"La Festa Mille Miglia", starts for the first time in Japan in 1997. It’s held annually in the fall and this year it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The former president of the Commission of the Mille Miglia in Italy, Giuseppe Lucchini, coined the name "La Festa Mille Miglia" for this event here in Japan.
“La Festa Mille Miglia”, was actually born in 1992, thanks to collaboration between the Japanese and the Italian administration, under the former Secretary General Costantino Franchi. Unfortunately, at that time, the organization was not yet as developed as today, therefore, before we were able to start the event as you know it today, it took five years of preparation: the research of suitable sites for the start and for the finish lines; the calculation of 1,000 miles and the subdivision in the four days of the rally; requests for assistance and permissions from the local authorities and the police; the selection of the sponsors; the creation of a regulation and the basis for the principles of the event; housing; the negotiation for the agreement with the Italian Committee of the Mille Miglia; and much more.
"La Festa Mille Miglia" was recognized by the International Federation of Ancient Vehicles (FIVA) as the only event of this kind in Asia, and later, Prince Tomohito accepted the position of Honorary President of the event.
Unfortunately, nothing is always perfect; there have been in fact several unpleasant events during the last 20 years, as the big earthquake in the East of Japan, the untimely death of the Honorary President, Prince Tomohito, and also the passing out of several participants who had been following us from the beginning.
It’s therefore also in memory of all this that we continue with this rally.

Before ending, let me remind the three fundamental values that have always been the core of this event:
- Respect for the vintage cars - The enhance of the friendship that links the participants, the public and the staff members, in and out of Japan - Always feeling young at heart - These values will never change and will be with us always and forever.

In 20 years our life has changed, has become more and more convenient and comfortable thanks to technological development, and this has caused unavoidably that everything considered too old is being discarded. However, how can we be so sure that in doing so we are not losing all that is of great cultural value, and thus also the ability to pass it down to the next generation?
Now we are in a time when we should show respect for our predecessors, they that had the ability to create so much for us.