Itasha and NDK
Since NDK’s move to the Gaylord Rockies in 2021 itashas have been celebrated with an outdoor car show in conjunction with the Colorado Itasha Alliance, featuring over 60 vehicles. Starting in 2023 the car show became a juried and judged event, with awards for the top 3 vehicles as voted on by the NDK attendees, with prizes ranging from handmade trophies, limited edition figures, and guaranteed features in future years’ shows.
Starting in 2025 the car show has grown to TWO locations around the event center, one in the upper area outside the main hall where it has always been, and another down in the new lower outdoor area on the west side of the event center between the panel rooms and the food trucks.
Please join us Friday afternoon at 2pm for the big roll-in event, with our annual featured car reveal, and Sunday at noon for the awards ceremony!
If you’d like to vote for your favorite vehicles, scan the QR code that will displayed around the show while you’re at the convention
What is Itasha?
“In Japan, an itasha (痛車; literally “painful” or “cringeworthy” + “car”) is a car decorated with images of characters from anime, manga, or video games” –Wikipedia
Starting in the 80’s anime fans in Japan would decorate their cars with stickers, plushies, and figures to show their love for their favorite characters and series. The first fully liveried car debuted at Comiket in 2005, likely inspired by the car designs seen in the Fast and the Furious franchise. In 2007 the Autosalone convention, an itasha-oriented event, was started to allow fans to gather and show off their vehicles, cementing the itasha culture into legitimate fandom. Other variations include itansha (痛単車) for motorcycles, itatorakku (痛トラック) for trucks, and more!
I have an Itasha, can I participate?
We would love to see your vehicle at the show! There is limited space for vehicles, so selection is done via a juried committee through the Colorado Itasha Alliance.
You can join the group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/191726571532387
And you can apply to be in the show here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYJzPykUAeoHf12s6W58PZ7aeQ9E0tbXT8gyly-y7LOAuJnQ/viewform
