thebryanjzx90 Haha these are an awesome lookback! And yes I do love the way the entire junction encircles the parking area like a stadium, IMO probably one of the best examples of purely-utilitarian civil structures (that would normally be considered an eyesore) that ends up looking iconic & beautiful in its own right.
I’ve been super-interested in the history and lore surrounding Daikoku PA and how it continues today to be the prime spot for Tokyo street racers hanging out every weekend night, it’s interesting to see how lively and loud it was with all the sound systems bumping tunes all uninterrupted – especially when comparing it to now. I’m always at awe when watching how visitors back then took liberties to even set up picnic spots with BBQs on parking spaces, haha.
Even moreso how drift cars would exit out of the shutoko into the adjacent local Daikokufuto pier road next to the PA in front of clear view of the 2nd floor’s outdoor gallery, and start drifting the nearby intersection in droves for people hanging out on the gallery balcony to see. It’s basically the prototypical East Oakland intersection takeover sideshow, but at least done in a lone industrial road so that it doesn’t bother the general public.
Daikoku PA today still does get quite rowdy at weekend nights in comparison to 90s Daikoku… even the aforementioned gallery drift shows still occasionally happen. But a good chunk of visitors nowadays seem to gravitate less from the BASS kicker vans, and more toward newly-desirable “JDM classic” cars owned by stationed US military soldiers (which you can easily tell with their “Y-number” license plates) – sporting their R33/R34 Skyline GTRs & S15 Silvias that they managed to scoop up before prices went super-crazy upward (and are, of course, intent on bringing back to America once their tour of duties are over).
Also, the police’s tolerance threshold as far as I can tell seems to be a lot lower, and end up kicking everyone out of the parking area on the weekends by 9PM. Or, worse yet, they start barricading the exits and force cars to go through a “無料車検” (“free shaken/inspection” as it’s colloquially called, lol) and slapping fix-it citation stickers on cars that have suspensions stanced hella low or have loud exhausts – which their drivers sometimes brag about their citation on social media like a badge of honor.