In the daily traffic of Tokyo, Renaults have to be searched for with a magnifying glass, finding classic models seems impossible. And yet, in this metropolis of millions, we suddenly come face to face with two R4s.
Haruki Tanigaki is chairman of the Club Renault 4 Japon. His business card says in French 'Club des propriétaires de Renault 4L'. The club was founded in 1991 at the very moment when sales of the Renault 4 in Japan ceased in view of the production stop.
Haruki himself mainly imported early models from France and the Netherlands. His 4 Super unfortunately needs some technical attention. He sold his R3 to a considerably younger, new owner. Kamei Yasuo with a beige GTL from 1986 and Koichi Eguchi with his freshly painted white one from the last year of sale are happy to show their cars to an international audience.
The Japanese R4 club has about 200 members, but in almost 30 years of existence some 650 different people have been members. Among the club members are several hundred examples of the Renault 4 of which the majority was officially imported between 1978 and 1991. "Capital Enterprise," as Haruki recalls, "was the importer until 1986 and also sold other models such as the Renault 5 and 25. Before that, a Renault was occasionally sold by Nichi-Ei automobile, a company that also sold other European brands in Japan. After that, the import business was transferred to a company called JAX. But it were parallel importers Viven and especially Autorese who put more than five hundred and R4's on the road in Japan up to and including 1994. When the production stopped in 1992, our club started to take care of a good supply of parts to keep the cars on the road. Fortunately, the first importer, Capital Enterprise, immediately provided for this and the club was able to continue to grow as a sociable association. Every second Saturday of the month about sixty members meet in Tokyo, Nagoya or Osaka for dinner and to have a nice chat with each other. Because these meetings usually take place in the evening, there are no rides. This happens at larger events that are organized in May and August. All members receive a club magazine six times a year with each time a small 'work of art' by artist Akira Mizorogi on the cover.
Occasionally during the interview, the three Japanese people consult each other in their own language. Koichi's English is limited in vocabulary and the ever cheerful smiling Kamei would like to tell a lot, but he also lacks sufficient intelligible vocabulary. Once seated next to him in the beige with the canvas top he proudly shows what's in his car. Think of a double-tone horn, a compass but also two empty packets of Gitane cigarettes once brought home from his honeymoon. During that trip he travelled five thousand kilometres through France with a Renault 12. Under his dashboard hangs a digital battery gauge which accurately indicates the charging voltage. Clearly less accurate is the rev counter that was added later, which indicates at least double the amount. Kamei laughs happily when he explains this imperfection in two or three words of English.
The two R4's attract a lot of interest in daily traffic in Tokyo. There is laughter, nodding and waving. Kamei happily answers these actions with a short horn. And that in a city where we've heard a taxi driver impatiently once in five days, probably not a real Japanese person.
We drive from the chic shopping district of Ginza to the Tsukiji fish market to take pictures against a typical Japanese background. We have to find out where we are or are not allowed to go. It is already early afternoon, so the hustle and bustle of the actual fish trade has disappeared early in the morning. Haruki explains that one of the many signs in Japanese says that unauthorized vehicles are not allowed on the grounds of the fish market. Don't worry, with the white and beige R4 we just dive into the surrounding narrow streets where it's teeming with tiny restaurants that obviously serve fish on the menu. In between the eateries a rich assortment of fish is sold to private persons. Japanese eat a lot of fish, in Tokyo alone 4,000 tons per day!
Both cars have an eye-catching accessory, an extra heater that connects to the Sofica heater with extra outlets and its own fan. We also discover some stickers with Japanese inscriptions outside, among other things for the technical inspection. The 4's are both left-hand drive. This is experienced as very exotic in Japan. At the fish market we are addressed by a young lady. She turns out to be Chinese and has never seen such an old car in her life. To the answer that these are not so old, the white one is from 91, she shouts surprised “1891?” After a short history lesson we search for the exit of the fish market again, together with the French duo and their enthusiastic Japanese drivers. Koichi has had his white GTL for about fifteen years now. He also built some extras in the car, although the two navigation systems can easily be removed. In principle, he only drives it in the weekends. But even then it is almost necessary to build in an electronic box to be able to pay tolls. The white car has a later built in canvas roof.
Back at the hotel we'll talk for a while. Haruki counts by heart the older ones in the club. He comes to two Parisiennes, two Plein Airs, also two examples of the early 4L, four cars from 1969, one R3, a couple of F4s and a single F6 as well as two examples of a Renault 4 from 1965. These are the very first officially imported cars of this type in Japan that are still in the hands of the first owner.
The members of the Club Renault 4 Japon of course also drive other Renaults and that gives a very different picture with the 4CV (Hino,) Dauphine, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16 and Alpine. Haruki doesn't know other Renault clubs in Japan. There are three garages in the big cities that specialise in the maintenance of the R4 in particular. And of course several members keep their cars on the road themselves. When it comes to parts, they experience no problems. Much is made new again, only the transport and customs costs are quite high. Internet sites like Ebay are great sources, while of course there are also contacts with well-known suppliers. In 1998 I bumped into Haruki during the big 100 years Renault event at the old factory site in Boulogne-Billancourt. "Then I did the PR for the club", he states.
The business cards have been exchanged and bending over to each other we say goodbye. When I walk into the elevator up to my room I hear Kamei shouting almost without accent “au revoir.”