16.5.2019 A Mazda on adventures

I really like Germany because they drink a liter of beer in the morning. With this sentence, the PR of Mazda Hiroshima greeted me at the Westgate of the Mazda factory. How it happened will be explained later. First of all, after breakfast, I walked to the Atomic Dome again and was simply fascinated by the number of people who show up every day and are impressed by this special atmosphere. After that, I walked 5 km to the Mazda factory, where I made an appointment for a tour a week ago. Unfortunately, there was only a tour in Japanese, but I thought the most important thing is to be able to see the factory since I am already here in Japan. So I arrived at what I thought was the main gate and found two lively security guards who didn't speak English and spoke Japanese, which I couldn't understand at all. So I tried to communicate with hand gestures that I had booked a tour. I was connected to the PR department, who spoke perfect English. She was desperate when she learned that I was at the completely wrong end of the factory and asked how I got there. When I told her that I had walked 5 km, she was visibly shocked and I had to explain why I would walk so far. She then asked her boss if he could pick me up because he was currently on a test drive with a brand new Mazda. He agreed, and 10 minutes later, I was picked up at the wrong gate by a brand new Mazda with a very lively boss, the boss of the distribution in Hiroshima, who quickly asked where I came from. I said that I come from Germany, and he was excited about that and told me the story mentioned above. When he was in Germany for the first time three years ago, and had learned German in school for three years before that, he wanted to go to a tavern in Frankfurt. But he was surprised that people would already drink beer at 12 o'clock. When he told me that he was in a Hofbräuhaus, I could understand it a bit more. Then he took out his German skills and started reciting Goethe's Faust to me during the ride, and at the end, he said, "Stay a while, you are so beautiful." A fitting end to a ride with a new Mazda. Then the tour in Japanese started, and even without understanding much, I was able to learn about Mazda's history, their basic ideas, and the special mentality of the employees. I was able to walk past the assembly line and have a brief conversation with the men who assemble the new Mazdas. It was really great, and the best part was that it was all free, and I could get a good impression of how cars are produced in a Japanese factory. That was truly fascinating. To conclude, the PR manager came back and took me to the train station so that I didn't have to walk this time either. After that, I walked to Hiroshima Castle and had my lunch in the shade. Then it was time to pack my bags again, as I will be taking the Shinkansen back to Tokyo tomorrow, covering 808 km in four and a half hours.