Kei is the Way

I love bikes. I really, really do. I'm still a daily commuter to work and back, try to ride for many of my errands that don't involve things like full sheets of plywood, go on mountain bike rides, bomb down forest service roads on my gravel bike, go bike camping and on the occasional road ride. They are my favorite mode of transportation, and probably always will be. But Kei trucks are awesome.

Caitlin and I went to Japan last spring on a trip with our niece, Teagan - it's hard to believe it's been almost a year - and genuinely fell in love with the country and culture. Everything from the food to the landscape to the amazing museums was truly enjoyable. And everywhere we would see these cute little trucks that I'd kinda heard of before, but got to see in action on the streets of Japan.

Called Kei trucks (an abbreviation of the Japanese word "keitora" for the class of vehicle), they are small utility vehicles that are widely used in the agricultural sector of Japan. They're meant to haul vegetables, fish, dirt, etc. around some of the rugged landscapes in the country. Because of the taxation schedule in Japan on vehicles that I won't go into full detail here, they are limited to 660cc for the engine, and have some restrictions on the physical size of the vehicle. Which means they are tiny, tough little trucks (or enclosed vans) that are very inexpensive. The sides of the bed fold down to make it a flatbed, and they are largely all-time 4WD. If you want the full treatment, this short documentary about them is what I often refer people to when they have questions (it's taken from a 30 minute show that appears to be behind a paywall now).

I became obsessed with them when we returned from Japan, and started reading up on how I might be able to procure one and watching all the YouTube channels that share about how fun they are. And then the local Nissan dealership that is a couple blocks from my house imported a 1996 Honda Acty and plopped it right where I could pass by it whenever I was driving somewhere for work. I finally told Caitlin that we should just go test drive it - after all, maybe they suck to drive, right? Ha. I can't say I've ever really enjoyed driving a vehicle until I got in that thing. We toodled around our neighborhood, snapped some photos in front of the house for posterity, and it was then that I knew I was doomed.

The literal moment I knew I was doomed.

That one was a bit overpriced for its condition and mileage and had dealer fees, so I started trolling Facebook Marketplace/craigslist to keep an eye out for something in our price range. We'd recently inherited some money from my late grandfather's estate that I was able to put towards this (thanks, Grandpa Jerry!). I finally found one last October that met my criteria for low enough miles and price, but it happened to be in Preston, Idaho. That is a serious haul from Missoula - about 6.5 hours drive via the interstate - and I wasn't really willing to make a trip that far just for this; however, I had a work trip planned to Provo, Utah for a maker conference, and we were going to drive to bring exhibits and activities to present. Preston is basically on that route.

So, my boss agreed to drop me off on the way back to pick up this fine 1997 Honda Acty from a very confused and very nice mormon guy who bought the truck from someone else that imported it, but had kids and other life obligations and needed to sell it cheap. He was blown away that I was going to drive it back to Missoula - max speed on mine is about 55 or 60 mph, and they are not legal to drive on the interstate. I had a really fun time driving the backroads of Idaho very slowly and made it back in a record 10 hours. It was a great way to see parts of that gorgeous state that I would not have been to otherwise (excuse the crappy phone handling in this video, it is hard to drive and film at the same time in one of these...)

My new whip on the drive back from ID.

Since purchasing it I've of course tinkered with everything I could, from steering bushings to timing/water pump, engine mounts and coolant flush and new wheels. It came with a full box of parts to do most of this maintenance that the previous owner never got around to. It's great to have a vehicle that is extremely straightforward to maintain with a minimum of hand tools. It's almost as easy to work on as my motorcycle. I can throw a full sheet of plywood or large amount of dimensional lumber in the back for projects for home or work. It's a right hand drive, which didn't take as long to get used to as I thought it might (I've driven RHD in Japan and New Zealand both). It's a manual transmission, which I learned to drive a long time ago and really enjoy - I prefer manual to automatic transmission in fact. It can fit anywhere, and there's a lot of times that I can squeeze into a spot that big trucks can't. 

Custom, bruh.

There are very few safety features (no airbags), there isn't air conditioning, it drives extremely slow with very little getup, doesn't have a Hemi, can't tow worth beans and rides like a truck, and I love everything about it. It's practical in all of the ways that I want a vehicle to be, and impractical in all of the ways that I don't care about. If you yourself are looking for a mid-life crisis vehicle, Kei is truly the way!