Modern Japan

We started our trip by exploring Japan's old, rich culture but today we focused on the new (also very rich), modern Japan. We traveled to Toyota City, about 30 km outside of Nagoya to visit the Toyota plant and museum, followed by the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

At Toyota we were greeted by a trumpet-playing robot (one of the songs in his repertoire was "Somewhere over the rainbow"). The other futuristic vehicle is an "i-Unit," a sort of personal vehicle that can take you on the highway as well as pedestrian walkways. It was a strange experience. The museum ifself showcased Toyota's working philosophy, "Good Thinking, Good Products." It was amazing to learn about Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) and how it has been implemented at Toyota since the 1950s. The museum featured Toyota's newest technology as well as a ton of models that are not available in the U.S. Apparently there are about 40 Toyota models on the market in Japan. The tour of the assembly plant was equally interesting. We saw some of the robots assembling cars but what was most amazing was the organization of parts and Toyota's "Just-in-Time" production philosophy. The company is trying to only produce cars that were ordered by dealerships or customers so that it will not flood the market with cars that are not wanted.

In the afternoon we went to the Toyota Municipal Art Museum where Dana and Larry had an exhibition of their work. To me the building itself was the most amazing piece of art (with the exception of Dana and Larry's work of course). It was designed by Taniguchi and exhibits artwork reflecting the modern and contemporary. The museum was built using straight lines, reflection (through water, glass, and mirrors), and also features an incredible garden.