What a Day with a Japanese Trucker is like

What a Day with a Japanese Trucker is like

This is a Japanese truck. Wait, no. This is a Japanese truck! known in Japanese as ‘dekotora’— short for decoration truck. These flashy, over-the-top trucks with neon lights and wild
artwork were a huge trend in Japan during the 70s and 80s, even more popularized by the local movie series “Torakku Yaro”, which
helped push this massive subculture even further into the spotlight and I’ve always wanted to ride in one. So, I did a little bit
of interneting and I think I may have found my ride. He told me that he’s driving  down to Noto with his truck driver friends.
So, I asked if I could join and he said yes. So I’m here at Iwate Prefecture because that’s where the truck is
and I just got off a 3-hour ‘shinkansen’ ride from Tokyo. Where I am right now is all the way up here and the plan is to 
drive south while making a few stops along the way. you know, for bathroom breaks and to refuel to eventually stop for the day in Toyama, where we’ll spend the night in the truck. Early next morning, we’ll head towards Noto.
In total, about an 18-hour road trip. So, to make this haul a bit more interesting,
my goal is to 1, give 10 truckers a gift because you know, I want to make some trucker friends 2, see inside of five different ‘deco’ trucks, and 
3, try the local food at each truck stop. – Nice to meet you
– Nice to meet you That’s Kazuya, the truck driver who I’m 
riding with. He’s a member of the trucker group called “Utamarokai”—
‘deko’ Truck enthusiasts all throughout Japan with his own local chapter based in Iwattate. The plan is to meet up with other truck chapters along the way to Notto so they can volunteer and serve hot meals to the people of that area who were devastated by the major earthquake that 
happened there recently. This is crazy. This is like real life Transformers. We are here. Truck’s here. I got to do a little unpacking packing before we get on this journey. Got my sleeping bag here. Got some gifts here. This is ‘karinto’.
It’s kind of like a crunchy Japanese snack. Be good for them when they’re driving, you know, and 
they need a little something to snack on. Not going to lie, I’m a bit overwhelmed by this.
Never been one of these rides before. Yo, this is intense. Let’s see. So, this is pretty awesome. He has chandeliers right here.
Rose stick shifter. This really cool steering wheel. And when this whole place is just velvet, like this green
chill carpet thing going on here. This is awesome. We have a very white musky smell in here. I think it’s this.

This is it. All the little details here is just amazing. I think that one goes the other way. It goes the other way. Okay, good.
It’s definitely going the opposite way. I’m giving gifts to everyone. Here you go. Thank you! This is a gift. Thank you! – Hey, how old are you?
– I’m 39 We’re around the same age The guy who was just here is the #1 in our Iwate Truck Group He’s my father-in-law too You’ll be good if you flatter him – Hi, nice to meet you!
– Nice to meet you too! – Can I give you a small gift?
– Thank you – By the way, how many trucks do you own?
– 6 trucks and a 2-ton truck Oh, you must love trucks! Of course! Apparently, he runs his own dump truck business, which is where Kazuya works regularly. And he’s 
also the head of their ‘deco’ truck chapter. all right, time to get the road on the show. Chandeliers all shaking around. So, here we are. The open road ahead of us. I don’t know where this particular journey is going to lead,
but I’m excited to see where it takes me. All I do know is that I got a truckload of time before
we get there and a lot of unanswered questions. So, we’re gonna sleep here, right? Yes, yes It might be tough but we’ll be ok So, have you been driving your 
deco truck all over Japan? Yeah, all over Japan for events and volunteering Remember the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake? Even after the Self-Defense Forces pulled out,
we kept providing hot meals We helped out more than 100 times and kept supporting That’s amazing. Right, so here we go. We are finally getting on the highway. So, how’d you get started with ‘dekotora’? I was in 1st grade of elementary when I
first fell in love with Deco Trucks I saw a Deco Truck Magazine at a convenience store I already loved cars but at that moment
I decided that I wanted to own one Apparently, his dream to own a deco truck never 
wavered. And as soon as he got his license at 18, he bought a 2-ton truck instead of a regular 
car. He spent the next 10 years decorating it. And now the one we’re sitting in is his 2nd customized truck. What’s the theme of your truck? My childhood dreams about driving trucks He wrapped the interior in green— his favorite color, which also
matches the exterior, customizing everything himself, which is pretty common in their community. On the top of the trailer, Kazuya even wrote his motto, “Ungai Sōten”,
meaning after the clouds, the blue sky awaits. A reminder that even when things get tough, better days will always come. So, how much does the customization cost? It really depends but maybe this truck size is about 8 million yen. Holy handbrakes! He says that each truck is a one-of-one based uniquely on the trucker’s own design. So all the parts are custom-made and even
artwork painted by specialized artists. It’s their belief that there’s no correct design and no truck is
ever completely finished. An unending state of evolution. Hey, are you getting sleepy? You get sleepy, right? It’s only the beginning… we just left So we are a few hours into our trip. It’s actually pretty comfortable aside from
the sun that’s just flashing in my eyes. Now we get to the first rest stop. How much does it cost to fill up? This time it’s about ¥30000 ($190) Wow, that’s a lot! Apparently, all the costs, including gas, stay and any supplies
are paid out of pocket by the truckers themselves. But since this particular trip is a volunteer effort,
they can get a free pass for express tolls If they register in advance, saving about 30,000 yen, $190. All right, so this is the first stop of the trip.
