DekoCar 2026: A Quick Itasha Fix
It feels like its barely been a few months since the last Dekocar Nisei Week event, yet here it is again, and I’m happy I got to check it out.
It feels like its barely been a few months since the last Dekocar Nisei Week event, yet here it is again, and I’m happy I got to check it out.
Honestly, I wasn't planning on going this year— the Nisei Week Grand Parade was the next day, and it’d been a couple of years since I last visited that event. But this year I actually managed to hit both events (kind of a miracle, as a parent of a young child with barely any free time anymore).
That said, I was only able to visit for about an hour, but even so, it was a lot of fun. I've been a huge fan of itasha for years, and I like getting out to see these cars as often as I can. There were a lot of highlights this time around— some returning faces, but also a bunch of new cars (which is a treat, considering how expensive these things can be to build). Even a few of the returning builds had noticeably changed since I last saw them.
First Impressions
One of the first cars on display was Malani Miata’s Kuromiata MX-5. A returning face, but also a fantastic representation of the craft, and as such, a great “first impression” for the event. And as a fun little bonus, there was also a miniature version of the car parked right next to it.
Just past that, was a beautiful pink ZeroTwo Honda bike just leading into the main lot. Bikes aren’t something I see often at these events— every now and then one pops up, but they’re still surprisingly rare.
Personal Favorites
Several of this year’s cars stood out to me, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be the white Toyota Soarer, featuring Misuzu from the OVA Air. That anime had such a special place in my memory— the art was unlike anything I'd seen up to that point, and it still holds up pretty well today. It's more than 20 years old at this point (and somewhat obscure now), so it was really cool to see it represented.
More Standouts
A few other builds that stood out:
Dragon Ball Z Nissan 370Z — back again with even more modifications since I last saw it.
A JDM Classic Car lineup — not itasha, just older stock Japanese cars (some Mazdas, a Datsun) parked together. It was cool seeing these alongside the anime builds and it gave the event a greater “Japanese car culture” feel that you don’t find anywhere else.
Ninomae Lexus LS430 — One of my favorites from last year— it mostly looked unchanged, but I think that was a good thing with this car. It’s wonderfully balanced in its design and I was just as happy to see it again.
Ken Bolito's Toyota Supra — Ken is the host of the YouTube channel Denki, who I’ve been following for a while. It was a pleasant surprise when I learned he was into itasha, and so I was stoked to see his standout car in person. I actually spotted him inside the event hall and got to say hi, which was a cool little experience in itself.
Umamusume Porsche Cayman — Another from last year, also seemingly untouched since I last saw it. Still a favorite.
Highschool DxD Civic coupe — I’ve never seen the anime, but this was a personal fave since it's the same car I drive. I don't see many 10th gen coupes (not nearly as often as the sedan or hatchback), so that was a treat. The overall theme leaned a bit too much into the lewd aesthetic of that series (not the wrap over all, but the stickers and dash gear), but it was still a cool build.
Sanrio Cinnamoroll Subaru — gorgeous paint job with pink heart wheels. Adorable execution.
Chobits-themed Mitsubishi hatchback — Chobits is an older series you don't see represented much anymore, so it stood out. It was beautifully done.
Toyota Corolla AE86 — styled after the car from Initial D, it was nicely done tribute build.
AbstractNine Booth Lexus — I didn't recognize any of the characters plastered across it, and honestly it seemed more like a display piece to promote brands, rather than a tribute to any one series. Still a really cool vehicle to check out.
Wrapping Up
I poked my head into artist alley for a bit, but there weren't any performances or major activities happening at that moment, so I didn't stick around — I had to get going anyway. Still, I left feeling satisfied with my visit. It was awesome getting to see a big collection of itasha in one place again after such a long break.
Btw, I'm on the lookout for more events to check out. Summer was a little hectic, but now that fall's rolling in, I should have more free time to get out and explore.
And of course, there were more vehicles that I haven’t highlighted yet. Keep scrolling to check those out in the rest of my photo batch. And let me know if you checked out Dekocar this year, or if you've got your own itasha memories to share. I’d love to hear!
