Red Nissan Fairlady Z S30 in Ikenohata, Tokyo | Photo Print

Ikenohata sits between Ueno Park, Ueno Zoo, and Nezu, on a road busy enough that if you stand there long enough something interesting drives past. On this day it was a red Nissan Fairlady Z, the S30 that the rest of the world knew as the Datsun 240Z. Bolt-on fender flares in the 240ZG style, rear window louvers, deep-dish Watanabe-style wheels, fender mirrors, a Datsun badge on the front wing, and a Tokyo taxi and a kei van ahead of it in traffic. Kyusha, shakotan, and still on the road.

Cars from this era have a raw muscularity that modern cars have lost. I admired them as a kid and as a teenager, and they still excite me now. Seeing one kept alive on an ordinary Tokyo afternoon is the kind of small moment that makes your day.

The road is Shinobazu-dori, four lanes running from Ueno past Ikenohata toward Nezu and Sendagi, with apartment blocks and small shops along it and a steady stream of taxis and kei vans like the ones ahead of the Z. Shinobazu Pond is a short walk away, where people stroll the water's edge, come on summer mornings to see the lotus open, or rent a boat.

Photographed in Ikenohata, Tokyo, in 2025.

AI-assisted photographic artwork based on an original photograph.