Let’s see if we can get some snacks. Excuse me. Do you have a local specialty? Our local specialty? How about this one? This? Awesome. Thank you. Okay, so we got this cafe mocha waffle thing. Got our- woah, It’s bright light. So, we got our first snack here.
Never done this actually in a truck before. Here you go. How is it? It’s good! So, rated out of 10. 10 out of 10 I think I just broke mine. Oh, wow.
Looks like an ice cream cone. Cafe mocha. Little crispy. That’s a good snack. By the way, what do you think about the newer trucks these days? Electric Trucks!? Not interested Newer trucks have computer systems inside
so you cant even fix up the exhaust This is why deco truck owners often purchase older models and maintain them for as long as possible, even making their own parts when the 
factory ones no longer are available. Hey, how old is your truck? It’s a 1988 model Oh, how much did you get it for? 3 million yen ($19K) Ah, it’s like the cost of a regular car. Yo, are deco trucks supposed to be loud? loud ones are loud This truck has that rumbling sound, right? We call it an exhaust stack Exhausts are usually situated toward the bottom of the vehicle, but he moves to the top to make it even louder. In tunnels, we can’t even talk It’ll be loud. Ready? Oh, wow. That is loud. Are you doing okay? Totally… are you good!? Yeah, I’m good! So, we are on our way. Just got to take a little bathroom
break right now. Then we’ll get some snacks. Okay, let’s see what they have here. So, now that we’re in Fukushima, I’ll 
choose one that says Fukushima. We got our snack for the
next leg of the ride. Look, they’re all lit up now. All right, we are switching
drivers. I’m going with Ryota right now. What’s this tray for? That’s for your shoes Ah, Okay. So, how’d you get started? I’ve loved trucks since I was a kid and I’ve
always wanted to drive a truck like this He says that his friend had a deco truck so he
started attending deco truck events with him and then he got to know more people in the ‘Utamarokai’
truck group and enjoyed it so much that he joined last year. Was it exactly how you expected? Just as I imagined, I mean this part I love how we gather from all of Japan He also says that since he’s joined, all of the
truckers have been so welcoming to him. And although he’s currently driving Kazuya’s father-in-law’s truck, one day he hopes to drive and customize his very own truck. So, what do you usually do? I work at a construction company Today’s Saturday so I took a day off so I can attend I have my own company Oh, nice. You can be flexible with your 
schedule. You can do whatever you want. My ultimate goal is to help others He says that for him, work and life are the same. He wants to make people smile and
he wants to smile with them. It’s one of the reasons why he joined
this particular group of truckers. As he got to know them, he realized
it wasn’t just about the deco trucks, but noticed a passion and kindness in their
hearts with all the things that they do. So, do you have any other hobbies? I have a lot! For sports, I play football and hockey Oh, you actually play? I do I do Also, hiking, camping… anything fun I like drinking too And I buy the commercialised “Chu-hai”,
and mix it with carbonated water So i can drink Lemon-sours like from a restaurant Haha that’s intense. Hey, did you guys get all of that Japanese? Well, if you’ve been watching my content for some time now, then you know that I have a lot of Japanese in my videos. If you’re anything like me, you want to know
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We got the Fukushima ‘mocchiri’ cheese. It’s a little bit tough because trying to
hold the camera while I’m doing this. We got the snacks here. Cheesecake of some sort. Here you go. Thank you How is it? It’s rich and absolutely delicious. I recommend it! Very flavorful. It like say kind of sticky. mmm… smells like a cheesecake, which is expected. Wow. This is really good. It’s soft like a cheesecake, but it has a very
kind of like mochi texture to it, and it’s creamy in the middle. This is awesome. And this is going to be the final stop for tonight. Look at all these cool trucks all lit up. Kind of like
a group of salary men at their end of the year party. Nice. That one says vegetable wholesaler. Back in the deco truck golden era, the trucks were actually used
for long haul deliveries, carrying things like meat and vegetables. Nowadays, because of their flashy nature, they’re rarely
used for work and mainly considered personal vehicles a moving piece of art, and a reminder of a time that was. Okay, so I think they all went get some food. 
Let’s go see where everyone is. We’re at the Arisomi service area located in Toyama. 
