You never know until you try it.

While doing their regular repairs on the ridiculously cheap SoraHouse out in the countryside, Yoshio and Go Hatori bought a bucket of Moru Moru. This is a plaster-like wall finish that can be used either indoors or outdoors. It’s also meant to be easy for even novices to use and can be applied by hand.

The only question was where to apply it first. The two men stood outside the house and contemplated where to begin when Yoshio’s face suddenly lit up.

▼ Yoshio: “I got it!”
Go: “Oh god…”

▼ Yoshio: “Let’s put it on the Minica!”

Yoshio was referring to the 1997 Mitsubishi Minica Guppy that we purchased ten years ago for 980 yen, which was equivalent to about 10 bucks US back then. Although it had served them well over the years and was hundreds of times worth the price, it’s recently been spending most of its twilight years parked beside the SoraHouse.

Knowing that questioning Yoshio’s logic was futile and kind of wanting to try it himself, Go popped open the Moru Moru and the pair got to work.

The material was a lot thicker than they expected but was easy to apply by hand.

It probably would have been even easier if they had worn gloves. After a while, Go’s hands began to feel really cold.

He looked at the pictures on the bucket and seeing everyone wearing plastic gloves made him realize they slipped up. It was too late to do anything about it though, so they just boiled some water to warm up their plaster-caked hands.

Given the size of the compact car, it was a small job, but ensuring an even coat was a little difficult. So, the guys took a mountain microwave lunch break with their buddy Butch a.k.a. Big Wave a.k.a. Bob.

All in all, it took about two hours of work to turn our shiny blue whip into a blob of whipped cream.

It literally looked like a big cake made into the shape of a car and Go imagined some big strawberries on top.

It wasn’t especially bad – just kind of weird. It was sort of like a work of art accentuating the landscape surrounding the SoraHouse.

Go stared at it wistfully and he thought back on all the years he and that car spent together. Ten years ago felt like only yesterday when he signed the paperwork at the dealership in Nagoya.

He poured a lot of love into that little machine. The following year he even gave it some snazzy racing stripes and effects lighting.

Then, in 2016, the car was reborn as the Mr. Sato Car, featuring dozens of images of Mr. Sato in honor of his birthday.

The following year, it was time to return the car to a state of normality, so Go painted over the body using nine magic markers.

He also taped on some racing stripes again for good measure.

Always wanting to add some pizazz, in 2018, Go slapped on some fake wood paneling he got from Daiso.

He also used some foil cooking trays as hubcaps to complete the look.

It didn’t take Go long to realize these were all terrible ideas and by 2020 he had restored the Minica back to the condition he had bought it in.

By the time the SoraHouse was purchased, time had taken its toll on the little car. No one could blame it for its worsening condition considering it was already 12 years old when Go bought it and managed to keep going for another 10. By 2023 it gracefully retired beside the country home and Yoshio thought it’d be fun to make it look like a taxi.

And now it’s covered in plaster.

If you’re wondering how well it drives in this condition, we can’t say for sure. Unfortunately, Go can’t even get it to start anymore.

He suspects it might just be the battery though, so perhaps the Minica will hit the road once more someday. But even if it never does, it will always have a home at our home, where it will stand as a monument to finding value in unexpected places.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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