Spoon Type One
(Tokyo)
Tucked away in the quiet, residential wards of Suginami City, TYPE ONE is the physical manifestation of Spoon Sports' tuning philosophy. While the main Spoon headquarters handles the corporate logistics and parts distribution, this facility is the beating heart of their engineering operations. For anyone dedicated to the mastery of 90s Honda chassis, visiting this Tokyo workshop is an essential pilgrimage.
It stands as a stark contrast to the loud, chaotic energy of highway meets or massive auction houses; TYPE ONE is a temple of mechanical precision, stripping away the noise to focus entirely on balance, weight reduction, and absolute chassis refinement.
The Operating Room Aesthetic
Walking onto the shop floor feels less like visiting a traditional garage and more like entering an automotive laboratory. The environment is impeccably clean, hyper-organized, and brilliantly lit. This clinical setup reflects Tatsuru Ichishima’s methodology: precision over brute force. Instead of massive turbo builds, you are watching master technicians hand-balance engine internals and fine-tune suspension geometries to extract every ounce of naturally aspirated potential.
The Ultimate Reference Guide
Because this is an active, working garage, the floor is constantly rotating with some of the finest Honda builds on the planet.
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Track-Proven Hardware: You will frequently find Spoon’s iconic yellow-and-blue endurance race cars up on the lifts. Being able to inspect how a professional race team sets up their aero, brake ducts, and rigid collars provides invaluable, real-world reference material for refining a track-focused DC2 or dialing in the ultimate street setup for an EK9.
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Customer Masterpieces: Alongside the dedicated track weapons, the shop services immaculate customer cars. Studying these builds offers a masterclass in OEM+ restoration and period-correct modifications, showcasing how modern Spoon components integrate flawlessly with classic 90s engineering.
Parking around Type One
So I had to write up this section for those driving to Type One. There are no obvious street parking directly outside of Type One, and the non-orthogonal streets made it seem harder to navigate around. But upon circling around the small streets, i realized their local streets have ample amount of small parking lots on both sides; some are full, but you just have to circle around to find one with an empty spot. Just one note, watch out for the one-way streets!
My Experience at Spoon Type One
Last time I visited, I only looked at the first floor only realizing there is a second floor to the complex. I shall go check out the second floor next time also, if I am allowed. If you want to take a look inside the shop, check out my video here.
