Friday November 7th

The team met at 9:00 a.m. at the Grand Hotel and traveled to the Yahama factory which builds...you are probably thinking motorcycles, musical instruments, or something else , but that is wrong. We toured a factory where they build very expensive complete kitchens and bathrooms. Whatever standard you thought of, believe me they were nicer! After a complete tour we were taken into private Yahama bathrooms where we were treated to a sauna, pre-bath shower in a room where the bathroom floor drains, soaking in a whirlpool tub with beautiful mood lighting and music. When we finished, there was a second adjoining room where we could dry our hair, shave, use hair tonic, aftershave, etc. An amazing place. Now I know why Japanese like baths so much! Next was lunch at Hamamatsu's nicest hotel. We were on the 40th floor in a private room with a view of the Pacific Ocean. The head chef prepared our lunch on the grill in front of our table. The food (which included both salmon and steak) and service was extraordinary. This afternoon we toured the Yahama Musical Instrument Factory where 1500 employees complete 700 instruments a day. A trombone cost $5,000... nice instruments. We make a presentation at the Hamamatsu Naka Rotary Club this evening. In addition to very brief introduction I was able to introduce my host family for this week, Mr. Tatsuyoshe Muramatsu, and I thanked everyone for this very good week. Kon shu wa to ta mo e des na. We have met many wonderful Rotarians this week. It has been a full week. It is 11:00 p.m. and I need some sleep.
Always a gorilla
Ken