Cars on display at Nissan Heritage Collection in Japan
Cars on display at Nissan Heritage Collection in Japan
Garage & Collection ProfilesHistoryMiscMuseum

Rising Sun Car Museums

Japan’s automotive history spans over a century in three worthwhile car museums—many of which go well beyond only Japanese cars

Avatar photoMatt Stone

All photos by Matt Stone

Most people might believe that Japan’s automotive history dates to sometime in the 1960s, because that’s when Datsuns and Toyota Coronas began showing up in those small “Imported Car Dealerships” in nearly every city in the US. Of course, this isn’t true, as the history of Japan’s larger carmakers dates back prior to WWII. And even then, Japan’s enthusiasm for cars extended well beyond its own borders—as evidenced by several of this marvelous country’s dedicated car museums. This is an enthusiast community that loves American muscle cars, sports cars, exotics, and motorsport as much as any other on earth.

Tags
Avatar photo
Matt Stone
Matt Stone, automotive freelance journalist, broadcaster, Event Emcee, book author, enjoys everything on wheels, demonstrating a particular passion for sports, grand touring, and sports racing cars. He’s a Chief Class Judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and officiates and emcees at other first tier shows and events, and resides in California, USA.
Related
Members only$29 / year

Keep going. This is where it gets good.

Sports Car Digest Membership is for people who'd rather spend an hour with one chassis number than skim ten headlines. The rest of this story — and every other one like it — is a few seconds away.

  • 5,000+ members-only stories

    Concours, auctions, race history, driven classics and the full archive.

  • No ads. None.

    The whole site reads like a magazine, on every device.

  • The market, every week

    Auction results and classic-car values from the people who were there.

  • 30% off the shop

    Every Sports Car Digest shirt and piece of merch, all year.

Join Sports Car Digest — Keep Reading

$29 a year. Cancel anytime, no hoops.
Already a member? Sign in

BY CAR PEOPLE, NOT A NAMELESS MEDIA COMPANY. Your membership keeps a small independent team of historians, photojournalists and racing drivers doing this.

Join — Keep Reading $29/yr