Meet us in Pasadena for a Members Only tour of JANM’s exhibition, Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community, with exhibition curator Dr. Oliver Wang.

Cruising J-Town tells the stories of influential figures and everyday car lovers alike. See the five classic cars anchoring the exhibition: George Nakamura’s 1940s “Meteor” hot rod; Brian Omatsu’s custom 1951 Mercury coupe known as the “Purple Reign”; a 1956 Ford F150 pickup truck owned by Kirk Shimazu; Tod Kaneko’s 1973 Datsun 510, one of the models that launched the import car craze; and a hot pink 1989 Nissan 240SX from professional drift racing driver Nadine Sachiko Hsu’s days with the Drifting Pretty team. Revisit historic Los Angeles racing locations through photos and memorabilia, discover the central role that cars and trucks played in the working lives of Japanese Americans, and more!

Come for the cars, stay for the stories, and join Dr. Wang for a special tour of Cruising J-Town and an in-depth conversation about the rare photographs, car-related ephemera, and oral histories of Nikkei car enthusiasts, racers, mechanics, journalists, industry professionals, and others featured in the exhibition.

This event is exclusively for JANM Members. Interested in becoming a Member?  Join Now