Honda Head Office, Tokyo
After arriving in Tokyo, we were given the better part of a day to get acclimatized. Japan is 16 hours ahead of California, and the time change can really mess you up. After an evening and a half day on local time, we are ready to go. About 10 of us board a bus along with the Honda CART drivers, Paul Tracy, Gil De Ferran, Juan Montoya, Jimmy Vasser, and Dario Franchitti. Tony Kanaan's flight was delayed so he doesn't make the appearance, and Naoki Hattori is still recovering from an accident earlier in the season, so he doesn't make the trip to his homeland of Japan. The schedule calls for a brief tour of the facility then a press conference for the drivers.
While the drivers wait upstairs in the corporate offices for the press conference, I go exploring on my own. The lobby of the Honda headquarters is my first glimpse into Hondaland. It's exactly what you'd think the Honda Head Office should look like. Unlike the Honda North America lobby, which is sterile and lifeless by comparison (sorry, gang, but it's true), the HHO is alive with energy. Even if the lobby hadn't been filled with Japan's automotive press, it's dynamic and vibrant.
In front of a mirrored wall covered in neon sit six brightly colored podiums, each housing an Internet station where customers can browse Honda's Web site looking for cars, accessories, and all things Honda. Across the room are tons of motorcycles, several H-cars, and Jimmy Vasser's CART car. Along another wall there are nearly a dozen Dreamcast video game stations all with the latest CART racing game. Yes, if you are so inclined, you can spend all day in the HHO playing video games. But then you'd miss the Honda gift shop (Hello, Torrance office? Anyone?). I would have bought the place out, but then one of our Honda representatives informed me that we will be able to get all of our Honda gifts later at the racetrack or the Honda museum.
The drivers are greeted by the Japanese press with rabid enthusiasm, forcing me to ask one of our Honda guides if they are in fact press or fans pretending to be press. I am informed that in Japan, most members of the press are also die-hard race fans. Cool. There's a lesson here for the American press. After a lengthy question-and-answer period, the drivers (and us) are rushed off to another press conference across town. The drivers and team owners remain courteous and gracious in spite of the fact that they are being asked the same questions over and over again: "How do you plan to win the race?" and "What do you think you'll have to do to win this weekend?" You think being a race car driver is easy? Guess again. You need just as much patience off the track as on. Finally we are treated to an awesome dinner with some of the Honda elite. Since I'm a rookie in the world of hardcore Japanese food, I watch Honda North America Vice President Tom Elliott (a Japan-visit veteran) for clues on what's edible and what's best left alone.
Honda Research & Development, Tochigi
Up early to grab a bullet train North to Honda R&D in Tochigi. Everything I've heard about the bullet trains rings true. Ultra-modern, ultra-smooth, ultra-fast, and ultra-clean. A cleaning crew dressed in all pink boards the train before any passengers to make sure it's spotless. Before they enter the cars, the entire pink-clad crew bows to the train in a show of respect. There's a lesson here for American customer service. In Tochigi, we are greeted at the front office by an army of Honda executives dressed in spotless all-white uniforms. Everyone's wearing the same green and white hats, too. I'm told that the identical uniforms are to show that there is no separation between the levels of management. Everyone is on the same team, working for the same goals.
After a brief introduction, we load into a couple of Odysseys and head into the depths of the facility.
By Matthew Pearson
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