Bongo Fury

Hi all, my first post so sorry if this has already been discussed... We bought our first bongo this weekend just gone. We love it already, first 100 miles home done without a problem! The stereo in the new van is a bit knackered, radio doesn't work. Luckily though, there is a Japanese minidisc stuck in the stereo! It is the greatest music I've ever heard (seriously it has brass, choir, rap, guitar and drum solos, it's incredible!), but thats not the point. Listening to this disc really helped me connect with the new van. Cheesy I know but when you are used to driving with two children under four in the back and you drive a new van home at 60-65 all on your own your mind tends to wander in peace and quiet. I couldn't help but think about the previous owners in Japan. Who they would have been, what they would have used the vehicles for... so there is my question to you all: Does anyone know much about what these vans tend to be used for in Japan? Family cars/minicabs? Any stories of them in Japan would be great! Thanks and very happy to be here!

Hi

It's common for Japanese households to be 3 generations so Bongo type vehicles are often family transport.

A lot of the stickers on the older vans related to fishing contests so I would guess that they were popular amongst weekend fisherman!

We used to import them, about 12 -15 years ago. Many were cherished family cars. They're popular for escaping from the city, to the country. Of the many, two that stood out were one that had one that had been owned by a Geisha firm in Kyoto. It was black, gleaming, with lots of chrome accessories. Funnily enough, we sold it to a vicar, I'm not joking. The other was for breaking as spares. It was a low auction grade interior but great mechanically. The reason for the low auction grade interior became obvious when we removed the black seat covers. (They were a perfect fit, padded vinyl, wipe clean!) Under them, the seats were crisp, like they'd been varnished, plastered with soy sauce and food stains. It had been used as sleeping accommodation for factory shift workers.

Doone wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 9:46 am We used to import them, about 12 -15 years ago. Many were cherished family cars. They're popular for escaping from the city, to the country. Of the many, two that stood out were one that had one that had been owned by a Geisha firm in Kyoto. It was black, gleaming, with lots of chrome accessories. Funnily enough, we sold it to a vicar, I'm not joking. The other was for breaking as spares. It was a low auction grade interior but great mechanically. The reason for the low auction grade interior became obvious when we removed the black seat covers. (They were a perfect fit, padded vinyl, wipe clean!) Under them, the seats were crisp, like they'd been varnished, plastered with soy sauce and food stains. It had been used as sleeping accommodation for factory shift workers.

Amazing tale. Yuk! I often wonder about the Japanese owners of mine and whether they'd be pleased/amazed to know its still fine at 25yrs old, cherished and has been with me for over 14 of those years, and has never let me down

I think they'd be pleased that it was cherished.
We used to wonder at the things we'd find in them, that gave clues to other lives. The lucky coins under the carpet, toll passes and once, what looked like a drivers licence with a photo ID. We'd often find tiny teddies and plastic character figures under the back seat or edges of the roof space; someones tiny toy, lost forever. There were often giant (GIANT) spiders, most were dead. Once we found the biggest hornet we'd ever seen, jurassic sized! Luckily (for us) it was dead.
In the early days, some of the imports would arrive loaded with the former owners Bongo accessories - sets of alloy wheels stacked in the back, fishing rod and umbrella holders, chrome grab handles, awnings etc. Bongo treasure! After a few years, that stopped. I guess they found another market for them.