Living in Los Angeles I often feel spoiled by how varied and fantastic the car culture is here. On a simple drive to the grocery store you can see something rare or weird or both; cars and coffee meets would be world-class car shows anywhere else. But LA pales in comparison to Tokyo, which I believe has the greatest car culture in the world. I was on vacation in Tokyo at the top of the year, and two of my favorite random spots from my trip were this pair of Hummer H2s.
Normal SUVs, like the Porsche Cayenne you see parked behind the H2 on the left, already look huge on Tokyo’s streets, which are much more suited to kei cars and the like. A Hummer, though? They’re positively massive. What made these H2s even funnier to see in the city is that one is lifted, while the other one is lowered.
The lifted one with period-correct mods was the first of the two that I saw. They were parked just off a main street in Ginza, a popular Beverly Hills–like area filled with dozen-story-tall luxury clothing stores and Lamborghinis covered in flashing lights driving around. It immediately caught my eye, first because any Hummer stands out here, and then because of the suspension lift, the huge chrome wheels and big all-terrain tires poking out of the tubular fender flares, the custom metal bumpers and the large dual exhaust tips. The cherry on top is the original California plate still mounted to the tailgate — I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing was imported to Japan with all those mods already in place.
I spotted the second H2 in the same neighborhood the following night. It had fewer body modifications and a totally different ethos, with similar chrome wheels wrapped in low-profile tires and a lowered suspension that gave this Hummer a pretty awesome stance. The LED headlights are definitely aftermarket, and the owners fitted a prominent skid plate with H2 written in giant red letters. It’s like something you’d see in Truckin’ magazine.
Which of these two Hummer H2s would be your choice to cruise around Tokyo in? What’s the most out-of-place car you’ve seen while on vacation? Let me know in the comments.
