Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and back to Tokyo. Three weeks plus some extra days.

After Osaka came Hiroshima. Obviously for its war-linked history. But Hiroshima is also the home of Mazda and it has a Mazda Museum.

Getting to Hiroshima

To get from Osaka to Hiroshima, we had to take two trains. The first one, and for one stop only, was the Hello Kitty Haruka Express. So a Hello Kitty themed train. How cute. 

The second leg made use of Shinkansen N700 ‘Sakura’. 

Upon arrival in Hiroshima, we took a tram to our hotel, a Candeo Hotel. 

Our main activity that day was visiting the Mazda Museum. It is free, but you need to book in advance.

Mazda, a history

Mazda Motor Corporation traces its origins to 1920, when industrialist Jujiro Matsuda established Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. in Hiroshima. The company began by producing cork substitutes before turning to machine tools, and eventually motorised vehicles. 

Its transformation from a small local workshop into a global automobile manufacturer mirrors Japan’s own rapid industrial rise during the twentieth century. The firm adopted the name Toyo Kogyo in 1927, and despite limited resources, its founder’s engineering background and focus on mechanical precision soon set the tone for Mazda’s future identity — one that valued ingenuity and craftsmanship as much as mass production.

Mazda’s first significant foray into vehicle manufacturing came in 1931 with the introduction of the Mazda-Go, a three-wheeled light truck designed for small businesses and urban deliveries. The vehicle proved an immediate success, laying the foundation for Hiroshima’s emergence as an industrial centre. 

Production expanded rapidly through the 1930s, but the outbreak of war brought a shift towards military manufacturing. In the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, the company’s surviving facilities became a symbol of local resilience and recovery. 

Restarting operations in the late 1940s, Toyo Kogyo helped to revitalise the city’s economy and stood as a testament to the region’s ability to rebuild from devastation.

By the 1960s Mazda had begun exporting passenger cars, eager to distinguish itself in a competitive market dominated by much larger Japanese manufacturers. The company’s defining moment came with its embrace of the rotary engine, developed under licence from the German engineer Felix Wankel. Unlike conventional piston engines, the rotary design offered a smoother and more compact power source, allowing Mazda to produce lightweight yet high-performance vehicles. The 1967 Cosmo Sport became the first mass-produced car to use this engine, soon followed by models such as the RX-2 and RX-3. The technology became synonymous with Mazda’s daring engineering spirit, though it also presented commercial risks due to high fuel consumption and maintenance costs — issues that became pressing during the 1973 oil crisis.

Mazda’s perseverance through those years demonstrated both adaptability and stubborn independence. The company expanded its global presence, particularly in North America, where it built a strong reputation for reliability and value. 

In 1974 it entered a partnership with Ford Motor Company, which provided financial stability and access to international markets. Over the following decades Ford increased its stake, and the collaboration yielded several shared platforms and models. 

Yet Mazda retained a distinctive design philosophy and continued to refine its rotary technology, achieving one of its greatest triumphs in 1991 when the rotary-powered Mazda 787B won the 24 Hours of Le Mans — the first Japanese victory at the prestigious endurance race.

The 1990s and 2000s brought both challenges and reinvention. After years of financial strain, Mazda undertook structural reforms and gradually regained its independence as Ford reduced its holdings. The company used the opportunity to redefine its image around efficiency and emotion, launching the SkyActiv range of lightweight, fuel-efficient engines, transmissions and chassis systems. 

Alongside this technological shift came a bold new design language, ‘Kodo – Soul of Motion‘, introduced in the early 2010s. Inspired by the power and grace of natural movement, Kodo design helped establish Mazda’s modern identity: a brand combining aesthetic purity with Japanese craftsmanship.

The meaning of ‘Mazda’ itself reflects this fusion of heritage and philosophy. It derives both from Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian god of wisdom, harmony and intelligence, and from an Anglicised form of the founder’s name, Matsuda. The dual symbolism captures the company’s enduring ideals — to pursue progress guided by reason and to create with respect for human ingenuity.

