Kei & Mighty: Explore the Wazuka MicroCar Museum in Japan – Feedshunters

The wide road network in Japan is 1.2 million kilometers from the runway runway across the sprawling scene.

This may seem much, but it runs about 82 million cars in some of the world’s most dense cities per day. As a country, it should be in a permanent state of stopping. However, since the fifties of the twentieth century, the Japanese have kept small sleeves …

Kei-jidõsha, or “Ki” As is more common, it indicates the smallest category of cars allowed to drive on Japanese roads and highways. For decades, and in order to Class has produced some of the most unusual unusual compounds anywhere in the world, backed by motors the size of cycling with tires that do not look outside the place on the handcra. In the scene of cars more swelling and overweight than ever, the Japanese in order to The car seems to be the code of cheating required to overcome the system.

This phenomenon entered for the first time in 1949, after the Second World War. Japan needed to mobilize its country again, but the limited resources and the weak economy mean that the traditional passengers were far -reaching for most people. Enter the new “light light” category, which is initially limited to a four -thorned engine of 150 cm (or 100 cm), followed by a larger 360 cm in the mid -fifties. It will take it until 1958 for the first time in order to The car that takes off – Subaru 360 – which is proud to sit for four with a measure of less than ten feet.

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By the nineties, in order to The category engine capacity was raised to 660 cc, and with the start of manufacturers in forced induction to enhance energy and efficiency, it quickly resulted in some of the most famous models so far, including Suzuki Captino, Autozam AZ-1, and Honda. There was no official limit to power, but the agreement of the man who crowned in 63 horses. However, the dimensions have been the same since 1998 – no more than 3.4 meters, nor wider than 1.48 meters, and not longer than 2.0 meters. in order to Cars should not adhere to the same safety standardsin order to Cars, that is why you rarely see them officially sold outside Japan. Not because it is dangerous in nature, but you assume that the EURO NCAP team will not look very positively to form a portion of the front tension test.

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This is its popularity in order to Cars represent more than a third of vehicle sales in Japan. But rewinding to those formative years before the prosperity of its popularity, and there was another direction of the car, even smaller in order to Cars feel like Hummer in comparison. A category does not even require a driver’s license to use because the seventies of the last century will represent the launch of the Wackier world from MicroCARS. Moreover, the driving force behind them was a manufacturing company that would already recognize it when it came to building mysterious vehicles that resemble a foreigner. Take the bow, mitsuoka engine.

Before Mitsuoka spent its days in converting the K11 Micras into Jaguar Mark IIS, which was created by AI, her business focused on importing and serving European cars for customers all over Japan. The founder, Susumo Mitsusoka, always dreamed of creating his own cars, but until the late 1970s was able to do this. When one of its Italian customers brought their Italian Microcar to the Sulky-Metsuka Saint, he left frustrated because he could not find the parts required to fix them. Instead of surrendering, Mitsuoka-SAN adopted the optimistic Speedhunters position and declared how difficult it? Several years later, in 1982, the first full car of Mitsuka-Bubo shuttle 50 was born.

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To summon Bubu Shuttle-50, modern standards may be paid, although it contains the doors and mirrors of the wing and the windshield cover. Its engine remains only 50 cc, drives one wheel at the back, with two other wheels in the foreground to do the guidance. But this was not Mitsuka strange for that; Its goal was to mobilize everyone Japanese people. Thanks to its 50CC engine with the guidance, suffocating, and brazen argument, Bubu Shuttle-50 only needed a staircase to be legally drove on the road. Moreover, the rear-fully-open door door with good slopes-allowed to be used by those with disabilities, thanks to the hand control tools. It may fit even through an entrance, which means that you do not need to lift the garage or car park outside the street to store it.

Soon Bubu Shuttle-50 joined by BUBU 501 in the same year, a smaller and more elegant style that still includes a 50-cc and three-wheeled engine, albeit with the addition of the steering wheel. Three years later, BUBU 505-C joined the range, which mimics River Roadster by a quarter of. Mitsuoka turned into full -sized compounds in the late eighties, but its exact vision remained part of its model until 2007.

Each vehicle – although it looks mysterious even according to Mitsusoka’s standards – was even a very important role in order to Cars cannot fulfill. Not only was it more suitable for mobility in small roads in Japan (often), but bicycle license was much cheaper than obtaining the equivalent car. Although sales were never prosperous, the Microcar market moved from strength to power to the late eighties when changing the list closes their fate. Aside from the safety that is now very important, Microcars will now require a full driving license to work, which greatly reduces its attractiveness.

