
All the best,
Mike
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
I was so impressed with the wheels on the yellow Corvette (post # 2437) that I made a crop from one of the pictures to showcase how beautiful they are.
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
Hans Berkhout
Well-known
Leica M2 Summicron 50/2.0 Panatomic-X in Promicrol

David Hughes
David Hughes
Leica M2 Summicron 50/2.0 Panatomic-X in Promicrol![]()
Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end; as we sang to that old Russian tune (Дорогой длинною)...
Regards, David
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.
All the best,
Mike
Thanks, Mike. Seems like it would be an expensive proposition over there, based on what little I know about day to day life in Japan, which is pretty much nothing. Which was why I asked. Interesting about Yokohama. I'm not seeing any Subarus in your photos; am guessing that is because they are all over here in my town.
dourbalistar
Buy more film
Mike,
So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.
All the best,
Mike
Maybe Mike can opine more on this as someone who lives in Japan, but when I visited a few years ago, I noticed that all the cars - not just the classic ones that Mike spots - are kept in very good condition. Very few unwashed, dust covered cars. I don't know if it's a cultural thing, or if there's any correlation to the many used Japanese cameras, particularly from Japanese sellers on eBay and the like, that are in unusually good condition for their age.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
Dourbalistar, keeping one's car clean and well maintained is just the way it is here; so, I guess you could say it’s a cultural thing. A filthy or ratty car would stand out like a sore thumb. A junker like the VW van in post # 2418 is undoubtedly a conscientious decision made by the owner to have it look that way. Under that rusty carcass is likely to be a very mechanically sound car. If a car can’t pass its routinely scheduled safety inspection it’s pulled off the road. Like I said previously, most cars on the road in Japan are less than 10 years old. After 10 years passing an inspection gets harder and more expensive. This is one reason why used cars over 10 years old are very cheap here.
There is an exception to this. U.S. Military and civilians stationed in Japan and covered by the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) can get their safety inspection done on their military base and the requirements are less stringent. So, if you see an older beater of a car on the road it’s probably owned by a U.S. citizen covered by the SOFA.
I hope this helps answer your question.
All the best,
Mike
There is an exception to this. U.S. Military and civilians stationed in Japan and covered by the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) can get their safety inspection done on their military base and the requirements are less stringent. So, if you see an older beater of a car on the road it’s probably owned by a U.S. citizen covered by the SOFA.
I hope this helps answer your question.
All the best,
Mike
Hans Berkhout
Well-known
Leica MP, Summicron 50/2.0, HP5+ in D23
1951 Chrysler Windsor; getting ready for the Pan American Race
1951 Chrysler Windsor; getting ready for the Pan American Race

Hans Berkhout
Well-known
Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end; as we sang to that old Russian tune (Дорогой длинною)...
Regards, David
Thank you David, spot-on.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
My guess: 1970 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Junior Zagato
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020
All the best,
Mike
David Hughes
David Hughes
Mike,
So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
I reckon Mike's photo's of classic cars are world famous and, if you live in Japan, you clean and polish them and then drive around in the hopes that you'll be seen and photographed.
1, This theory explains why there are so many concentrated in one spot and
2, Look carefully in the photo's and you'll see the owners waiting and hoping in the background. Look at the third photo in post No. 2437 f'instance.
Regards, David
pyeh
Member of good standing
I like your theory David. Sounds quite plausible.
YM, that is a really lovely Alfa. I didn't know that model before you showcased it. Zagato was a genius.
YM, that is a really lovely Alfa. I didn't know that model before you showcased it. Zagato was a genius.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
...2, Look carefully in the photo's and you'll see the owners waiting and hoping in the background. Look at the third photo in post No. 2437 f'instance. Regards, David
David, the car owner in that picture was actually amused that I was interested in photographing his car. He was more interested in smoking cigarettes than he was in me. He was just having a Father/Son day and enjoying his automotive passion.
I do agree that car lovers, what ever country they live in, enjoy attention and are happy to pose for a picture with their beloved car.
All the best,
Mike
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
I reckon Mike's photo's of classic cars are world famous and, if you live in Japan, you clean and polish them and then drive around in the hopes that you'll be seen and photographed.
Regards, David
David,
I took and shared my car pictures because I thought people enjoyed them. If it's being construed that it's just a big show-off culture that I'm feeding off of, I'm more than happy to stop sharing. No big deal for me.
Mike
Share:
-
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.