Ever since I started my search for looks, ideas, tip and tricks for car modification ‘basically everything in my life‘ Japan has always been my number 1 source of inspiration.

It is the country with the most diverse aftermarket scene. Whether what route the owners are going for ‘style’ is always present in their builds. Upon seeing the cars in person, I then realized how hard it is to judge a show in the capital of car tuning. Here are the winners of the 2014 Offset Kings Japan.

All cars at the event had the red Offset Kings stickers, winners will then be notified through a special sticker. Definitely for keeps.

This VW Thing won first place for the ‘Euro‘ category. Check out Mark’s post regarding this amazing build: That Thing in Japan

The look of the car had a positive vibe into it, very laid back yet unique. Check out that steering wheel.

This Beetle/Bug won second place for the ‘Euro‘ category. I felt the owners excitement when I approached him for his prize.

This R32 won 1st place for the ‘JDM’ category. Check out how slammed it is, upon inspecting the the Skyline I realized it’s airbag set up, just kidding. Full coilover.

People might not accept it’s ‘Oni’ approach but in our eyes it’s definitely a winner.

If given a chance to own an R32, what path would you go for?

Rocket Bunny FD ‘number 3’ won the second place for the ‘JDM‘ category. The car made its debut at the show and it was highly recognized when it went viral on social media sites/pages.

Clearly you can see how Miura-San designed the aero kit as white always emphasizes the car’s design. This particular vehicle had the least stickers of the 3 currently built FD’s.

The boys from Garage Mak went full force this year with their show cars. Their charcoal S15 won first place at the ‘Race/Track‘ category.

The Silvia had the full Garage Mak kit including the newly installed carbon fiber rear over fender. Enkei Rs055’s was their new wheel choice and HKS Hiper Max D was their coilover choice.

I then asked for the specs, here are the basic numbers:  SR20DET with a 2.2 Tomei stroker kit producing 645hp, 623NM and revving up to 9,000 RPM. Can I upload a video here on how awesome it sounded?

This 180sx/s13 owned by Akira Bitou won 3rd place for the category. Talk about street style. (credits to him for this photo)

This Odyssey on BBS wheels won third place for the ‘Van‘ category. Only in Japan that this selection of entries are scrutinized.

My personal favorite of the vans, this 3rd gen Odyssey won third place at it’s category. I’m amazed how the TE37V’s matches almost everything, a wheel originally made for the classics that now comes in a 5×114 bolt pattern.

The ‘VIP‘ scene which originated from Japan must be hard to judge, the entries were diverse from the drift x VIP styled Chaser’s to the Oni-Kyan builds. This Toyota Crown from N-Style won first place at its category.

The car screamed JDM x VIP styling into it. It didn’t have extreme camber, wild radiused fenders and the traditional ‘black’ paint but everything was on point for the car. Stay tuned as I will have a separate post on these builds.

This Nissan Cima won second place (VIP). N-Style famous for its brown Toyota’s definitely made an impact this year with their in-your-face looks.

Also these winners went for the traditional coil-over set-up, unlike most of the VIP builds in Japan.

The talk of the town, this KE Corolla from Motorfix won first at the ‘classic/muscle‘ category. Nozomu Sakai aka “The Corolla Wizard”  was the perfect example of the saying “never judge a book by its cover”.

The KE70 which originally started as a sedan looked perfect in all angles. The faded stickers also gave character to the car.

The 3SGE played it’s Beams orchestra right in front of me.  Raw music.

Upon looking at the photos I still wonder how he converted it into a wagon. Links please!

The second place winner contradicted the Motorfix wagon. This Cressida from N-Style had a different approach on the category

The car had the USDM styling/trend into it, simple yet stunning.

This was definitely N-Style’s year as their Corolla Sprinter Coupe won third place for the category. The onwer Manabu Mitsu and the boys were all smiles at the event, these guys are definitely down-to-earth.

The Sprinter had 15×9 SSR Longchamp XR-4 wheels and a 4AGE blacktop.

The epitome of wild at the event. This burgundy RX-7 won the special ‘craziest‘ award. Full aero it is.

Only in Japan.  The car reminded me of my small collection of Jada Toys.

I had a chat with several owners of the builds and I am glad Mr. Shuichi Nakagawa was one of them. As a follower of his 180sx build I think it looked perfect with its new look for the show, learning from his techniques was amazing.

His specs for his Work Meister M1’s are  18×9.5 -15 up front and  18×11 -30 on the rear. Nakagawa-San had a 350 hp SR20DET. Upon our conversation I learned that he drifts it with this type of fitment. Battles scars gave the car more character, straight rad.

The car won in 3 different categories in a span  of 3 years. He was the champion for the ‘Drift category‘ for 2012, ‘Race category’ for 2013 and ‘
Slammed category‘ for 2014. I can’t wait what’s next for this car. See you next year and thank you for my stickers (My car still does not deserve it though).

Garage Mak had it going again with their 180SX demo car. The S13 had a time-attack feel to his drift car.

With its originality, the design of the Garage Mak kits do deserve more recognition. The 180 won ‘Best Nissan‘ at this year’s show. Revolution.

One of my personal favorites, the panda Levin on Work Meister’s won the ‘Best Toyota‘ category. One of my regrets was that I only took 4 photos of this car.

Definitely the most pristine Levin i’ve seen, in and out.

This Civic EF Shuttle won the ‘#FeatureThis/Speedhunters‘ award. Taryn had a shoot of this car watch out for it. I ran out of batteries and i took shots of it using iPhone. lol

I must admit that I was never a fan of the shuttle’s style but it all changed when I saw this particular build. It looked perfect on Equip’s.

(Here are some of the winners not included in the photos: Euro 3^rd place: white, VW Bug convertible. JDM: 3rd place red, Mazda FD. Race/Track:  2^nd, red, Nissan Silvia S15. Van:  2^nd, place burgundy, Honda Stepvan. VIP: 3^rd, white, Lexus Crown Athlete. Slammed: 2^nd red, Toyota Celica and 3rd black, Mitsubishi Evo VII.)

The turnout of Offset Kings Japan was amazing and for us everyone who joined was a winner in their own different ways . This wraps up my entry for The Winners, Offset Kings Japan. Hope you enjoyed.

See you in a few days with a special look at some of the styling trends.

Instagram: @kevcarlos

Fatlace | Manila Fitted

Filipino Pride All Day, Everyday. 

 PS: Thanks Anton Ngata and Vincent Cruz of AN Films for letting me use the lens