However, after decades, there is at least one man in Japan that made the mission of his life to continue the legacy of this strange era of Japanese cars: Cocegaoa and its headquarters.

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“I got the first microcar in nearly 30 years,” Hasijawa San proudly states. “I always enjoyed small vehicles, and I got the first microcar for me. It was abandoned at the corner of a car store in the countryside, so I spent time recovering and started driving it. It was a lot of fun, and the reaction of others was amazing. I knew I wanted another miniature, so I started looking around it and looking for their history.”

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Although thousands of Microcars are sold throughout Japan, tracking a good business model, it has become difficult to discover rare super cars – mainly due to the fact that most people bought Microcars for a fast and easy transportation instead of something to pride and assembly. For Hasegawa-SAN, this is also known as half of the call. Many of us are familiar with BMW ISETTA and Peel P50 – both are sold throughout Europe in much larger numbers – but what makes Japanese models more desirable is a smaller range and rare in comparison. The Hasegawa-SAN group is now more than 10 different models, and although it is three decades in the depths of its obsession, it is still looking for more.

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“When it was new, Microcars can be driven by a bike license, so they sold well,” He adds. “Especially between housewives, as it was designed to allow people to move quickly with luggage or shopping in all weather conditions. It was much cheaper than a car and can be stored in an ordinary house easily. But when the new law was approved, this means that the owners need a driver’s license to run, sales stopped and traders turned their attention to Kei cars instead.”

Hasegawa-SAN is more than just a mosque for this anomaly. For years, his love for them shared it on social media, and it was not long before it was overwhelmed by messages from the fascinated car fans who were trying to decipher what they were looking at or that the lovers of similar microbes – in many cases – assume that early Mitsuoka Bubu models will not be seen again. However, the Hasegawa-SAN group expands beyond Japanese cars. Its dear style includes Sulky Casalini and all Snuggy Charly cars, and yes, these are the actual names. Looking at the global interest that his small, modest group has gained, Hasgaoa San decided that it was time to create an actual museum for his small cars. This may seem like a vast and costly project to realize that all of his group is comfortably proportional to a stagnation garage in the basement.

“The Wazuka Microcar Museum has created because of the messages that I continued to receive social media from people who want to see real things,” Hasijawa San adds. “There are many museums in Japan, but there is no museum anywhere specialized in Microcars! So, I thought I would make myself. All cars offered in good and original condition while the models produced also at the lowest numbers. I traveled all over Japan to find them, and gather friends here with all the enthusiasts along the way.”

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Instead, the Wazuka Microcar Museum is located on a small street, jammed in a small house with living places on the upper floor full of small souvenirs. It is completely unpretentious from the outside, but its magic only corresponds to the strange vehicles it includes behind the wooden garage door.

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Nevertheless, Hasegawa-SAN regularly hosts Microcar’s gatherings by inviting friends and enthusiasts including Sinchirou Kubo and Bubu 505C similar to Morgan, and Kai Kuramochi that spanned until Slamemini is on anything on anything that could not come close to anything.

These four owners and cars will close any street with conspiracies and twisted necks than any Lamborghini that he can dream of. The four will fit in the Bay of Parking 7-EEDVEN, which provides you with any place near the highway, its maximum speeds can vary between 65 km/h and 85 km/hour depending on the direction of the wind and the roads of the roads. They do not differ from anything else that you will see on the roads, and it is difficult to be associated with every age and generation.

“We don’t get many tourists here!”Hasegawa-SAN laughs, which is not surprising because it is seven hours drive from Tokyo and two hours south of Osaka. “But my goal is to tell everyone about the museum and show the history of Microcar. I am always looking for more cars to be added – it’s half -fun with Microcars because they often end in the most mysterious and unusual places. Until the largest possible number of together – and keep it in good conditionable condition – is a dream that I will continue to live outside as long as I can. “

The Wazuka Microcar Museum is located in Kaoru Hasegawa in the Kennan area of ​​Wakayama, Japan. To arrange a visit, you can send a message to him @kaoru.bubu On Instagram.

Mark Richeon
Instagram: mark_scenemedia
twitter: Markriccioni
mark@speedhunters.com

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