I’ve only given out three gifts so far, but it’s late and I think we’re sleeping 
soon, so I’ll get cracking tomorrow. Now the truckers finally have their dinner. In Japan, service areas range in size, and some,
like this one, are open 24 hours. Some service areas even have massive food courts with
around 10 different restaurants on top of food stalls. But for these truckers, the most important thing is that they can
simply park here for free and sleep safely through the night. – Are you drinking?
– This is juice It’s 10:30 now. kind of late for me, but I think these guys
want to hang out a bit, enjoy each other’s company, and share some stories in the back of
Kazuya’s truck before they call it a night. In Japan, it isn’t illegal to drink at the service area. But interestingly, wherever you go in the country,
all the service areas don’t sell any alcohol. In fact, these particular group of truckers do their best to encourage each other to
not drink while on these trips to avoid any drinking and driving situations. They don’t even serve alcohol at any of their events that they host. getting ready to go to sleep. I don’t know how cold
it is going to be in here tonight. It’s about 1°C. I don’t know if he’s going to turn on the heater.
He might, he might not. I might get cold, so I’m putting on this
electric vest. We should be good to go. It’s been quite the ride finding out all about these guys. Dude, they’re
super friendly. But still, we got to sleep in a truck tonight. We’re going to be sleeping in this seat
right here. Yeah, we’ll see how it goes. It’s like this when I sleep Goodnight Wow. So, what I didn’t expect
is he left the truck on all night. It got so so hot in there. I didn’t get the best
night of sleep, but like what do you expect? We’re leaving at 5, so just needed to get up at 4.
Oh my goodness, I don’t look the best probably. And so I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest
of the day, but you know what they say, “show must go on”. I haven’t got anything from this stop yet, but 
you all know the name of the game. I was told that the white shrimps are one of the local 
specialties, so that’s what I’m going to get. All right. So, we got the area’s white shrimp. 
They’re famous for this one. – Good morning.
– Good morning. Sleepy? I’m sleepy Good morning. What time are we leaving? 5am What time did you guys finish back here? Arond 1am? Oh, wow. By the way, it was super warm last night. Oh nice! I usually turn off the engine when I sleep But I wanted to make sure you didn’t get cold So I left the engine on so you’d feel warm I appreciate that. Thank you. It’s pretty crazy to think that I just spent the night in this truck. Seriously,
never thought that something like this were in my cards. Luckily, I came across Kazuya and his trucker group. You know, I did have my initial concerns that the guys may be a bit rough
with that typical old school Japanese Yankee culture vibe, but it seems anything but that. I guess though, I’ll have to wait
and see till I meet the rest of the convoy this morning to really know. From here to the final stop in Noto, it takes about 2 hours. Kazuya, are those trucks with you, too? Yeah they’re with us They just arrived this morning The truck in front of us came from Niigata Oh, wow. Everyone is driving from so far away 
to support the Noto residents. This is amazing. Please have it ready Yes, sir It’s a mid-size truck, right? Yes ($100 Toll Fee)
Wow. I guess that’s how much it would have cost. It’s gotten a little brighter now. Sun finally came up.
So,  I think it’s white shrimp time. ‘Ebi-sen’ time. Ready for the snack? Oh, what’s next? It looks like an Umaibou, Toyama Limited Version I smell the shrimp You sound like you’ve done food reviews before. How is it? It tastes like Kappa Ebisen You’re good at this. Nooo No one wants to hear my terrible review [laughters] This is the beautiful thing about traveling across country.
You get to try all the local foods. It’s like a shrimp flavored Cheeto.
The softer, fluffy Cheeto puff. It’s nice. Oh, that’s my breakfast. Actually, eating 
one. I kind of want to have another. So beautiful out here. Okay, so we made it to the rendevous point. 
Let’s see if I can make some friends. But this is pretty awesome. It’s a whole community
of deco truck guys just gathering all together. So, I’ve only been able to get into two of the truck cabins so far,  
but I think giving the omiyage to people is kind of help me out. It’ll soften them up and then the next place
maybe I can get to see a little bit more. This is a gift. I’m Paulo. Nice to meet you. Let’s go In about 20 minutes, they finally arrive at the destination.
