The wins keep coming for Canberra’s Japanese car enthusiasts.

First came Canberra 7’s Day, the annual celebration of the Mazda RX-7 that now draws crowds from across the country – and even attention from executives at Mazda Australia.

Then local club MazdACT teamed up with the Picnic Train crew for a now-famous race between cars and a steam train from Canberra to Bungendore.

Last year, the ACT Government also approved Japanese-style numberplates, meaning owners of imported cars no longer have to bend or modify standard ACT plates to make them fit.

And now, Canberra is getting its own full-scale Japanese car festival.

The first Canberra Japanese Motor Festival will be held at Thoroughbred Park in Lyneham on Sunday 18 October, with organisers hoping to attract more than 500 vehicles from across Australia.

Festival co-organiser Dave Pullen said the idea had been “percolating” for years as Canberra’s Japanese car scene continued to grow.

“The car scene in Canberra is phenomenal, but it has been lacking that all-Japan focus,” he told Region.

“So we’re looking at, let’s bring the bikes, let’s bring in the little kei cars, let’s bring the big Isuzu trucks and the four-wheel drives. Let’s get the Suzuki Jimny club (I love the Jimny – it’s so cool).

“We’re going to bring all of them together, and we’re going to give the owners the chance to just come out in a community and admire what everybody has.”

The event has already attracted interest from interstate clubs, including Nissan Skyline and Toyota MR2 groups, with some members reportedly already booking accommodation – months in advance.

“We’d like to see around 500 vehicles or more,” Dave said.

“We’ve had expressions of interest from owners as far as Tasmania and Melbourne, maybe Adelaide as well.”

The festival has also secured Fyshwick-based workshop Stay Tuned as naming rights sponsor before organisers have even officially launched entries.

Stay Tuned co-owner Damian Lomax said supporting the event was a “no-brainer”.

Canberra Japanese Motor Festival co-organisers Dave Pullen and Justin Bush, and Stay Tuned co-owner Damian Lomax. Photo: James Coleman.

“What we do on a day-to-day basis and what these guys are achieving with the festival, the synergies between them,” he said.

Damian described himself as a “JDM tragic”, having owned an R33 Nissan Skyline as his first car.

“JDM is definitely one of the common ones for us,” he said.

And yes, the Japanese cars are also easier to work on than those from other countries.

“Certainly from a mechanical perspective … they are generally simpler, and I mean that in a good way. There’s generally more room to work on them.”

Japanese Domestic Market, or JDM, culture has exploded in popularity across Australia over the past decade, fuelled by everything from drifting and track days to Japanese street-racing films and anime.

Canberra has increasingly embraced the scene too.

Canberra 7’s Day now attracts hundreds of people each year, while the ACT’s new Japanese-style numberplates were introduced following a successful community petition backed by more than 500 signatures.

The plates were designed to better fit imported Japanese vehicles, which often use taller and narrower mounting spaces than Australian cars.

For Dave, who has two Toyota Supras and a Honda Civic Type-R in his car ownership history, the appeal of Japanese cars goes beyond styling or performance figures.

“The Japanese build cars so that it doesn’t matter if you do maintenance on time or not, they just keep working,” he said.

“I’m also a huge fan of the Japanese philosophy and culture.”

He said the festival would cater for everything from heavily modified street cars and drift builds to completely stock classics and tiny kei cars.

“Everyone has their favourite and everyone will argue which one is better, and that’s all part of it,” he said.

Entries for the festival open 7 June. Photo: James Coleman.

Entries for display vehicles open on 7 June through the festival website, with organisers planning food vendors, merchandise stalls, diecast model sellers and manufacturer displays alongside the cars themselves.

And this year’s event is only the beginning.

Organisers hope to eventually expand the festival into a multiday event including track days, drifting and skidpan sessions at One Raceway near Goulburn.

“That’s the plan,” Dave said.

“We’ve done this with a long-term view in mind.”