The 17 years of Truck Masters history is also a history of growth and location changes.
This year the biggest truck show in Japan was held at Odaiba, Tokyo, like it has been for the last three years, but Blue Panic officially announced that 2008's show is the last one at this prime location. With 501 trucks, 182 compacts, and more than 50 vendors, including a full swap meet, the Odaiba, Tokyo Rainbow town fairgrounds was filled up to capacity by about 7 a.m. Although it rained for part of the morning, that didn't stop thousands of Japan's truck enthusiasts from coming out to the show.
Once the weather cleared up, everyone was able to walk around the fairgrounds and enjoy the charity auction, raffle, bikini contest, BMX attractions, and of course, all of the custom trucks that gather every year from all over Japan. Both spectators and show entrants alike also enjoyed seeing friends that they're only able to see once a year at this show, as some come from as far as the southern Okinawa Island, and others from as far as the cold northern Hokkaido area. We look forward to this trip every year as a chance to bring our readers the best trucks from all over the world. For more information, visit Blue Panic on the web at Bluepanic.jp or check out our exclusive extended coverage at Minitruckinweb.com.
The Blue Panic crew does an...
The Blue Panic crew does an amazing job throwing the best show in Japan; we look forward to it year after year.
One of the first cover trucks...
One of the first cover trucks from Japan was this MIC-built Mazda, which is currently under the knife for a full rebuild at Continental Kings.
Japan can definitely be given...
Japan can definitely be given credit for our love of the old-school minis.
The Show Lowdown
Name: Truck Masters Japan Tour Final
Location: Rainbow Town, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan
Date: November 16th
Total vehicles in Attendance: 683
Spectator Attendance: More than 3,000
Fast 411
* 17th year since the first Truck Masters
* Fairground is on a man-made island that floats in the Tokyo bay-area
* Show tours all over Japan then comes back to Tokyo for the Final Round
* About 500 trucks in show, while the other 180 are compacts and SUVs
* They collect pull ring tabs of aluminum cans to help the handicap purchase wheelchairs
* The only trophies awarded are the fifteen "Best of" awards given out from magazines and special guests
Events
* Raffles, auction for charity, BMX ride show, bikini contest
* More than 30 vendor booths and swap meet
Special Thanks
Everyone who's involved, everyone who comes out and supports the shows, and all the amazing shops, trucks, and people from Japan.
Contact For Future Events
Visit Blue Panic at Bluepanic.jp.
A four-door Tacoma dualie...
A four-door Tacoma dualie in the works. Sorry Bobby looks like someone beat you to it.
The clubs always roll together...
The clubs always roll together in Japan, whether it's for a shoot or a show.
This truck is getting torn...
This truck is getting torn down for a rebuild, as it has been this way for the last ten years.
Kustom Style offers Sullen...
Kustom Style offers Sullen and other SoCal clothing brands to Japan.
Year after year, one of the...
Year after year, one of the coolest parts of the show is the awards ceremony. Each winner brings their vehicle up to receive their trophy as only 15 "Best Of" trophies are awarded.
A Japanese casino, where you're...
A Japanese casino, where you're guaranteed to go home with lung cancer.
Yup, there really are crazy...
Yup, there really are crazy moving parking garages in Japan.
A very special thanks to all...
A very special thanks to all the clubs and friends that showed us support on our trip.
Lining up for a cruise in...
Lining up for a cruise in downtown Tokyo made for an awesome day.
Moon Caf is the closest to...
Moon Caf is the closest to American food we can get, so we eat there often.
Special thanks to the boss...
Special thanks to the boss of Truck Trends for all his help and support.
Makoto, our fearless leader,...
Makoto, our fearless leader, trying to tell us something important as we continued to drink some beer and ignore him.