Takuya Sosogi delivers vegetables all over Japan. It’s a pretty standard trucker gig, except he does it with style. Or whatever you want to call the practice of turning your big rig into a discoball. It’s actually called “dekotora,” and here’s a quick close look at what it’s all about.
“I always take good care of my truck; by doing so, I’m actually taking good care of myself,” explains Takuya.
In this quick documentary, Dekotora’s roots are traced to a 1975 movie called Truck Yaro, which basically features a bunch of maniacs driving around in (you guessed it) decorated semi-trucks.
The video’s director David Freid adds:
“My grandfather, a hard working old fashioned American trucker, drove for over 50 years — so I went into the project with a personal connection to the lifestyle. I thought dekotora drivers might be a little more like what you’d find at a rowdy biker bar, but like all things Japanese they were quiet and cool; models of respect. A perfect contrast to their booming and glittering rigs. Cherry blossoms and chrome.”
The truck featured in the video, which Takuya says is probably worth about ¥5,000,000 ($45,000) is kind of looks like a confluence of “tuner car” and “parade float” executed with some medeval/disco swagger. If you can’t wrap your brain around that, well, I can’t really blame you. But you should take a look at the thing in action.
Hat tip to Dave!