From pianos to motorcycles and bio; “Let’s try, let’s accept the challenge”
I often wondered about the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture as I watched it go by during my bullet train rides from Tokyo to Osaka. A very good friend of mine is from Hamamatsu and he was telling me about his father’s company. He himself towered over most Japanese men at just under six feet tall and I always thought he broke the mold in terms of deep contemplation and also intelligent risk taking.
On the way to dinner at his favorite Unagi (Eel) restaurant before one of my speeches in Urawa, Tokyo, we sped over rivers and the sparkling sea below the highway. Keeping his eyes on the path ahead, he reminded me that Hamamatsu was the best place for Unagi and insisted that the Unagi, fueled by the minerals that flow from the rich soil into Hamamatsu’s clean rivers, was the “true business”.
With the Unagi eel in mind, I stepped off the Hikari Shinkansen bullet train in Hamamatsu for the first time last week. I’ve been in Japan for about 27 years, but unfortunately, I haven’t really visited many of the history-laden stops “along the way” per se. One of the aspects of Edo that I envy the most is the fact that the same road “Tokaido 53 Tsugi”, something like the silk road of Japan, stretched between Tokyo and Kyoto and, exactly as indicated, had 53 stops in the path. With no bullet trains or planes, travelers had to take their time. I can’t remember when I’ve taken the time to stop and enjoy… I’ve been running across this country most of my time here and I’m ready for a change.
There must be a lot of people like me speeding from Tokyo to Osaka since my train (a Hikari that stops more frequently than the faster Nozomi express) was not full and only about 10 other people joined me to get on the train. Hamamatsu platform.
Okay, I have to admit that this trip was slightly work related, so I can’t say it was entirely my curiosity about the history of the area, but after the stories of my friends and meeting the wonderful people there, I researched a few things. to my comeback. As he said so flatly, the city of Hamamatsu is AMAZING!
A cool autumn day in the city of Hamamatsu
On that pristine autumn day, I spoke about my book “33 More Reasons to Be Proud” to a group of about 100 people gathered in the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce building. Although he already heard my speech in Urawa, I wished my friend was there with me in his hometown to see my genuine surprise at aspects of the city that didn’t really even involve his prized eel.
This time I didn’t even get a chance to look for the delicacy so you will have to wait for my next visit when I expect you to accompany me and take me to your father’s factory. With your guidance, I’d love to take a look under the hood and try to figure out how this place could become the birthplace of so many hits known around the world.
Yamaha. Not much explanation is required as this simple word will evoke images of pianos, motorcycles, engines and much more. Hamamatsu is the birthplace of this world-renowned company and it was the piano that inspired its start.
During the 100 years since the creation of the Yamaha Organ Manufacturing Corporation, Yamaha’s development followed the following path. This ingenious management path and flexibility with changing times kept the firm in tune with the world.
1. Repair of Organs and Pianos, leads to, ability to work with wood.
2. Enter the new home furnishing business.
3. Japan goes to war and skill in carpentry attracts shipments to produce airplane propellers.
4. Propeller manufacturing leads Yamaha to perfect the ability to build motors.
5. Motors for turning the propellers give rise to the construction of motorcycle and motorcycle engines.
6. Motorcycles lead to boat building and boats build capacity in fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP).
7. FRP capacity leads to water slides and
8. Manufacture of swimming pools.
9. The swimming pool business requires clean water, which leads to the development of water filtration technology.
10. Water filters and purification efforts lead to the current focus on Bio.
WOW! Mr. Yamaha really set the bar high for flexibility and corporate responsiveness to a changing world.
The tallest building, Act City Hamamatsu, is shaped like a harmonica, there is a piano key motif on the kimono of “Promotion man Ieyasu Kun”, the city mascot or “Yurukyara”, and international piano competitions are often held in this sleepy seaside town. Maybe music can be the basis and inspiration for innovation? As my train meanders back to Yokohama, I listen to tunes on my phone and think about all that Mr. Yamaha did to inspire entrepreneurs around the world.
I look forward to learning more about how this spirit of innovation thrives in the most direct way possible. I suspect that a deep conversation, over a delicious bowl of Unagi rice in the city of Hamamatsu with my adventurous and innovative friend, is not far off.
How to get to the city of Hamamatsu
Take the Hikari Shinkansen Bullet train from any of the main Shinkansen stops and the name of the station is Hamamatsu.
