In the U.S., big trucks (and their drivers) are known for many things: aggressive behavior on the road, harm to the environment, causing huge accidents, driving while sleep deprived, etc. But the one thing you rarely see associated with American 18-wheelers is beauty. Sure, every so often, you’ll see a shiny new one, and some of them are even kind of attractive, but unless you have explored the weird world of Japanese truck design, you’ve never seen trucks like this!
This art form is known as decotora, and it incorporates painting, neon and LED lighting, highly-polished chrome and other metals, rhinestones, and holographic finishes, plus chandeliers and lush fabrics inside the trucks’ cabs. They are all so extra and so attention-getting, especially at night, it makes me wonder how many accidents they cause…
“At first, I never liked this job. But I had to love my job to live, so I started to decorate my truck.”
-Unknown decotora truck driver
I confess find the trucks really fun to look at, though they are certainly way over the top. They look like Transformers in drag. However, as nice as they are to peep on Instagram, I’d still rather not share the road with them. Can you imagine being menaced by one of these blinged-out behemoths? Yike!
You can see more of this decotora madness on Instagram on #japanesetruck and #decotora. And if you’re interested, you can check out more of Tatsuki Masaru’s truck photos on his website.
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My OBT 
July 7, 2019 at 8:04 am
I can’t really say I like this …its kinda tacky and I can see why they would cause an accident.
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July 7, 2019 at 9:53 am
It seems crazy to me, too, but I have to admire their creative spirit.
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