[7][8] Ordinary designers draw a number of pictures, but he often makes models in wood or metalwork, as he thinks it is quicker to show the real thing.

[10] At the time, he was the only one who could talk about 'transforming' and 'combining', so when he made presentations using three-dimensional objects, the sponsors were very receptive, and his ideas were usually accepted immediately.

[3][14][15] Following graduation, Okawara worked for Onward Kashiyama, the largest textile and apparel company, where he designed mass-produced ready-made suits.

[3][14] He then moved to Kimuratan in search of a more rewarding career and worked on the children's brand 'Otogi no Kuni', but left the company when he was transferred to the sales department due to business downsizing.

[19] He came up with a transformation mechanism for Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3 in response to a request from Eiji Yamaura, head of Sunrise's planning office and later president, and actually made his own mockup and presented it to the sponsors.

[2][21] The die-cast metal character toys sold by Clover, the sponsor at the time of its broadcast, suffered poor sales and the show was discontinued.

[22] However, the programme gradually gained popularity through re-runs, and model magazines began to publish dioramas of battlefields created by readers using scratch-building techniques.

[22] Bandai took note of this and launched a plastic model kits in 1980, which became an unprecedented hit, causing a social phenomenon in which products continued to be out of stock nationwide.

[6][23] This was followed by the launch of the plastic model brand MSV (Mobile Suit Variations), a spin-off of the TV series designed by Okawara, and the boom continued until the mid-1980s.

[24][26] Okawara then drew a design based on the space suit motif, but both were rejected as not suitable for the lead role.

[22][24][28] While the design was being finalised, Okawara was taken by Yamaura to Clover to present the mechanism of the combined and transformable toy, which made a good impression on them.

[24] Tomino told Okawara that he could do whatever he wanted except for Mono-Eye, so he freely designed Zaku, Gouf, Dom, and other MS.[26] When these enemy mecha, which were never intended to be toys, were released as plastic models, their design and concept, reminiscent of real weapons, met the demand of plastic model fans and became very popular.

[30][31] Seeing Bandai's success, Takara approached Okawara to sell plastic model kits themselves, and they produced Fang of the Sun Dougram.

[2] The plastic models sold so well that the TV series was extended and all CB Armour was included in the product line-up, as well as tanks, helicopters and even trailers.

[37] In recent years, he has been active both in Japan and abroad, designing the mascot character Inagi Nansuke for his home city of Inagi, Tokyo, the futuristic micro-mobility Machina, figures for offers from abroad, and a head-mounted display with a small camera, a work by Mathieu Briand, which was exhibited at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.