I guess they’re using a school parking lot as their event space. It took us a full 19 hours to get here, but the
event they’re hosting hasn’t even started yet. Despite the long journey on the road, the truckers
don’t skip a beat and get right to work. And it’s clear from the start they’ve done this before, as
they all work so efficiently together to get things set up. What’s kind of interesting is I’m not 100% sure, 
but it looks like this school is no longer being used because one, you can just see up there there’s like air conditioning just hanging from the ceiling, which probably wouldn’t be safe. This place was also affected by the earthquake, which is kind of sad. This is nice. I didn’t realize that they not only give them food,
but they actually give them vegetables as well to take home. Well, everyone seems so busy working on their task, 
so I think it’s time for me to explore a bit. Hi, I brought a small gift from Tokyo. So, how long have you been with the Utamarokai 
group? It’s been 35 years since I joined Wow. Can you tell me about your truck? This is a ‘Fukusuke’ image— a symbol ofor a properous business Oh, that’s cool. This is considered good luck Also this 5 yen coin He’s actually only been decorating this truck for half
a year and is still in the early stages of customizing it. So, what are you working on right now? The roof is supposed to be like that so I’m cutting out the roof So I can install a chandelier Oh, dope. Okay, so that was inside three vehicles. Now we’re getting there. Hi. Remember me? So, how long 
have you been doing deco trucks? I’m 48 and I started at 20 so 28 years. Wow. Do you mind if I see your truck? Go ahead Apparently, this truck is 30 years old
and he bought it when he was 19. He actually has two deco trucks. One for show
and this one he actually uses for work. So, what’s your favorite piece on it? For sure, this Chandelier I got it from a Salon bus… you can’t get a brand new one Wow. How’d you get it? I asked a guy who dismantle buses Oh, brilliant. Thank you Oh, wow. Oh, it’s like a room. Yes it is It’s so cool. What inspired you? The truck itself is small so I can’t sleep in the cab I built it so I have a place to rest… I’m old How long have you been doing this? 35 or 36 years now So, what’s your favorite part? Hmmmm, my favorite part….. I have to say this piece because not many body shops can make something this big How long did it take to make? It took about a week Apparently, the body shop turned down his request, so he customized the parts himself with the help of his friend. It’s far from finished I’m going to rebuild the bumper… We’re never finished decorating our trucks Hey, can I see inside? Please Wow, this is awesome. You’re driving
around with your own private room. An interesting part about deco trucks in Japan is that they’re still required
to pass Japan strict vehicle inspections every other year. To pass, the truckers must remove most of their decorations and lights, which is quite a bit of work. But they do it anyway for the love of their art. Individually, each truck is an extension of its owner, a 
reflection of who they are or the dreams that they carry. But as a group, as a community, that spirit reaches much
farther than any one trucker could do on their own. Together, they show how impactful their passion
can be when it’s all driven in the same direction. And there you go. Oh, we got to see
inside all of these cool truck cabs. So, the school is down there. I’m just checking this out. I think these are temporary housing that they
have for the people from the Noto earthquake. Man, just look at all of these houses. So many people
just lost everything during that earthquake. Even though the news has stopped covering the
disaster, the region is still far from fully recovered. Many people are still living in temporary housing and
have not been able to return to their normal lives. Members of the Utamarokai travel from all over 
the country to support these type of communities, hoping to bring even a small smile back to the people they meet. Their deco trucks have always stood out
with their bold artwork and bright lights. And much like a lighthouse, the group believes it’s their
responsibility to shine a light and spread love wherever they go. Hi, nice to meet you. Thank you for coming So that’s Tajima-san, the founder of Utamarokai and
a deeply respected figure among all ‘dekotora’ enthusiasts. Through his vision and leadership, he’s created
a nationwide movement of truckers who focus not only on decorating their trucks,
but also in serving their communities. Kazuya sees him both as a mentor and a father figure,
always listening and taking in his guidance with his own personal mission to help grow and carry on the traditions that
Tajima-san built, passing them on to the next generation. And although I wasn’t able to complete my goal of giving out 10 
gifts, it seems like I didn’t need to as I made friends with the truckers anyway. Before this, from the outside looking in, they may have
seemed like a group of misfits or bad boy truckers. But what I discovered on this journey instead was a group
of the kindest people who simply love their trucks and at any moment would be willing to drive anywhere
across Japan to help anyone who needs it. And for this, I hope they keep on trucking.

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I spent a day on the road with a Japanese truck driver to experience the world of Dekotora, short for Decoration Truck. These flashy big rigs, covered in neon lights and bold artwork, exploded in popularity during the 70s and 80s and became even more famous through the Truck Yaro film series. The plan for this trip was simple. Drive south, make a few stops to refuel and rest, and end the day in Toyama where we would spend the night inside the truck. Early the next morning, we would continue toward Noto, an eighteen hour journey in total.
Kazuya, the driver I am riding with, is a member of Utamaro kai, a nationwide Dekotora group with chapters all over Japan and his own based in Iwate. Along the way, we planned to meet other chapters heading to the same destination. Together, they would volunteer and serve hot meals to the people in Noto who were recently affected by a major earthquake.
Every Dekotora truck is one of a kind, built from the trucker’s imagination. Parts are custom made and artwork is painted by specialists. Owners believe no design is ever complete, that each truck is always evolving. Many buy older models for their nostalgic feel and maintain them for decades, keeping the golden era of Dekotora alive.

Utamarokai Truck Group
– http://www.utamarokai.com/

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