When people think of Japan, truckers probably aren’t the first thing that springs to mind. But they are there like in any modernized country, hauling loads and keeping the movement of goods going so that businesses can do their thing. Japan, however, has a unique breed of trucker that you can’t find anywhere else – those that pimp out their rigs with some of the most audacious and ridiculous decorations that can be conceived of. The practice is called dekotora (‘decoration’ plus ‘truck’) and it can be quite a sight to behold.
As legend has it, the practice of dekotora spawned from a trend of Japanese trucker films that came about in the mid-70s. One movie in particular, Truck Guys, involved a hero who drove around in a crazy-decorated truck and got into adventures. The Japanese dekotora truckers of today are supposedly the product of these movies.
