Give me a pink brick warehouse filled with previous bangers over a flashy new exhibition corridor any day of the week.

This could be straightforward sufficient for these dwelling within the Western world, however right here in Japan, discovering something fabricated from brick isn’t straightforward. Discovering a pink brick warehouse filled with historic vehicles? Let’s simply say, there aren’t many locations just like the Glion Museum.

The Glion assortment in Osaka is spectacular, and never simply due to the incredible constructing it’s housed in. Right here, you’ll discover an enormous assortment of pre- and post-war vehicles from throughout the globe.

I’m on no account an authority on historic vehicles, however I’m certain each within the assortment is vital not directly. Should you do spot something uncommon or attention-grabbing, please depart a remark.

There are, after all, different historic warehouses peppered throughout Japan, principally within the Southern port cities. Probably the most well-known is the Crimson Brick Warehouse in Yokohama, which has two buildings measuring round 5,000 and 10,000 sq. meters. That warehouse’s spacious inside homes specialty retailers, galleries and exhibition areas. It additionally hosts the annual Thrilling Porsche occasion and different traditional automotive occasions in its piazza.

The Glion Museum is positioned contained in the Chikko Crimson Brick Warehouse, the place it occupies half of the house. Within the different half you’ll discover a restaurant, steak home and marriage ceremony venue. Not a foul place to tie the knot.

Building of the Chikko Crimson Brick Warehouse was accomplished in 1923, as a part of the Osaka Port growth. It was constructed by Sumitomo Zaibutsu, one in all many personal development corporations contracted by a financially unstable Osaka Metropolis in return for port utilization privileges. Japan was recovering from the Sino-Japanese warfare on the time, after which booming after the First World Struggle, and these personal corporations performed an integral half in boosting the nation’s financial energy.

Possession handed from Sumitomo Zaibutsu to Osaka Metropolis in 1999, and the Glion Museum opened in 2015. After sitting vacant for a few years, the warehouse had very practically been dismantled, however the resolution was made to fortify it in opposition to seismic exercise and enable the general public to take pleasure in it. Some large cat with a fountain pen made a superb resolution that day.

A part of the gathering was donated from the property of a Kimio Doi, a neighborhood enterprise tycoon. Doi was an entrepreneur who pioneered advertising and marketing and gross sales distribution strategies in electronics, explicit cameras. In reality, on the time of his passing in 1990, Doi-san’s chain of digital camera shops was the third largest in Japan after Yodobashi and Bic Digital camera. He by no means smoked, by no means gambled or drank; as a substitute Doi spent his fortune on historic vehicles and Alphonse Mucha artworks.

As for Glion, they’re a luxurious automotive vendor (Glion Showroom) and restaurant company, so I suppose the museum is as a lot a promotional software as it’s about historic preservation.

Regardless of the motivation is for maintaining the museum working, the takeaway right here is that we are able to sleep nicely figuring out that these vehicles are protected and sound occupying some prime Japanese actual property.

Toby Thyer
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