Three generations of the Toyota family who came from a lonely village in Japan became one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. Their start was in the loom. Who would have known that a car company started with the loom. Improving the mechanics of the loom, better operation led to mechanics of an automotive division.
E bikes go way back
The name changed from Toyota to Toyota in 1936 when there was a competition to develop a new logo. It was decided that Toyota had a cleaner look and a sharper sound.
Developing a prototype.
It’s come a long way! Very interesting story.
We stop for lunch. These eateries are located along the highway at service areas. Great selection of food but it’s always challenging in knowing how and what to order.
This is one of the machines that you have to order from. It’s all in Japanese. Pictures help but it’s still rather daunting especially for Marlene as she is allergic to fish so knowing what’s in your food is extra important. You choose your dish, put in the yen and then you get a ticket. You give the ticket to the person at the counter and then a short time later you are called and given your food. That way the cash doesn’t touch the hands of people preparing the food. It’s quite efficient (once you figure it out)
We then drive to a village that’s 400 years old. This is Naraijuku. The villages were built to accommodate the feudal lords and leaders that had to travel from far away to report to the Shogun every year. They would be delivering taxes that were collected to the Shogun. This was very time consuming for the feudal lords and was the way that the Shogun held power. This occurred between the 16th and 19th centuries.
These villages are almost deserted now but kept for tourism and history.
Tiny doorway.
After we settle in our hotel we decide to go to a Sushi restaurant. It was very challenging figuring out how to order but we did it and had a great meal. You had to order on the screen and then the order would arrive on a conveyor belt. It would just stop in front of you and you just take it off and eat.
And a beer to wash it all down. It looked like a small beer on the screen but look what we got! Oh well. Bottoms up!
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