New video from Japan: Visiting Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation Headquarters

Konichiwa! Hello from Shizuoka, Japan, the plastic model capital of the world! Yesterday I visited the corporate headquarters of Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation, which for me is model nerd nirvana. It did not disappoint. I was the only person in there for two and a half hours, and I loved every moment of it.

Shizuoka is rather a nice city. I expected a sleepy regional city, something like Wollongong or Geelong in Australia. Instead, it is a bustling metropolis, it is massive! It also has incredible views of Mount Fuji - the view from our hotel room is something I could never get tired of. I’m sitting here right now watching bullet trains whizz past with Mount Fuji in the distance. It is slightly off the tourist track: in three days here I have only seen one other Westerner (for me, this is a bonus!).

Me, fanboying it up.

I recorded a video of my visit to Tamiya HQ. This is something I’ve dreamed of since about 1983 (if you have seen my previous video about my ancient 1980s Tamiya catalogue you would already know that I am a long-term Tamiya fanboy). I got to visit the company archive, which I found utterly fascinating. Seeing all those original models which have been featured in every Tamiya catalogue since the 1970s was a real buzz. Plus there are original Shep Paine dioramas, which I did not expect! It is also incredible to see where the company, and indeed the entire hobby, developed from.

I also saw their museum of historical vehicles, a room full of their current products, and visited the Tamiya shop.

Apart from some slightly unimpressive lighting in the archive room (which I get, it is probably a conservation measure) and the fact that there was so much more there I would love to see (there are eight floors of manufacturing, offices, tribute rooms and research departments, how interesting would all that be to see?!?!) I was utterly impressed with my visit. If you’re ever able to visit this part of the world, I totally recommend checking out Tamiya head office.

Two points to note about the video:

1. Sound quality isn’t the greatest as Japanese offices aren’t the sort of place you can rudely and loudly record video commentary - I’ve done what I can to bump it up, but apologies in advance.
2. I had to split the video into two 15 minute videos due to upload constraints, and my new iPad thinking that 15 minutes is the maximum limit you can upload to YouTube.

Video link:
A visit To Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation Headquarters In Shizuoka, Japan.

Sayonara!

Dave