Tokyo is a crazy city! After spending a
few days in Japan, I still don't know how to describe it. Time has
been flying by because of how busy we've been lately. This is a city
where history is mixed with the future, where skyscrapers and temples
are neighbors. There are many other foreigners (or gaijen, as the
Japanese say), so in a strange way, we seem to fit in. A huge variety
of people can be seen entering or leaving the subway, many of them
wearing suits and on their way to and from work. We arrived on Thursday, March 23rd,
ready for the second half of our study abroad trip.
The pictures above are from the Tokyo Tower, a beautiful building in Tokyo that me and some friends happened to go to on our first night in the city, simply because we could see it from so far away. The observation deck, 150 meters high, gave us an amazing view of the city. On all sides, we could see this vast metropolis and its many districts which we would explore in the next few days. The following day, in Akirabara, the famous electronics
district, we got our first real taste of the big city. It was very
busy on this Friday night, and there are countless electronics stores
with multiple stories. Dozens of pretty girls line the street
corners, advertising their restaurants and maid cafes. We ate dinner
at the American Diner to get a little familiarity, where I had a
pizza.
The Shibuya district the next night was even busier, with
thousands of people enjoying the night life. The crosswalk we
traveled across is supposedly the busiest in the world! We ate at a
fancy, traditional Japanese restaurant this time. We each ordered a
dish, such as chicken scewers or cheese potatoes, and shared our food with each other.
Afterward, we found a karaoke bar, where we just happened to sing in
the same room that was filmed in the movie Lost in Translation!
Before I knew it, we were on a train headed to Hiroshima (more about Hiroshima in my next entry). When we rode a subway to
Mazda, I had no idea what I was in for. The Mazda factories and
buildings encompass a huge area, the size of a small city! From the
main headquarters, we got on a bus with a beautiful tour guide and
drove through the concrete jungle of this car manufacturer. We were
told not to take pictures, except for in the museum area we would
soon explore.
During a 10 minute ride, we were taken on one of the
largest bridges owned by a private company. We saw how Mazda has
complete vertical integration – they own every aspect of their car
business, from manufacturing to distribution, with huge sea vessels
on the Hiroshima shore that can carry from 4,000 to 6,000 vehicles to
be taken all over the world. What's impressive is that all of these
different divisions are located on the same land, which must be very
convenient and cost effective!
The Mazda Carol, perfect for the Carol in our group
Inside the museum, we saw the history of Mazda cars and motors. Although I've never been much into cars, it was interesting to see the progression of Japanese automobiles and the design process involved. We saw a variety of small, efficient cars. Some are growing in size and all are growing in efficiency, as Mazda shows off its Skyactiv engine technology - which are four cylinder engines with power yet are 15% more efficient on gas.
As we were taken on the production line, I was given insight by the 2 guys in my group who work for GM. It was fascinating to see just a few people work on dozens of cars. We saw the "body-frame marriage" process, where the car is essentially put together for the first time. I watched from above as workers installed the dashboard, seatbelts, and carpet. Then, the cars were lifted up onto another conveyor as robotics installed the windshield. It was especially fascinating that no two cars on the assembly line appeared to be the same - the line is designed to work on multiple cars at once, with vans followed by four door cars followed by sports cars, all different colors with varying features. It has given me a greater appreciation for the price and the complexity of an automobile.
A Mazda prototype, the type of car we may see more of in the future
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