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Japanese microcar owner’s tiny automobile collection turns heads in Japan

Oona McGee Feb 19, 2022
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The cutest cars you’ll ever see!

You can spot a lot of fancy, unusual vehicles on the roads of Japan today, but none are as tiny or as cute as the ones owned by Twitter user kaorububu (@kaorububu501).

The tiny car enthusiast, who’s used to turning heads on the road, recently caused a bit of a commotion during a visit to a convenience store, when customers inside the store started peering out the window and commenting on his unusual vehicle.

According to this photo, snapped by kaorububu after he came out of the bathroom, it’s easy to see why the car attracted so much attention.

The long poles near the car exaggerate its tiny proportions, while the exterior paintjob makes it look surreal, as if it’s popped out of an anime and into real life.

It’s the cutest little vehicle we’ve ever seen, but it’s not the only one owned by kaorububu, who has a talent for creating mind-blowing designs.

Take this glorious red-and-yellow specimen, for example, which has the same boxy shape and colour scheme as a Keihan 8000 series train. Not only does it turn heads for its miniature proportions, but also for the fact that it makes it look as if a train is speeding down the road.

Another automobile that causes people to do a double-take is this sweet set of wheels, which looks like a tiny Yamazaki bread truck.

▼ A tiny car in a giant world.

And then there’s this microcar, which includes retro branding for old-school National colour televisions. It’s a car so sweet it even steals the limelight at popular tourist sites.

▼ And yes, it does look a lot like a famous Japanese mountain.

If Kaorububu’s mountain-shaped car looks familiar, that’s because it’s a customised Bubu 501, originally sold by Mitsuoka Motor Company in 1982. Known overseas as the Honda Zoe Zipper, this little vehicle might be small but it’s zippy.

▼ So zippy, in fact, that even rollerskating ninjas can’t keep up with it.

While the Bubu 501 was billed as a “mini sedan“, the boxier Bubu 502 was billed as a “mini van“, and that’s the model kaorububu used for the red-and-yellow Keihan van.

The tiny Yamazaki bread truck is a modified Bubu Shuttle-50, as is the tiny blue car at the convenience store, and all of Kaorububu’s tiny fleet run on 50 cc Honda motorcycle engines, just like the original models.

All these minicars are legal to drive on Japanese roads, and Kaorububu has even been stopped by police on occasion, but not for any travel infringements — they just want to photograph his car.

▼ “What a neat car! Can I take a photo to show my family?”

パトカーが止まって「スゴい可愛いクルマですね😄家族にも見せてあげたいので写真撮ってもイイですか？👏🚔」って言われてから丸1年☺️ pic.twitter.com/SFptvRGWRt

— kaorububu (@kaorububu501) September 20, 2021

The police aren’t the only ones to be fascinated by the tiny vehicle, as people online are enamoured as well, leaving comments like:

“I’m about to cry…It’s so cute…like a toy!”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life!”
“I want to get inside one of these!”
“They’re too cute — I love them!”
“My four-year-old saw this and now they want one!”

Microcars like these aren’t easy to come by, so for now we’ll be living vicariously through kaorububu on his Twitter account, where you can even get a glimpse inside some of the vehicles.

Personally, we’d love to own one of these tiny cars, and if we did, we’d definitely be parking it outside this tiny home.

Source: Twitter/@kaorububu501 via JIn
Featured image: Twitter/@kaorububu501
Insert images: Twitter/@kaorububu501
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