Japan is a cornucopia of eye-opening delights. The people are exceedingly polite, the whisky is top-notch, and getting directions in English is near impossible. Oh, and the Japanese custom scene operates on its own level—never failing to impress, inspire and challenge.
That’s why the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show (or simply ‘Mooneyes,’ after the company that organizes it), is an absolute must-visit. It’s a one-day show that crams hundreds of visitors into the Pacifico Yokohama exhibition center to gawk over countless custom motorcycles and cars.
The show knocked my socks off last year, but I couldn’t make it this time around. Luckily our friends (and top-class photographers) Marc Holstein and Christine Gabler made the pilgrimage from Germany to Japan to capture the event.
And capture it they did. The couple shot over a thousand digital exposures during their trip, plus around 14 rolls of film. And all after waking up at 5am to catch a train from downtown Tokyo to Yokohama.
Why the early start? “At Mooneyes you only have one hour to shoot before the public comes in at 7am,” Marc tells us. “It was super stressful. I was overwhelmed by the number of bikes and cars.”
“Then they do a countdown: ’10 minutes until the public come in!’”
Marc and Christine are regular fixtures on the European custom scene. But this was their first time at Mooneyes—and according to Marc, it’s unlike any show they’ve ever attended.
“We had a seen a lot of images of the show and heard a lot of things,” he says, “but experiencing it in real life is a totally different experience. It could easily be said that this is one of the best custom shows on the planet.”
“One of the highlights of the day was certainly the VIP drive-in, where the special invited guests drive through crowd into the exhibition.”
“It all started with CW Zon’s best of show 2018 motorcycle, the amazing BMW ‘Departed’ R18.”
“Followed by Bob Reisner’s rod, ‘The Twin Bathtub’—one of the Californian show cars that toured the world in the late 60s and 70s. It was recently restored by Dave Shuten of Galpin Speed Shop.”
The show was certainly stacked this year. Bike EXIF alumni 46Works, Heiwa MC and Rough Crafts all had killer builds on show (and Rough Crafts’ Winston Yeh was a guest judge too).
“There are two bikes that really stood out for us,” says Marc. “The Thompson Cycles and Alps Racing 1955 Arrow Racer (above), a land speed bike, and Tom Heavy’s 1953 Triumph TR6 custom chopper.”
“Also there was an Indonesian Norton build that was super impressive.”
Marc also pointed out a stunning Vincent from Katie’s Custom, and a bizarre BMW K 1600 B custom from Custom Works Zon.
And then there was the ‘Have Fun Flat Track’ crew (below), who also arranged a flat track race the day after the show.
“Their basic philosophy is the just have fun and enjoy flat track racing with whichever bike there is,” Marc explains.”
“Their booth showcased bikes they built from Honda Monkeys as the base, proving that you do not need a lot of cash to build a flat track bike to have fun with.”
Marc and Christine returned to Germany exhausted but deeply impressed.
“Our jaws dropped more than once due to the pure craftsmanship and creativity that has been put into these builds. And don’t forget the open-hearted friendliness of the Japanese.”
“This was our first, but definitely not our last, Mooneyes.”
Images by, and with thanks to, Christine Gabler and Marc Holstein
