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Konnichiwa!  You're the guest No.

   

Utsunomiya is located 100 km to the north of Tokyo, and is now a base of
Japan's top manufacturers such as Canon, Honda, Nissan, Matsushita, 
Sharp, Aiwa, and Kirin Beer, and US companies such as DuPont and MEMC.  

 
Utsunomiya is accessible from Tokyo by the Shinkansen, or the Bullet Train, 
in 60 minutes.  It is also connected with Narita Airport by bus in about 3 hours.  
The bus stop location at Narita Airport Terminal One is #6.
At Terminal Two, the bus stop is #9.  
Airlines at which terminal?  Here is the terminal guide on the web site of Narita Airport.
The bus timetable is shown on the travel section of the telephone directory. 

Well, after arriving at Utsunomiya Station, there is an information desk you can contact to find 
the way to your final destination.  

What's New 1 :  The hotly contested race for the new governor of Tochigi Prefecture ended
on the election day Sunday, November 28, 2004, when the finalized vote count was announced at midnight.
The winner was Tomikazu Fukuda, the former Mayor of Utsunomiya City, advocate of LRT,
beating the incumbent governor  Akio Fukuda, formerly Mayor of Imaichi City, near Nikko, who has been
opposed to LRT.  Refer to Guideline of the New Transportation System Committee of the city.

The LRT (Light Rail Transit) system is now proposed after long debate as the new traffic means
of transportation to solve such problems with today's automobile dependent transportation
as air pollution, energy conservation, traffic accidents as well as the terrible traffic congestion
which will not be eliminated even when all the new routes are completed as planned 
with the current pace of increase in number of cars in the city.   

Utsunomiya Mayor Eiichi Sato, successor to former Mayor Tomikazu Fukuda, announces his personal goal of 
introducing the LRT system to Utsunomiya in 2010.  Timeline in excel (May 31, 2005).

Hana-Mizuki, with its flower now in bloom after cherries are gone, will line the streets of Utsunomiya
 Station East area close to Ito Yokado, or Dove Store, to fill the air with festive spirits 
and set the scenes for entertainment.

The scheduled events are yet to be announced, but may  include a variety of attraction as wide as last year such as  
airborne trip on a giant balloon (price 500 yen per kid and 1,000 yen per adult), a train trip on miniature SL 
(price 500 yen per kid and 1,000 yen per adult), 
various dance and musical performances:

Aztec, or Andes, ensemble, Tsugaru syamisen strings, brass band of Utsunomiya Higashi Police squads, and 
fashion show by Utsunomiya Junior College students.  Car enthusiasts will be enjoying classic car collection display 
featuring a Rolls Royse and Lanborghini Countac.  And motor sports fans will be excited at acrobatic 
performance of a rider on a Honda trail bike (All these events were part of the 2003 program).  

The streets will be crowded with hundreds of thousands of visitors 
attracted by flea markets, food stalls providing famous local plates of gyoza and curry.  

Japan's top jugglers, to be sure, will be adding to fun and enthrallment of the spectators.

One special happy occasion befitting the festa will be a wedding ceremony for a couple, 
who asked to use the stage on a venue beside Utsunomiya Station to share their celebration 
with the audience.  I would like to photo them.   
        

 Well, if you are not a racing enthusiast but just fond of less dynamic entertainment or just fun,
would Twin Ring Motegi be a boring place?  No way.  Even on weekdays (except Tuesday, weekly closing date) 
and weekends when there are no automobiles or motorcycle racing events, there are a hotel, restaurants and 
souvenir shops, all open to serve the families and the young and the aged alike.  And some events:

Walking performance of ASIMO, one of  Honda's  technological whizkids, at the FAN FUN LAB, is staged every day. Performance time schedule on weekends: 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:30 PM   For weekdays, performance time schedule: 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM   (http://www.honda.co.jp/fanfunlab/asimoworld/index.html)

Happy birthday, ASIMO.   Now age 4  - Oct. 31, 2004 - 'ASIMO Theater' runs  movies on its web site which shows "performance more varied and agile in its revitalized physique announced on April 27", oh today! Thus the following are now old pieces: ASIMO walks up a slope, turns and goes down ASIMO walks down the stairs ASIMO is shown in close range as he walks ASIMO , spotting passers-by, stops to give way ASIMO , sighting a person's profile, keeps track of her ASIMO ,sighting obstacles, veers to escape  ASIMO waves back  ASIMO steps forward to a pointed spot ASIMO responds to call Google Directory   Computers>Robotics Honda's ASIMO Rings the Opening Bell  at New York Security Exchange  on Feb. 14, 2002 Story Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE-Listed HMC) celebrates their 25th listing anniversary and the debut of the hi-tech humanoid robot, ASIMO, in the United States at the NYSE. This is ASIMO's first appearance outside of Japan. In honor of the occasion, ASIMO, the hi-tech humanoid robot, and Hiroyuki Yoshino, President and CEO, ring The Opening BellSM. ASIMO is the first robot to ring the NYSE bell.

In 2001, thanks to the beautiful, fine weather, there were more and more visitors as the afternoon
hours progressed.  There were children enjoying rock climbing (photos: 1 2 3 4 5),
students performing calligraphy (photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) and adults posing for pictures.

Here are the photos of stalls of Utsunomiya's sister cities: Orleans (France), 
Manukau (Newzeland), Tulsa (Oklahoma, USA), Chichiharu (China) and Pietra Santa (Italy).  
Utsunomiya will welcome a group of 60 high school students from Manukau in September. 
 The teacher's message.

Now, frequently asked questions are going to be answered.   - Oct. 13, 2001

Q1:  Where are smoke-free spots in Utsunomiya?

A1:  Among the very scarce smoke-free spots I know is only Starbucks Coffee.
There are now 2 Starbucks, one in Fukudaya (FKD), the other in PARCO.

Comment 1:  Many smokers are seen puffing while driving and throwing butts out of the windows.
We cannot pass through the long corridor of JR Utsunomiya Station East exit 
without seeing the smokers puffing while walking and scattering ashes, throwing butts
on the pathway.  The moment we arrive in Utsunomiya and walk through the wicket, 
the air smells suffocatingly smoky, possibly compounded by hundreds of taxi  
never bothering to stop idling while parking.  Being unaware of how they are doing harm 
to the images of us Japanese, not to mention how dirty people they are themselves, they should 
know how to behave, and the city should ban littering the streets and public installations,
if Utsunomiya is to be called an international city worthy of its grand convention center, 
Marronnier Plaza, and rapidly growing alien population.

Q2:  I am going to Utsunomiya and have my kids enrolled in local schools there.  Is it possible to
provide information on enrolling in school by age?

A2:  This Excel spreadsheet would be handy.  Just type in their birth dates in cell B4.
School Age Counting for Japan
- January 16, 2002 -

If you live in Utsunomiya and own a car, here is the easiest way to go to Narita airport
while leaving your car on a parking site close to the busstop in Utsunomiya
so you can pick up your car when you return and load your suit case and
bags full of souvenirs on it and head straight home from the busstop.