On Aug. 5, the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe in El Monte hosted its annual car meet celebrating the iconic car featured in the 90’s street racing anime, Initial D, the Toyota AE86. This event brings car and anime fans together from all over the greater Los Angeles area.
With the popularity of vintage Japanese cars growing in recent years, it is common to see a wide array of different car models at these types of events. Since opening three years ago, the annual AE86 meet marks an important time for the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe.
The Fujiwara Tofu Cafe is a cafe based on Initial D, and the cafe of the same name in the series. Initial D tells the story of 18-year-old Takumi Fujiwara, who enters the world of illegal Japanese street racing and rises to become the best racer in his prefecture. In the show, this cafe is owned by Fujiwara’s father. However, unlike the shop in the show, the real life version sells boba, coffee and more.
While the name “AE86” might not mean much to the average driver, for car enthusiasts, it represents a legendary vehicle. The AE86 is a chassis code that refers to an 80’s model of Toyota Corolla. Being an affordable option for enthusiasts upon release in 1983, appearing in racing and having a massive cultural impact by being the star in Initial D has led to the Corolla model garnering a cult-like following.
Founded three years ago by Vincent Chan, the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe has become widely known by the Southern California car community and beyond. Originally from Hong Kong, Chan discussed how he fell in love with the AE86 and how the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe came to be.
Chan stated after watching the original Initial D series, his dream car quickly became the AE86. However, “in Hong Kong, it’s nearly impossible to afford one,” said Chan.
“After I moved to the US, I realized, ‘Oh, these are still affordable for me,’” Chan said. So once I got a job, I worked my ass off, saved up enough money and purchased my first 86.”
Chan said he got the inspiration to create the cafe after making his AE86 look like the one in the series.
“Why don’t we create the tofu shop as well? I also thought that Los Angeles needs a place for all the car enthusiasts to gather up together, because back in the days, whenever people wanted to host car meets, let’s say at a Boba place or any shop, the owner would usually say no, because they assume you guys are trouble makers,” Chan said. “I just wanted to create a place for people to host car meets or gatherings, just a place to hang out for all the car enthusiasts to meet new people, connecting with everyone.”
While the event started officially at 8:06 p.m., many fans arrived early to ensure parking in the small lot where the store is located. Cars of all makes and models could be seen, from 90’s Japanese cars, American muscle, German sports cars and more. As the night went on, the event became a sort of rolling car show with people leaving and those spots getting immediately replaced by new cars, keeping the event fresh.
With many desirable car models not originally being sold in the United States, many enthusiasts have taken it upon themselves to import these cars. Since cars not sold in the U.S. must be 25 years or older to be legal for importation, the amount of popular 80’s and 90’s gray market vehicles has only increased. This includes not only sports cars, but also small utility trucks known as kei trucks, passenger vehicles, vans and more.
One of these people is Uriel Guzman, who drives an imported Nissan Stagea Autech. Guzman goes into further detail about why he chose this car and his experience owning a gray market vehicle.
He stated this car as being sporty, “not something you see here every day,” and he “could take the whole kids and everybody and still go to Sam’s Club.”
“I couldn’t find nothing like this wagon out here,” Guzman said. “Only thing kind of similar was a Volvo, but I liked it different, and everybody seems to like it.”
Gyzman said driving a Stagea Autech makes him feel famous since onlookers are always taking pictures of his car.
“You feel famous, you know like every time you look at it, somebody’s taking a picture, someone’s looking. You feel good, because it’s not no crazy car. It’s something different that people are just wanting to see and see what it looks like.” he said. “Everybody liked it, I feel different.”
Gyzman is just one of a growing number of enthusiasts who have begun to look overseas for car solutions that fit their desires.
Going back to the reason for this event occuring, AE86 owner Jason Yip gave his thoughts on what it is like owning this legendary vehicle.
Originally from New York, Yip said he never had the opportunity to own a car like this prior to moving to Los Angeles. After purchasing the car from another car enthusiast on Instagram, he has taken it upon himself to restore the car back to its original state.
“I want to keep everything back to like [an] original AE86.” Yip said. “So my task was to undo everything, remove the engine, repaint it, and then finally rebuild the engine, put everything back together.”
Furthermore, Yip discussed the favorable weather conditions in California, which enable a large car community and various events to exist.
“New York is always cold, so I don’t get to really meet [other enthusiasts]. But when moving to California, coming to car meets is so accessible.”
Yip has been able to find his own community among other AE86 owners. He mentions how the community allows people to easily come out to talk and meet each other without any reckless behavior. Yip was able to find many other owners through Chan and became part of the AE86 community.
“Basically, from day one, they introduced me to different 86 owners,” Yip said. “I already know where to get my work done, where to find parts.”
Whether you’re a fan of the Initial D anime or love cars, the Fujiwara Tofu cafe represents the growing enthusiasm behind these older Japanese vehicles. It has given enthusiasts a new place to gather and has brought in new and old fans for the community.
While not set in stone exactly where, Chan stated he is currently scouting a new location for the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe. With the growth of the restaurant in the past three years, Chan looks forward to the future where the Fujiwara Tofu Cafe will take us.