Day 12 – 7 th April 2017.
Nagoya/ Tokyo
After breakfast we all gather in the hotel reception prior to travelling by bus to the very impressive Toyota Museum in Nagoya. However, before setting off we say a very fond farewell to our young friend from Virginia, Luke, who is leaving the tour a couple of days early to spend some time with a friend in the USA who has managed to get much sought-after tickets to a Japanese Major League Baseball game. Apart from reducing the average age of our group of Grey Nomads by a considerable number of years he has at all times been an amiable, knowledgeable, entertaining and most of all an adventurous young guy, always ready to immerse himself in all that Japan has to offer. We will miss having him around.
In what is basically a self- guided tour we first learn that the company initially known as Toyoda was founded towards the end of the 19th century by Sakichi Toyoda and become a significant player in the textile industry, especially after Sakichi invented an automatic loom.
However, during a visit to the USA Sakichi’s eldest son, Kiichiro, saw for himself the burgeoning automotive industry which was clearly going to make such a huge contribution to the USA economy.
Kiichiro returned to Japan and set up an automotive division of the company that has gone on to become the world’s largest car manufacturer.
This superb museum was founded in 1994 and it is interesting to note the contrast between this exhibition and the automotive museum in Turin, Italy, which Gail and I had visited 3 years earlier.
The admittedly magnificent Turin museum focuses far more on the glitz and glamour of cars and includes a section on the world of Grand Prix racing whilst the Nagoya Toyota museum gives far more emphasis to the technical aspects of car manufacture with not a Grand Prix vehicle in sight. Probably a reflection on the two nationalities!
An interesting footnote on the change of the company name from Toyoda to Toyota and 2 photographs have been attached which explains this move.
In another effort to balance the ‘ Cherry Blossom’ ledger Chiaki suggests that we take a quick trip on the train out to Nagoya Castle where, we are promised , cherry blossom will abound and she proves as good her word. As time is short most of the group do not go inside the castle grounds but the glorious display of blossom in the areas outside the walls is all that we could have wished for.
Finally, it’s time to travel back to Tokyo by Bullet Train and after a few subway changes to get across the city we check into the splendid Grand Nikko Tokyo Diaba. Diaba is an area which is primarily on reclaimed land and we travel across the remarkable Rainbow Bridge on a driverless train and on a track which does a form of ‘loop the loop’ to avoid too steep an incline onto the bridge. We notice that some very keen passengers try to get on the train first so that they can occupy the seats at the front, probably living out some long-held childhood dream.
As an introduction to the Diaba waterfront Chiaki takes us on a quick sunset tour to view the city skyline across the water and the faux Statue of Liberty, although we are all rather bemused as to why Tokyo should be celebrating the 4th of July 1776, US Independence Day and the 14th July 1789, Bastille Day.
Maybe it has something to do with the hold Starbucks has on the coffee scene here and the presence of the excellent Vie de France boulangerie chain which we have come across during our travels.
Fuji Television & Tokyo skyline from Daiba
Off in search of a view of Mt Fuji tomorrow.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.
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