Jul 27, 2021
Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
The Toyota Motor Organization is one of the keystones of Japan’s world-renowned manufacturing industry, and since 1926, Toyota has been the byword for Japanese excellence and innovation. Much of this innovation took place right here in Aichi Prefecture, from the initial plant in the city that came to bear the corporation’s name to what has now become the city center of Nagoya.
Telling the tale of this remarkable company is the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology. Just a fifteen-minute walk from Nagoya Station is a fascinating and fun exploration of the multinational corporation’s history.
About Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
Set in an old redbrick building that was once part of the company’s textile factory, the museum, called Toyota Techno Museum for short, tells the tale of Toyota from its beginnings as a textiles manufacturer to its development into an international automobile producer.
The museum is separated into a number of areas, all celebrating the broad and diverse history of the Toyota Motor Organization. Enhancing the experience are friendly guides who are all willing to share their exhaustive knowledge on the company’s past – in English – making it both an educational and enjoyable day out, bringing history to life.
Textile Machinery Pavilion
While it is now synonymous with automobiles, Toyota, in fact, began its remarkable journey as textile producer Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (the name changed from Toyoda to Toyota to give it a more auspicious number of strokes when written). The Textile Machinery Pavilion lets you slip back to the 1920s when it was an innovator of textile manufacturing.
Located on the footprint of the original mill – with the beams, pillars, and red brick walls reminiscent of its Taisho era structure – the Textile Machinery Pavilion is a sprawling exhibition displaying the broad gamut of still-operational spinning and weaving tool innovation from the 1920’s up to the present day.
Automobile Pavilion
But of course, today Toyota is best known for its cars, and at the Automobile Pavilion, you can find what looks like a whole automobile factory placed in a huge sports arena.
Consisting of four areas – The Initial Period of the Automobile Business, Automobile Development Through the Decades, Automobile Technology, Production Technology, and Who was Kiichiro Toyoda? – you can discover operational machinery and full-scale models from down the ages.
Fun for the family
The Toyota Techno Museum is not just a haven for manufacturing nerds, far from it. It is also a fun day out for children as they get to play in Technoland, a hands-on interactive experience in the development of textiles and automobiles. Kids can literally get to grips with the many aspects of automobile manufacturing through a variety of attractions; discovering aerodynamics and wind resistance by getting blown away by the wind tunnel, understanding friction and kinetic energy with the giant hand brake, compete against others to create the correct level of acceleration for engine turning and learn to drive a toy car on the Techno Circuit.
Of course, Toyota isn’t just about cars, and Technoland also has attractions for 
children (and adults) to learn about weaving. Kids particularly enjoy peddling the Virtual Weaving Machine, weaving a colored wall, or firing water cannons in the Water Jet Threader.
Whether you make a family day trip of it or go alone, take a tour guide or choose to wander around by yourself, The Toyota Techno Museum is an interactive, fully immersive, educational, and enthralling day out.
The Toyota Techno Museum Details
Where: 4-chōme-1-35 Noritakeshinmachi, Nishi Ward (map)
Getting there: The museum is a fifteen-minute walk westwards from Nagoya Station, a ten-minute walk from Kamejima Station on the Higashiyama line, or a three-minute walk from Sako Station on the Meitetsu line. It is also one of the stops on the Nagoya Sightseeing Route Bus.
When: 9:30 to 17:00, closed Mondays (or Tuesdays if the preceding Monday was a holiday)
Admission: Adults 500 JPY; senior and junior High school students 300 JPY; elementary school students 200 JPY
Website: tcmit.org
There is not much else in the area, so you may want to plan your lunchtime accordingly if you have children. However, should you so wish, the museum does have a restaurant and a cafe on the grounds.
If you are interested in the history of Toyota, check out our article about just that, here.
And if manufacturing outings get your engine running, so to speak, you’ll probably want to see the Toyota Plant and Museum tour.
Image: cotaro70s via flickr.com [CC BY 2.0]
Image: Marufish via flickr.com [CC BY 2.0]
Image: cotaro70s via flickr.com [CC BY 2.0]
Images: via http://www.tcmit.org/english/exhibition/techno.html
Image: via https://www.tcmit.org/english/exhibition/car/car02/
Bert Wishart editor
Novelist, copywriter and graduate from the most prestigious university in Sunderland, Bert whiles away his precious time on this Earth by writing about popular culture, travel, food and pretty much anything else that is likely to win him the Pulitzer he desperately craves.
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