1048 Style – STREET COVER

Wow.

I don’t even know where to start here. For the longest time I wanted to travel to Japan, obviously from my love of cars and Japanese car culture.

While I was researching accommodation I came across this Air BnB with an RWB 993 out the front. The text was all in Japanese, but it loosely translated to something along the lines of “The house is near the track, I’m a car enthusiast and love sharing my enthusiasm of cars with people”

Even better, the last day of the endurance GP was on and the place was available! WOW. Unfortunately it would have been impossible to make it with the dates we had but now it was a goal of mine to meet this guy. Toshiya Ichiraku – The international director of RWB and 1048style![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Once I arrived in Japan I decided I was just staying in Tokyo. Cool. I had a day or two whereI rented an MX-5 and drove to Mount Fuji, wow that was the drive of a lifetime. On the way back from Fuji, on a whim I decided to stop in on Nakai-San’s warehouse to see if he was there, HE WAS! And he was building some new cars! Feature on that story coming soon.

Meanwhile, I’ve emailed Ichiraku-san or Toshi, he replied almost instantly. “I’m in Osaka, I’ll be free from 3pm on Monday” Damn it, I couldn’t make it, I was getting a tattoo. I was very lucky that Akira, the tattoo artist was super flexible, so once he confirmed the date change I booked my ticket to Osaka.

I arrived just after 1pm, I told Toshi I had arrived but not to worry I would hang around till 3pm when he was available. He said to come in, he was free! So I made my way to his headquarters and we started chatting. It’s so lovely to be able to share a passion of cars with someone, we shared stories about our love of these machines for quite a while.

It turns out Toshi actually has had a huge influence on the car industry world wide. He was explaining how he became the International director of RWB and helped get companies like Libertywalk, Fatlace and Illest off the ground. And of course his own 1048Style. WOW I didn’t realise I was literally in front of possibly one of the most influential men in the car modification and lifestyle scene. I was absolutely honoured.

SO, Toshi says, “let’s go for a drive”. My heart started racing, I couldn’t believe it. We got in “Rough Rhythm”, his own RWB 993 and the most requested build for RWB owners. Toshi’s is also the lowest in the world. As we drove I was in absolute awe. I could not believe my luck, what a lovely down to earth guy, I mean the fact that he made time to meet me was a huge deal in itself. I was so happy. We drove, he gave me some revs to enjoy, he pointed out Frank Ocean’s signature on the dash. This was turning out to be one of the best days of my life.

We arrived at his garage, I watched him open the door to reveal his one of a kind RWB 348 (and a one of a kind RWB S14 Silva). WOW a wide body Ferrari, and done by Nakai-san! I was truly in awe, absolutely speechless. Even sitting here now I have no idea what to write. It was the first time these two cars had been photographed together so this was a big deal. I really hope my photographs are even worthy of publication.

So, I’ll let the pictures do the talking from here. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet Toshi, talk about cars and photograph his beautiful machines. I am truly humbled to have met such an amazing person, and so thankful he made time for me.

Enjoy!

– Jaraad