For decades, dekochari have been the ride of choice for hardcore Japanese dekotora fans that are too young to drive. Modeled after Japan's celebrated art trucks, dekochari (deko means "decoration" and chari is slang for "bicycle") typically feature large front bumpers, ornate luggage racks, rear-mounted boxes that resemble truck trailers, colorful paint jobs, lots of chrome, and sophisticated electric light displays. This video pieces together random night scenes from Dekochari Yarou, a documentary that profiles a few dekochari enthusiasts and their custom rides. The soundtrack is "Ichiban-boshi Blues" (sung by Bunta Sugawara and Kinya Aikawa), the theme song from the Torakku Yarou movie series that sparked Japan's dekotora craze in the '70s.
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charlie
jejeje! COMO MOLAN PARECEN MOTOS. SALUDOS!!!!!
[]NPC
Man I would hate to go up a steep hill with all that. On the bright side(no pun intended), cars would totally see you at night making it a lot safer to ride.
[]Shoovi
I did same when I was kid... ;)
[]Shane
Very cool! Does anyone know where one could find the Dekochari Yarou DVD in the US?
[]Merlinhoot
You would of thought I would of heard about this by now but this a first for me. Japanese culture never ceases to fascinate me.
[]Shawn@SoScooter.com
Wow... that is so weird. It's weirder than anything I've seen for quite some time now!
[]Leonard Vieux
It is really crazy that you blogged about this. I found you on bing and I had been searching for info about this. Nice site, thank you for the info.
[]Rafael Vieira
Hi
I'm writing an article on the Dekochari bikes for a printed portuguese magazine called Dif and I would like to ask you if it is possible to have a few pictures of Dekochari in high resolution to illustrate the article.
Thanks a lot and all the best.
Rafael Vieira
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