4 Japan Mini-Tours (Part II)

I posted recently on some mini-tours that were available in Japan including Gunkanjima and the Morioka Silk factory. To follow up on that I am going to have a look at 4 other mini tours available as highlighted by Trendy Magazine in their May 2009 edition. Keep in mind that each of these is a mini-tour and not a full day event.

Mitsubishi Minato Mirai Tech Plaza, Yokohama
Located on the Minato Mirai site in Yokohama, Mitsubishi Juko (三菱重工業) have set up a family orientated technology plaza for kids to play and experience various machinery.

The review in Trendy says that it is fun to try out the various bits of machinery and being able to touch rather than just look is a bonus for the kids. One negative point noted was that all the machinery experiences were over quite quickly.

Entrance fee is YEN 300 with expected time of visit to range from about 1 hour to 1.5 hours.

Kawasaki World, Kobe
The location to Kawasaki World is very convenient, near the Kobe Port Tower (神戸ポートタワー).

There are a number of larger scale exhibits here including industrial robots, jetskis, helicopters and the front of a Shinkansen 0 model. Some of the exhibits are hands on but a lot are display only.

There is also an explanation of the history of Kawasaki Juko on display.

Entrance fee is YEN 500 with expected time of visit to range from about 1 hour.

Bandai hobby center, Shizuoka
Bandai the manufacturers of many popular Japanese toys including Gundam, have a hobby center in Shizuoka that you can visit by applying through their hobby center home page. The center is accessible by a guided tour and is extremely popular with overseas guests.

The summer holidays in particular are crowded and spaces are often limited. The tour includes a look at the office and factory floors of this compact Bandai facility.

The link to their hobby center page is http://www.bandai.co.jp/hobbycenter

Entrance fee is FREE.

Instant Ramen Musuem, Osaka
If you have been to Japan, you have at some time probably tried instant ramen. Nisshin shokuhin (日清食品) who started business in 1948, produced the first instant ramen product and have made a lot of instant ramen since then, have opened a museum for people to see some of the mystery and history behind the product.

To participate in some ramen making (good for kids) which includes making your own unique ramen flavored product, it may be necessary to ring ahead and book (072 752 3484)

Entrance fee is FREE (to participate in 2 attractions there is a small fee) with expected time of visit to range from anyone over 30 minutes.

A short video in Japanese showing the Instant Ramen Museum can be viewed here:

Here is a link (English language) to the Nissin noodles page showing the museum guide. http://www.nissin-noodles.com/english.htm

Reference:
The above 4 mini-tours were featured in TRENDY Magazine in their May 2009 edition (Japanese language). The photos above were taken from that edition.