If you are a car lover, the Toyota museum will make you smile. Located at Toyota City, very close to Nagoya (Aichi’s prefectural capital), the museum guarantees its visitors a very rewarding experience. The showroom with the latest models from Lexus and Toyota, as well as its motorsports attracts everyones’ attention. However, the modern museum also offers numerous educational exhibits and interactive displays which makes fun to learn more about the famous Japanese car company.
The two floors of the museum are divided into eight sections. Each different area covers an import element in the philosophy and mission of Toyota. The history and development of the company is interesting to understand, but the future plans and vision of the corporation makes you realize the huge technological research and development coming in the next few years. The impact in the environment, safety and society is deeply covered during the visit.
At the safety and mobility section, visitors can experience a car simulator with the new security features introduced in Toyota’s cars. Through virtual reality, a car simulates common accidents in different types of weather. The simulator proves how with new technology, accidents are reduced in number and magnitude.
At the environmentally friendly cars section, several models with hybrid and fuel cell technologies are shown. Through interactive games and videos visitors can understand the environmental urgency to change from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Good thinking, good products is the section where the museum shows how the high quality standards and exceptional optimization is achieved through the company’s different philosophies. “Just in time,” aspiring to low inventory, and “jidoka,” pursuing high quality in every process, are just two examples.
An amazing feature of the museum is the Toyota Partner Robot. Designed under the concept of “harmony with people” the robot standing at the entrance of the museum offers a performance approximately every hour. With great confidence, the robot amazes its audience by playing the violin. It’s not a playback, the robot is actually playing.
The access to the museum is completely free. The easiest way to go is taking the JR Tokaido Line from Nagoya station to Okazaki and then change to Aichikanjo line to Mikawa-Toyota. The museum is a 20 minutes walk from the station.