Today Mazda remains headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, and continues to occupy a special place within Japan’s industrial landscape. It is recognised for engineering excellence, refined design, and an independent spirit that has endured through adversity. 

From cork products to concept cars, from the ashes of Hiroshima to the world’s motorways, Mazda’s history is a story of transformation — one driven by curiosity, resilience and the belief that motion itself can be a form of art.

The Mazda Museum

The Mazda Museum in Hiroshima offers a fascinating insight into Japan’s industrial and automotive heritage, combining design innovation, craftsmanship, and technological evolution within a single experience. 

Located at 3-1 Shinchi in Fuchū-chō, Aki-gun, just east of Hiroshima city centre, the museum is part of Mazda’s main headquarters complex. It is easily reached by public transport — a short five-minute walk from Mukainada Station on the JR Sanyō or Kure Line — making it particularly convenient for travellers relying on trains or buses.

The museum is divided into ten themed zones that trace Mazda’s story from its early years as a small manufacturer of three-wheeled trucks to its current position as a globally recognised car maker. 

Visitors begin with the company’s origins and move through displays that explore engineering milestones, engine development, motorsport achievements, and forward-looking design concepts. Among the highlights is the original 787B racing car, which famously won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 — still the only Japanese car and rotary engine ever to achieve that victory.

What sets the Mazda Museum apart from most corporate exhibits is its working factory tour. Guests are guided through an observation corridor overlooking an active vehicle assembly line, offering a rare chance to witness the precision and coordination of modern car production. The tour brings Mazda’s ‘monozukuri’ philosophy — the spirit of craftsmanship and continuous improvement — vividly to life.

A major renovation in recent years has refreshed the museum’s layout, adding immersive lighting and sound design, new concept-car displays, and sections devoted to sustainability and electric-vehicle development. The result is a balance between nostalgia and innovation, showing how a regional company rooted in post-war Hiroshima grew into an international brand without losing its sense of place.

Visits are free of charge, but advance reservation is required. Tours are normally held on weekdays, though the museum occasionally opens on the first Saturday of each month for special ‘Open Day’ sessions. The visit lasts about an hour and a half to two hours and is available in both Japanese and English, although English slots tend to fill quickly. Photography is permitted in most exhibition areas but prohibited on the production line.

A visit

Mazda is not Ferrari or BMW, which we also visited. Those museums disappointed a bit. 

So, I’ll be honest, Mazda doesn’t generate emotions with me. But still, I was curious.

By the way, you need to go to the head office to start the tour. There you’re put on a bus and go accompanied to the museum site proper.

The most interesting part of the tour, for me, was the production line. Also witnessing the sheer size of the factory site, is quite amazing. 

The rest felt a bit too much like a sales pitch. The guide read her text. Something which disappointed me at the time, but further in the trip we had it again so maybe it’s cultural and seen as professional. 