Dekocar at Taste of Japan 2025
Itasha have become one of my favorite things to photograph in recent years. So when I saw that Dekocar was doing another display at the Taste of Japan festival in Anaheim this summer, I knew I had to check it out.
Itasha have become one of my favorite things to photograph in recent years. While my interest in the art dates back to 2014—during my first trip to Tokyo—it wasn’t until 2019 that I really began photographing them, thanks to the Dekocar showcase at Nisei Week. That event flipped a switch in me, and I’ve been on the lookout for Itasha events ever since.
So when I saw that Dekocar was doing another display at the Taste of Japan festival in Anaheim this summer, I knew I had to check it out.
Now, I’ve been to a Taste of Japan event before, and to be honest, it’s not the most dynamic festival. It’s fairly typical of a lot of free summer events we get in SoCal—mostly vendor booths and a single main stage, light on immersive experiences. Though to be fair, Nisei Week is also free, yet is a much richer cultural experience overall. So, "free" doesn't always mean lackluster—but in this case, I wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking either.
This is a fairly typical scene at the event, though it gets much more crowded the further in you go.
When I arrived, though, I was surprised—it was packed. The event took place at the STC Anaheim Gardenwalk, a kind of multi-level outdoor mall, and this year’s crowd definitely filled the space. After wandering around a bit, I made my way down to the parking garage where the Dekocar display was being held. It turned out to be a blessing: not only was it cooler (mid-June heat is no joke), but it also gave the display a kind of underground, exclusive feel that worked surprisingly well.
One thing that really caught me off guard was how much branding Dekocar had this year. Columns were wrapped with Dekocar graphics, there were banners, LED signage—it felt like the brand had leveled up since I last saw them at Anime Impulse in 2020. Their digital footprint might still be niche, but in person, they’ve built a strong identity.
There was a DJ, a few vendor booths, and even a surprise appearance from Pocari Sweat, who apparently now have a U.S. presence and are distributing through Costco (now I need to get a membership again). They were handing out free bottles, which was a huge win considering how hot it was. Naturally, I grabbed a couple.
If I had to call out one issue with the setup, though, it’d be the lighting. The garage was pretty dim—fine for escaping the heat, but not ideal for showcasing the vibrant and intricate art of the Itasha wraps. These striking designs are meant to be seen, and poor lighting completely robs them of their impact. On the upside, the dim environment did make the LED underglow and other lighting effects really pop. A bit of a silver lining, I suppose.
Lighting is all over the place down here.
Photographically speaking, it wasn’t a disaster, even with the lighting. I shot both photo and video and didn’t run into many issues, thanks to the fact that the cars were stationary. The only time I struggled was when I tried to grab a portrait of the Pocari Sweat crew under their dark canopy (see the crew portrait above to see what I mean- my Nikon Z5’s autofocus had a tough time locking in under those conditions).
That said, creating solid images from these would take a lot of work, given the uneven lighting, harsh reflections, and dark shadows. Maybe I’ll try something with them in the future, but for now, here’s a complete set of images with basic edits:
All in all, the event was solid. The display wasn’t as big as the one I saw back at Nisei Week 2019, but it was definitely larger and more refined than the last Taste of Japan showing. Even better, I found out that Dekocar will be back at Nisei Week again this year on August 16—which I’m seriously hyped for. That event is one of my favorite memories of photographing Itasha. I’ll definitely be there, and if you’re into car culture, anime, or just want something unique to photograph, you should go too.
Just note that this is not the same weekend as the Nisei Week Grand Parade, which happens one week earlier on the 10th. If you only have one day to spend in Little Tokyo, the parade weekend offers a deeper cultural experience (plus there are usually a few Itasha in that parade anyway). But if the cars are your main draw, the Dekocar weekend is where it’s at.
If you’ve ever had a memorable encounter with Itasha—or if you know of a cool upcoming event I should check out—drop it in the comments or send me a message. I would love to check it out!