September 20, 2018

tmfes.com

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc. (JAMA) will hold the Tokyo Motor Festival 2018 from October 6 (Saturday) through October 8 (Monday, a public holiday), 2018, at Tokyo Waterfront City’s Special Event Venue, Center Promenade (Symbol Promenade Park), and MEGA WEB sites in Odaiba.

JAMA member companies have worked together to organize the largest Tokyo Motor Festival ever, in terms of size, number of vehicles on display, number of participating manufacturers, and number of events. This year’s festival will display 267 vehicles from 26 manufacturers (up from 160 and 15, respectively, in 2016) and will host 39 events (up from 18 in 2016) in a venue area more than twice the size of the area covered by the Tokyo Motor Festival 2016.

A Message from JAMA’s Chairman
First held in 2012 and taking place in years that alternate with those of the Tokyo Motor Show, the purpose of the Tokyo Motor Festival is to draw people of all ages to experience the excitement of cars and motorcycles. I am grateful to all those who participated in the past three festivals and am always happy to see the smiles on people’s faces at this one-of-a-kind event. The concept behind this year’s final Tokyo Motor Festival of the Heisei era is not only to look back at the iconic vehicles of this era, but also to look to the future. The program for Tokyo Motor Festival 2018 will include many completely new events which will link the festival to next year’s Tokyo Motor Show and to mobility’s future.
Akio Toyoda, Chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.

Celebrating automobiles and trends from the 30-year-long Heisei era, four special events at Tokyo Motor Festival 2018 have been planned in the hope they will provoke a feeling of munegyun (meaning a pounding of the heart, a tightening of the chest) and emotional connection in visitors of all ages.

Munegyun Event 1: “Back to the Bubble,” a display of iconic cars and motorcycles from Japan’s bubble economy years
A surge of interest in cars and motorcycles was one manifestation of the spirit of the times during Japan’s “bubble era,” as it is referred to in Japanese. That spirit will be revisited with performances of exuberant 1980s-style dancing by graduates of Tomioka Senior High School (famous for this type of dancing), alongside demonstrations of “drifting” driving techniques by Team Orange. The show will be produced by radio personality “Piston” Nishizawa and will include a display of over 30 cars and motorcycles from those heady years, supplied by automakers, entrants in a related online hashtag campaign, and used car retailer Gulliver.

Munegyun Event 2: Experiencing a new era of e-sports at “e-Circuit”
Cars in video games have undergone continuous evolution from the early days of Super Famicom and PlayStation to today’s world of e-sports. At this event, a new category of e-sports, dubbed “e-Motor Sports (e-MS),” will take place at the e-Circuit site, where the FIA Gran Turismo Championship 2018 Nations Cup Asia/Oceania Region Final will be held, allowing participants to take part in an experience that unites video games and the real world. On the last day of the event, professional drivers chosen by Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota will team up with top e-sports players in the “Gran Turismo Shinkenshobu Jidosha Maker Taikousen” (a racing video game with automaker competition).

Munegyun Event 3: “Itasha Tengoku Special in TMF”
Itasha, or cars whose exteriors are decorated with anime, manga or video game characters, represent a significant trend that came to the fore with the spreading popularity of otaku (“geek”) culture during the Heisei era. In the “Itasha Tengoku Special in TMF” event which will be held with the support of Yaesu Publishing Co., Ltd., a different series of ten cars selected by the Itasha Tengoku editorial department will be displayed on each day of the three-day Tokyo Motor Festival, alongside cosplayers dressed up as the characters painted on the vehicles. In addition, a total of 200 itasha vehicles will assemble at the “Odaiba de Cho Meeting Shiyo! Itasha Tengoku” festival event site on October 7.

Munegyun Event 4: A Talk Show with JAMA Chairman Akio Toyoda and Matsuko Deluxe
JAMA Chairman Akio Toyoda and TV personality Matsuko Deluxe will host a special talk show on the first day of the festival (October 6), where they will discuss their passion for cars and motorcycles.

The Tokyo Motor Festival offers something for everyone, including test rides in the latest passenger cars, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles. We look forward to your joining us there!

For more detailed information on events and displays at Tokyo Motor Festival 2018, please visit the festival’s website at https://tmfes.com.

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