You see this harmony everywhere in Japanese architecture—a quiet, ancient shrine standing right alongside a modern skyscraper in Tokyo.
A perfect example is the venue for our trip: the historic Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. Built as a customs storage facility at the turn of the 20th century, it has been thoughtfully repurposed into a vibrant lifestyle complex.
It creates a stark yet beautiful contrast against the ultra-modern skyline of the surrounding Minato-Mirai district.
During our recent trip to Japan, we were exploring the grounds of Luftgekühlt Tokyo along the elevated KK Expressway above Ginza—snapping photos, catching up with old friends, and making new ones.
One of those new acquaintances, an older gentleman driving a mechanically sound, robust 356 convertible, casually asked if we were heading to the Exciting Porsche Meeting in Yokohama the following day.
Without knowing much about it, the moment we heard “Porsche” and “meeting,” we emphatically said yes. It was bound to be exciting.
We quickly went online to research the event and realized it was, in many ways, even more appealing than Luftgekühlt.
Organized and hosted by the EPM Executive Committee—a passionate group of long-time collectors, club members, and track-day enthusiasts—the Exciting Porsche Meeting (EPM) is one of Japan’s most prominent community-driven events.
Rather than an official, factory-sponsored Porsche AG affair, EPM is curated annually by private owners from across the country. But the factory recognizes the importance of this event and receives some support. Passionate owners like these are the lifeblood of Porsche and keep it relevant and respected to this day and age.
Where Luftgekühlt celebrated ultra-rare, museum-grade, low-mileage garage queens, EPM takes the opposite approach: it is a celebration of well-loved, high-mileage sports cars.
Instead of pristine concours judging, EPM focuses on real-world ownership, driving passion, and performance.
The lineup features everything from meticulously maintained daily drivers to rare air-cooled classics, modern water-cooled GT models, and unique custom builds.
These are real cars owned by real drivers who run them regularly on street and track alike—the exact kind of owner Ferry Porsche envisioned when he designed the original 356.
There were also some oddities from the Porsche custom culture scene: Strosek, Ruf, Gemballa and RWB tuned examples were on hand.
The setting only amplifies the magic. Seeing hundreds of Porsches lined up against the historic backdrop of Yokohama Port makes this one of the most photogenic automotive gatherings in Asia.
The turnout was remarkable. Roughly 150 Porsches gathered alongside nearly 34,000 visitors. Not bad for a one-day, community-run event. A glorious spring day with cool harbor breezes from Yokohama Bay made the experience even better.
Best part? It’s an annual event! If you’ll be in Japan during Sakura Season and love cars, this is the perfect distraction from the usual touristy stuff.
The selection spanned every era: numerous early 356s,
every generation of the iconic 911,
and a strong showing of Boxsters and Caymans.
Of course there were 912’s and 914’s present as well, and lest we forget the front-engined, rear-drive transaxle Porsches, the 924, 928, 944 and 968, cars that predated the Boxster and Cayman as the entry level Porsches.
There were even exceptional homage builds, including a Group 4 Porsche 934 built for customer racing,
the iconic slant-nose 935 factory-style racer,
and a “Mary Stuart” 911 RSR—nicknamed for its experimental full-width rear ducktail wing that resembled the high-collared ruff of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Concours-level events will always showcase the absolute best of the best. But gatherings like the Exciting Porsche Meeting feel more relatable, down-to-earth, and accessible.
At its core, it’s just a group of passionate enthusiasts coming together on a beautiful spring day to park their cars, talk shop, and make new friends—regular car people being regular car people.
In the bigger picture of things, there were murmurs by various personalities, event organizers and industry insiders of a planned collective effort to stage a Japan Car Week in the same vein as California’s Monterey Car Week, compromised of independent events like these, coordinated to transpire on the same week as Sakura Season in succession.
That would truly be an amazing getaway for enthusiasts seeking more than the superficial Japanese car culture.
