OSAKA MODS JAPAN

Total attention to both metal and clothing were the order of the evening 18 in Japan’s Osaka metropolis last November. Scootering accompanied city. Vespas and Lambrettas as their well-dressed owners roamed the big

Moving north at around 30-40mph is an 18-strong wave of Lambrettas and Vespas – these are the Osaka Mods (and a few scooter boys) riding as a pack, in this, the country’s second metropolis, after Tokyo. The men’s clothing is dominated by M65 and M51 parkas. The accompanying Mod women are immaculately dressed. This is an electrifying blend of the neon lights of the big city, the sound of a column of scooters, and an astonishing attention to British scooter culture and fashion detail. Before the convoy masses though, Scootering meets Izumi Sawamoto – recognized as the top man of the city’s Mod and scooter scene – along with Yusuke Chikusa, and Takao Jingi, in a café. They ride a Vespa Rally 200, a Lambretta Li150, and a Vespa GS150, respectively. We are 6000 miles away from Britain, and are keen to see how the scene in Japan works. Unlike the UK, there is no smoking banin Japan, and so the three draw on their cigarettes continuously. First, of course, we want a few details about their scooters.Izumi’s Rally 200 dates from the mid-1970s, he says.He paid one million yen for it four years ago, in today’s prices, just shy of £7000. Yusuke paid around the same for his early 1960s Lambretta. Takao, meanwhile, spent the princely sum of one and a half million yen on his 1959 GS150, two years ago. The scooter was, he explained, already customized – and that is exactly what prompted him to buy it. Remarkably, he has the famous Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament attached to the front of his scooter. The Japanese have a keen eye for detail, and design. Sometimes, when stopped at red traffic lights in the city, drivers will lower their windows and say how much they like these vintage scooters, states Izumi. Italian Lambrettas are much preferred in Japan, rather than the Indian versions, which are also available. For someone like Izumi, the Mod clothes, music, and the scooters are alllinked into one entire, intertwined culture, he explains.

Moving south

At around 6pm, the four of us ride south, to Namba, the nucleus of the city’s shopping and nightlife area, the plan is for me to shadow the convoy. A few minutes later, we stop at the subterranean nightclub where Izumi DJs – there will be a live music event here later, beginning after the ride-out. Then, we’re on the way to the rallying point.It is located at the front of a Namba department store. Underneath there is a vast train station complex – the view, as we arrive, has anillusory sensation to it.

Commuters and shoppers criss-cross a square: parked there are scooters, Japanese Mods in blazers, and parkas, and some strikingly-dressed female Mods. Passers-by look on, bemused, intrigued. More scooters arrive. A Lambretta fronted with a dazzling array of lamps, and a metallic bird, draws me to it. The rider is Nao Sumii, who has brought his Lambretta TV2 to Osaka 200 miles from Hiroshima, in the west.He imported the scooter from Scootopia, in the UK, a few years ago. A few metres away from him are Shin Ueshima, with his daughter Misano, on a Vespa SwanNeck. TakashiNishimura and his wife Mai are also present, with their Lambretta SX125.

Taxi and departure

With the greetings done, the group complete, and riders reacquainted, engines are started, enmasse. Attendance is officially noted before the convoy sets off. This is not to be a random ride.Maps outlining the route are handed out and duly pored over. Then, in small packs, the Vespas and Lambrettas peel away. The pack heads north, riding along a multi-lane road through the Yotsubashi area. On roads like these, vigilance is important on a two-wheeled machine: Japanese truck and car drivers, 95% of the time, tend to manoeuvre, and then indicate as they do so. Often, they don’t bother to indicate at all. Inevitably, as stops are made at red lights, and the traffic flow changes, we are split into smaller groups. Plus, a Vespa breaks down. But, like anywhere else, Japanese scooterist bonds are strong. Other riders stop to help. Tools are employed and roadside repairs undertaken. Then, the skyscrapers of the city’s business district come into view. Riders at the front of the disjointed group wait for others to catch up. Reunited, we then head south, through the dazzling lights of the Shinsaibashi district, which is dominated by a wide one-way road, lined with large department stores. Moving further south, we approach the Namba district again. A second lap of the route then starts. The distinctive sound of a wall of Lambretta and Vespa exhausts fills the streets. Two thirds of the way round, I pull alongside Izumi’s Vespa Rally 200, and salute both him and his girlfriend, riding pillion. Job done.Ipeel away and strike east, away from the neon lights, to a small country town 20 miles outside Osaka.