THE JCCS: REDEFINING CLASSICS FOR 20 YEARS

When I covered the show in 2016, I literally could not help but serve up this 5-star Yelp-worthy review:

“I look forward to the JCCS every year. The quality of the cars, the inclusive vibe, and the postcard-like backdrop of the Long Beach shoreline and the iconic Queen Mary make the JCCS a unique gem of a local car show. That’s saying something in SoCal, the land where neither cars nor coffee need to hibernate for the winter.”

As the co-founder of Carcadia at Route 66*—a monthly car meet where the hardest part is waking up at 5 AM once a month and where attendees generally self-park at this point and know how to keep things fun and safe—I have the utmost respect for the JCCS team. 

Putting on a huge, beautiful, and inspiring show like theirs takes intense logistical planning and about 100 staff members, year after year. And they’ve done it for TWENTY YEARS. That’s not just dedication to Japanese classic cars—that’s real passion for the automotive community.

I asked them how they have kept at it. “It is all about TEAMWORK,” said Terry. “Every year is so hard and (we) want to quit at some point,” she continued. “But (the) accomplishment and the all (the) cheers get us going this far.” When you see Terry, Koji, and their crew, make sure to thank them.

To me, as an advocate for Southern California and import car culture, JCCS is one of the big drivers of putting Japanese classic cars on the map. Today, it’s hard to go to any major car meet in California and not see a tricked-out ’90s Honda Civic, Integra, or CRX.  

When the JCCS formed, these may not have qualified as classics or been considered valuable – but as the march of time moves on they are entering that zone of collectability and respect. Don’t believe me? Check out Bring-A-Trailer. 

If it’s your lucky day at a local cars and coffee, you’ll see classic-classic JDM rides like my friend Rick Ishitani’s perfect 1971 Skyline Hakosuka (Go to his Sonkei Blue meet and maybe you’ll see it!), a Datsun 510, Z, or Fairlady Roadster.  We take it for granted that these are cool, collectible, and worthy of respect – but at some point, before JCCS, many thought old Japanese cars were just old econoboxes. (I know. We should have bought all the 510s back then!)

I asked Terry how she and Koji decided to create JCCS. “We were members of TORC and had experience organizing All Toyotafest,” she said. At the time she and Koji were working on a personal website called Katysnest.com focusing on Japanese classics with “no boundaries.” To Terry and Koji, “Car clubs were the key.”

Terry shared with ClassicCars.com that when JCCS was founded, “Some of the automotive media people were upset about what it should be called, they didn’t think a Japanese car could be classic and they said ‘classic was only American and European cars.’ We had no idea. We just thought that was what it was, a classic.”

Today, that’s most certainly not the case. Shows from tuner-heaven SEMA to blazer and straw-hat Pebble Beach/Monterey Car Week now feature Japanese classic cars. The JCCS didn’t just start a show, it started a movement – one that car fans of any age should experience. 

If you’ve never been to the JCCS, this is the year to finally show up. Twenty years running, it’s way more than just a car show — it’s a living museum, a community hangout, and a love letter to Japanese car culture. As I get older, I’m learning to appreciate old things more — their stories, their quirks, and yes, their lack of any computerization. 

These cars used to be what some folks straight-up called junk, but now they’re prized symbols of Japanese pride and engineering magic. It’s wild to think these old rides carry the past forward and remind us all that, like us, they only get cooler with age (right?). You don’t have to be a kyusha expert to enjoy it — but after wandering through rows of steel and soul, you just might catch the fever. 

Having spent years advocating for SoCal car culture, I’ve seen plenty of shows come and go—but Terry, Koji, and the JCCS crew? They’re the real deal. They didn’t just put Japanese classics on the map—they helped build the whole map. Without their passion and hustle, the scene just wouldn’t be what it is today.

* In addition to his role as Senior Editor of LACar, the author is the co-founder and organizer of Carcadia at Route 66—the cars and coffee gathering held the last Sunday of the month at the Arcadia Hub Shopping Center. Carcadia has been a mainstay of the San Gabriel Valley since 2013.