Railway and transport museums 

• LITHUANIA | Railway Museum and Rail Park in Vilnius.
• REVIEW | Forney Transportation Museum in Denver.
• RIGA | National Library of Latvia and the Latvian Railway History Museum.
• REVIEW | The Railway Museum, Ōmiya, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.
• REVIEW | ‘Belgian Railways Under Occupation: Between Collaboration and Resistance’ at Train World in Brussels.
• REVIEW | Conservatoire National de Véhicules Historiques & Musée d’Histoire de la Brasserie de Diekirch car and beer museums in Diekirch, Luxembourg.
• A visit of the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum – Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum (VlaTAM) in Antwerp.
• MONTREAL | Exporail – Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant.
• REVIEW | Motion and emotion at the London Transport Museum.
• BAVARIA | Lokwelt – Locomotive World in Freilassing .
• REVIEW | Orient-Express exhibition at Train World, Brussels’ railway museum.
• REVIEW | Train World exhibition ‘From Peking to Hankow: a Belgian adventure in China’.
• PHOTOS | Train World railway museum in Brussels.
• Railway and transport museums (not) to visit.
• Nuremberg Transport Museum / DB Museum. 
• Slovenian Railway Museum in Ljubljana. 
• VIDEO | Mail Rail and The Postal Museum in London. 
• Plans for a steam train heritage service between Brussels and Mechelen shelved.
• PHOTOS | Museo del Ferrocarril de Madrid Delicias railway museum.
• VIDEO | Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya – Catalonia Railway Museum in Vilanova.
• REVIEW | Romanian Railway Museum ‘Muzeul CFR’ and Bucharest.
• PHOTOS | UK’s National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.
• PHOTOS | Swiss Museum of Transport Verkehrshaus in Lucerne.
• PHOTOS | Het Spoorwegmuseum – Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht.
• VIDEO | Return to Spoorwegmuseum Utrecht for the dining car exhibition ‘Tosti’s, truffels, treinen’.
• VIDEO | Stoomtram Hoorn – Medemblik steamtram light rail in Holland.
• Visiting Odense and the Danish Railway Museum.
• Deutsches Museum’s Verkehrszentrum or Transport Centre in Munich.

2025 Journey Across Japan

1. Japan’s Superconducting Maglev train breaks world speed record at 603 km/h.
2. Japan’s maglev bullet train delayed to 2035 or later as costs rise to ¥11 trillion.
3. QUESTION | Should you be stressed about travelling to Japan, and fear of missing out?.
4. Brussels Airport to Milan Malpensa with Brussels Airlines, operated by Air Baltic, ft. the 2025 check-in and boarding software hack.
5. REVIEW | Sala Montale Exclusive Lounge and Sala Gae Aulentin Premium Lounge at Milan Malpensa Airport, extra Schengen.
6. REVIEW | All Nippon Airways (ANA), Business Class, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to Tokyo.
7. REVIEW | Toei Animation Museum in Nerima, Tokyo.
8. JAPAN | Tokyo Station, its Character Street and Pokémon Store.
9. REVIEW | Onyado Nono Asakusa Hotel in Tokyo.
10. TOKYO | Asakusa ft. Sensō-ji Temple.
11. JAPAN | The Odoriko train from Tokyo to Ito on Izu Peninsula.
12. PHOTOS & REVIEW | The Izu Teddy Bear Museum in Izu-Kōgen.
13. JAPAN | A visit to Ito on Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture.
14. REVIEW | Japan’s Saphir Odoriko in Premium Green Car from Ito on Izu Peninsula to Tokyo Station.
15. GAY TOKYO | 24 Kaikan in Asakusa (+ Ueno and Shinjuku).
16. TOKYO | Sawara in Chiba Prefecture, ‘Little Edo’ beyond Narita.
17. TOKYO | Omotesandō in Shibuya – AEON Shinonome –  Uniqlo – Muji.
18. PHOTOS | The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park.
19. JAPAN | Solo in Tokyo.
20. REVIEW | Brussels Airport The View lounge.
21. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Business Class Brussels to Doha.
22. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Al Mourjan The Garden Business lounge.
23. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Q-Suite Business Class Doha to Tokyo.
24. REVIEW | Pullman Tokyo Tamachi.
25. REVIEW | The Railway Museum, Ōmiya, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.
26. TOKYO | Imperial Palace East Gardens – Akihabara – Tamiya flagship store – Skytree.
27. JAPAN | Kanazawa Castle – Kenrokuen Garden – Higashi Chaya District.
28. REVIEW | Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kanazawa Eki Nishiguchi.
29. JAPAN | Road trip to Hida no Sato, Takayama and Shirakawa-go from Kanazawa.
30. OSAKA | Namba Parks – Dōtonbori – Glico Man – Shinsaibashi.
31. REVIEW | Swissôtel Nankai Osaka.
32. Experiencing Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai Japan.
33. KANSAI | Osaka Castle ft. Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum.
34. OSAKA | EGDE store – Umeda Sky Building – Grand Front – Namba Parks – Daiso – Luscious.