Just as international travel grounded to a halt during the pandemic, visits at the Mazda Museum became very limited. The Museum’s management, however, took the opportune chance to implement some major repairs, renovating the facility’s interior and exterior inspired by the latest Mazda brand design concept.
The renovation comes with 10 different exhibit zones showcasing Mazda’s 100-year history and vision for the future. Located at Mazda’s Hiroshima headquarters, it allows for popular factory tours to see production. The museum showcases historic vehicles and exhibits of the company’s history since its foundation more than a century ago.
According to Mazda, it is due to open to the public on May 23 with the museum’s spatial design and displays taking a complete makeover with the aim of providing customers and people in the community with a space in which they can grow closer to Mazda, as well as to strengthen the Museum’s role as a base for communication of the Mazda brand. Additionally, an online Mazda Museum* was launched on the brand’s official website to allow many more visitors to browse through the museum’s displays.
The newly renovated museum comes with a monotone color scheme paired with warm lighting and wood surfaces, which were all designed in accordance with the latest Mazda brand design concept, providing an elegant yet cozy space for visitors. Mazda’s 10 different exhibit zones have decor and lighting that match each zone’s theme. The entire museum has been designed to provide visitors with a narrative experience of Mazda’s vision for the next century and the thoughts that have gone into all the vehicles that Mazda has introduced to the world over the past 100 years.
Here are the highlights of the museum Exhibits
Entrance hall: Embodies Mazda brand style and showcases the latest Mazda models
Zone 1: 1920 – 1959: Origin of Monotsukuri (car making) spirit
Zone 2, 3: 1960+: Paving the way to becoming a diversified vehicles manufacturer
Zone 4: Motor sports: A global challenge for Mazda.
Zone 5, 6 and 7: 1960+: Paving the way to becoming a diversified vehicles manufacturer
Zone 8: Technology: Mazda’s human-centric Monotsukuri
Zone 9: Vehicle assembly line tour
Zone 10: Mazda’s vision for the next 100 years
Mazda will continue to offer the popular factory tours, during which visitors can observe real vehicle assembly lines in operation. And while Japan is closed to international tourists, Mazda will be opening an online museum that provides guided virtual tours with detailed explanations for each zone and immersive drone footage from inside the exhibition. One can log on and visit the Mazda Museum official website at https://www.mazda.com/en/about/museum/ or have a virtual visit by logging on to the Online Mazda Museum https://www2.mazda.com/ja/onlinemazdamuseum/ and visit the Mazda Kids Channel https://www.mazda.com/ja/about/kids/ Although it is currently available in Japanese only, Mazda will have an English language option very soon.
Japan Times recently reported that Japan has no immediate plans to reopen its borders to foreign tourists and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was quoted earlier as saying that the country should brace for a possible resurgence of the coronavirus. “No specific schedule has been decided,” Kishida said at a news conference, adding the government will make a decision after examining the COVID-19 infection situation and border control steps taken by other nations. For now, Japan has gradually relaxed its strict border controls, and only allows up to 10,000 entrants a day to its international borders, including business travelers, students, and returning Japanese nationals and foreign residents.
