“My sun is rising!”

In front of their property, three further members of the club are already waiting with their engines running. “Whenever Mr Kitsukawa invites us to accompany him on a tour, it’s a real honour and so, of course, we are glad to join him,” comes the typically Japanese formulation from Hirofumi Kawada, a Buddhist monk with a dark cap and a young-classic Rolex on his wrist. The monk has travelled from near Kobe, around 150 kilometres away. His 190 SL Roadster, manufactured in 1960, is four years older than he is. The other two – Masashi Sumino and Masaki Kato – align their R 107 and A 124 in the classic convoy.