Green Triangle Electronics director Shayne Hosking has been fortunate enough to join 15 other partners from across Australia and New Zealand for an Epson VIP tour to Japan.
The trip started with a visit to the Epson Marunouchi showroom in the heart of Tokyo, specifically setup to showcase the huge array of cutting-edge products Epson has from both their printing and projection businesses.
That afternoon the group journeyed by bus to Suwa, in the Nagano Prefecture to visit the Epson museum, housed in the original building that Epson beginnings started in 1942.
Later in the day the bus took the tour to Matsumoto to spend the remainder of the day discovering Matsumoto, including the 430-year-old Matsumoto Castle, which is one of only 12 remaining original castles in Japan and is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
The following day the partners were treated to a day tour of the Seiko Epson Hirooka Sight, one of several Epson facilities throughout Japan.
The Hirooka plant has 7000 employees and has an extensive range of Epson printers displayed.
The party was astounded by the capabilities of some of these printers.
Another highlight, exemplifying Epson’s commitment to sustainability is the Paper Lab, a unique product that recycles used copy paper in to new re-usable paper.
Paper Lab first shreds the paper and then adds chemicals to create a pulp, before being reformed back into a perfectly usable new sheet – all without the use of any water.
That night the group was joined by four Epson executives to participate in a traditional Japanese banquet at the famed Shizuka Restaurant in the heart of Matsumoto.
While trying to be gracious to their hosts a lot of the travelers had difficulty with some of the delicacies that were served, in particular, raw horse tongue, boiled beef tendons and various other dishes.
At least all agreed that Asahi beer in Japan was an excellent accompaniment.
The following day included visiting the Suntory the Hakushu Distillery and had lunch in the picturesque mountains at Sun Meadows Kiyosato Ski area, before arriving back in Tokyo.
Sightseeing was the order of the next day, with trips on the efficient Tokyo subway system – no graffiti or litter anywhere to be seen.
Then it was up 350 metres in the Tokyo Sky Tree, to view the amazing sights of Tokyo with a population of 38 million.
Mr Hosking said overall all participants thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality provided by all the Epson staff involved.
“The knowledge gained on the trip will be very beneficial not only to the people attending, but our respective businesses and clients,” he said.
