Several Japanese car trends have made their way to the United States over the last decade or so - most of them captured (some say sensationally, though many may say poorly) in the Fast and the Furious series of movies.

But a more recent fad is not likely to catch Mr. Dominic Toretto's eye. The fad is called Itasha, and its enthusiasts plaster their cars with decals of characters from Japanese animation and video games, and logos from comic books. The word itashahas a complex background - it has traditionally been used to refer to Italian cars. A more current usage of itasha is derived from “Itai,” the Japanese word for painful or, in Japanese slang, ugly. Hence, itasha is “ugly cars.”

Those flashy graphics also caught the eye of a Tokyo photographer who has spent two years photographing Itasha cars and their owners. He saw some photos on a news blog, and that led him to Akihabara, the place where all elecronics-mad Japanese (and tourists) converge. It is also known as Otaku Town. Otaku is the name given to the culture surrounding Japanese anime, or manga.

It even extends to motorbike owners. Sushi is fine. Muji is cool. Kirin, Sapporo and Asahi are great. But this is not - to me anyway.

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