Friendly Staff at the Mazda Headquarters Building
The Mazda Motor Corporation, founded in Hiroshima in 1920, still retains its headquarters in the city of its origins. In addition to the corporate headquarters, Mazda owns a large plot of coastal land which accommodates research and development laboratories, factories, and shipping facilities. Mazda has made a company museum and part of a factory available for public viewing.
Like Toyota to Nagoya, Mazda plays a large role in Hiroshima's economy. Though Mazda may not be nearly as big as Toyota, it still makes over a million cars a year and is an innovative participant of the Japanese auto industry. For instance, in 1991 Mazda became the first and only Japanese company to win the Le Mans Grand Prix.
The Cars of the Past
To visit the Mazda Museum, reservations must be made by phone beforehand. Reservations can be made up to a year in advance. The Museum can only be seen as part of a guided tour, which is offered once per day English and twice per day in Japanese.
Visitors to the museums first come to the Mazda Head Office building and sign in at the front desk. When the tour is scheduled to begin, a Mazda tour guide directs visitors onto a bus to take them to the Museum building. The guide points out and explains the sites during the 10 minute drive through the Mazda facilities.
The Museum offers an overview of Mazda's history, a look into the technology of its automobiles, and the prospects for its future developments. The tour also passes through an actual vehicle assembly line. Multiple models are on the assembly line, so visitors can see a variety of different cars being made. At the end of the tour there is a shop featuring Mazda goods. The tour takes 90 minutes from start to finish.
A Car of the Future
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