Today the boys went to the Mazda Museum and factory tour at Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, starting with an early train from Hiroshima Station to Mukainada Station.
After a short walk we arrived at Mazda’s Japanese Headquarters, where we were greeted and invited to view both classic and new models on display or play in the games room while waiting for the tour to start.
James took a particular liking to the sporty lines of the Roadster.
In the games room we were able to race some some Mazdas on a simulator and have our photo taken in the photo booth.
Right on schedule the bus arrived to take us from the office to the Mazda Museum. The plant sprawls along 7km on both sides of the Enko river. The worlds largest private bridge was built by Mazda to provide access to both sides of the plant.
Along the way we pass Mazda’s private coal/steam electricity plant, the water treatment and recycling plant and on-site accomodation for single workers.
When we arrive at the museum we’re shown an introductory video, that demonstrates just how significant Mazda is in Hiroshima.
After the video, the tour of the museum begins and we get to see some of the first Madza’s ever produced - and they weren’t cars! The first Mazda’s were three wheeled bikes and trucks.
Taking pride of place was the Mazda 787B that won LeMans in 1991 and our guide proudly pointed out that Mazda are the only Japanese car manufacturer to have won LeMans.
Next it was time to view the engine section of the museum, where there were an assortment of Mazda enginges on display, with a special focus on the Rotary engine.
The tour includes displays showing how cars progress through the assembly line, including the panelling, painting and assembly stages of the production line.
The tour then takes weaves its way onto an elevated gangtry above the live assembly line where we were able to see the final assembly stages of production. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take pictures in the plant area but it was fascinating to see an RX8 followed by a CX5 being assembled on the same line together.
After leaving the production and assembly area we exit to a gallery with Mazda protoype vehicles that have been displayed at international Motor Shows. There were Hybrid test vehicles and even a Hydrogen powered rotary engine on display.
As we leave the museum we get a fantasic view of the private port, where between 4000 and 6000 Mazda’s are loaded onto international cargo ships.
We then returned back to the office passing the design centre, where new models are drawn, designed and modelled out of clay and plastic as a part of the development process.
At the end of the tour we made our way back to the train station and headed back into the city to rejoin the girls.