Japan Expedition 2025 - Part I

Sometimes things happen that you can only dream of. And sometimes dreams come true. But sometimes dreams are surpassed by reality, and you look back and ask yourself: Did I just dream all that?

That's exactly what happened in November 2025, when the S30.world team travelled to Japan and organised a car show featuring very special Japanese vehicles.

But first things first.

After opening our museum exactly one year ago, we came up with the idea of travelling to Japan with the team to take part in local car meets and marvel at Japanese Zs.
Of course, we also wanted to visit the Nissan Museum in Zama and see some of Japan's special highlights up close.

But things turned out quite differently. Our Japanese team member Kats managed to motivate very special Z owners from all over Japan to travel immense distances to meet us in Kyoto.

Kats told all these nice people about S30.world and the passion we all share. It doesn't matter whether you come from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Australia or even Japan. The love for these vehicles is the same everywhere.

And so it didn't take much effort to convince our Japanese friends to drive 600 km or even travel 1200 km by ship just to be part of the planned S30.worldtour Japan expedition.
So they travelled from Sapporo, Niigata or even Nagano to a place they didn't know, to meet people they had never seen before and about whom they knew nothing except what Kats had told them beforehand.
Pretty crazy when you think about it.
Because none of these cars are new cars with air conditioning and cruise control. An ex-racing Z432R, an LY engine and/or a competition suspension are certainly not the usual ingredients for such a ride.

So while all these preparations were being made in Japan, we were also trying to plan a few things outside Japan.
This included special posters, sweaters, stickers and other items that we designed and produced to suit this event and sent to Japan by post.

In addition, our team had to travel from various countries, take buses, trains and taxis from different airports to our venue, the Keihanna Plaza Hotel, and then prepare the exhibition hall for the arrival of the Japanese guests.

When the first part of our team arrived on 31 October, it was already evening and we went to eat at a so-called "family restaurant".
Our food was brought to the table by a robot, and outside we marvelled at the first kei cars in the parking lot.
Of course, it is quite unusual for Europeans or even Americans to see these small, practical cars.
Perhaps the rest of the world should follow the example of this type of vehicle.

But before the big event started, we first visited sika-deers in Nara the next day.
The animals do not live in an enclosure here and there are no fences. They are therefore free to roam not only in the forest but also in the city, and naturally try to get fed by tourists.
This is very impressive, and it is always amazing to see how differently they behave compared to the deer that live "back home" and hide from humans.

In addition to the animals, we also marvelled at the Todaiji Temple and other buildings from the Nara period (710-784), which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Daibutsu-den Hall is the largest wooden structure in the world and is almost 60 metres high.

We owe this very special tour to Kats's wife Miho, who kindly showed us all these special places.

On the way back from this trip, Kats picked us up at the station and did me the honour of letting me drive his Nissan Z432.
Slightly hesitant and with respect, I accepted this offer and drove it to the hotel.
WOW, what an experience.
It's really impressive how different an S20 engine is compared to an L24.

What the L24 has in torque, the S20 has in revs. The engine concept and the whole package with the gearbox and differential are completely different.
They are simply different cars.

When we arrived at the hotel, the first two Zs were already waiting for us. One of them was even a Nissan 240ZG, which we had only ever seen in photos before.
And now it was standing right in front of us. It was really impressive and interesting to see how much the "short" and "long" versions of the cars differed.

Later in the day, more cars arrived. There was even a Z432R – another absolutely indescribable moment when you suddenly find yourself standing in front of a vehicle that you only know from social media or magazines.

As we filled the hall with all these fantastic cars, it was important to follow the hotel rules and not upset the wonderful hotel staff.
The cars were therefore loaded onto small dollies and then positioned by hand in the room with centimetre precision.
Even though this event was organised for a very small target group, everyone made every effort to make everything perfect.

In the evening, we all went out for dinner together. With the help of Google Translate and our Japanese-speaking members Kats, Alan and Glenn, we managed to communicate in a rather amusing way.
Good food and great cars really do bring together cultures from different worlds.

The remaining vehicles arrived the following day. I would particularly like to highlight the second Z432R, which attracted everyone's attention because it was a genuine former racing car that had had a tough life in the early 1970s.
Scars, signs of wear and tear and the obvious numerous holes in the bodywork told the story.
It is not without reason that the car is known as the "Swiss cheese car", and the many details show how the car has changed over the years due to various regulations in racing and road use.
We were truly standing in front of a piece of Nissan racing history.
You don't get to see something like this very often.

Nils has described some very apt observations about the event itself in his blog. You can read them here too:

We spent all day talking to and interviewing the owners, admiring the details of their cars, and just enjoyed being in such nice company. It’s very special to see such rare cars up close and being able to talk with the owners about their cars history, modifications and how it is to own such special cars.

We were able to take a closer look at the following cars:

• 1970 PS30-SB – Z432R (heavy modified race car) // S20 Engine // Orange
• 1970 PS30-SB – Z432R // S20 Engine // Orange
• 1970 PS30 – Z432 // S20 Engine // White
• 1970 PS30 – Z432 // S20 Engine // Silver
• 1970 PS30 – Z432 // S20 Engine // Safari Gold
• 1971 PS30 –  Z432 // S20 Engine // Red
• 1972 HS30-H – ZG // Nissan Sports option LY280 Engine // White
• 1972 HS30-H – ZG // L24 Engine // Maroon
• 1972 HS30-H – ZG // L24 Engine // Maroon
• 1973 HS30-H – ZG // L24 Engine // Maroon
• 1974 S30-A – ZL // OS-Giken TC24-B1 engine // Safari Gold
• 1973 S30-A – ZL // L20 engine // Green
• 1973 S30-A – ZL // L20 engine // Red Works Safari Rally style
• 1974 S30-A – ZL // L20 Fuel injected Engine // White
• 1972 S30-S – ZS // L20 Engine // Silver

With such an assembly, it’s difficult to pick a favorite, but I have always been a big fan of the Office Tomitaku OS-Giken TC-24B1 (the old, O.G. version) engine and the story around the car, so it was great for me to meet the owner in real life and check out many of the details.

We also had two vendor booths on site, which were busy selling their Parts: E-ZA Vintagecraft, who is specialized in Mikuni/Solex carbs, Hitachi car radios and rally clock repairs, but also an expert in early A-type transmissions and making beautiful shift knobs and carb-tuning tools by hand.

And the other one was RS-Mach. A specialist shop for vintage Mach reproduction steering wheels and other goodies. Again it was a joy to talk to the owners and discuss their products and craftsmanship.

Aside from our own videographer, who was busy taking shots and interviewing the owners, the famous Japanese “Nostalgic Hero” magazine was on site to talk to the owners and take pictures, so expect to see professional photos from the event soon on various digital and print channels.

We also had a lot of other guests who enjoyed the cars, but our very special guest was Mr. Miyazaki, who held a nice speech in the afternoon, explaining his involvement in the development of the Z432 and S30 cars in general, how they tested and improved aerodynamics, crosswind stability and much more.

Now, this experience alone would have been worth a trip to Japan. I don’t think such an assembly of special and rare z’s have gathered in Japan before, and I doubt this will happen again soon. But remember, these were only the first two days of our trip, and clearly set the pace of what to expect the remaining time. Stay tuned for an overload of incredibly cool things and stories to come!