Page 1, Moonshine Japan Trip April 2009

At work I participated on team in a LEAN activity called “Moonshine Wars”. Teams were given processes in the factory that need improvement. Our team came up with a quicker way to drill holes in cargo floor beams. Our team won against 21 other teams from the company. Our “Grand Champion” prize was an expense paid trip to Japan for a week. We got to spend the week with Chihiro Nakao “Father of Moonshine” to tour Japanese factories. He is a teacher so we called him “Sensei”. He consults with major companies around the world (Porsche, Mitsubishi, IHI to name a few) to help them become LEAN using Japanese methods. He mentored with Taiichi Ohno. I am just amazed he spent time with a scrub like me. He wants to give back by mentoring others. He also shared with us his country's culture. We were enrolled in what was called a “Moonshine Seminar”. The term is used because moonshine runners built their stills out of readily available materials at hand; each still might have been different, but functional. Each factory we toured had Moonshine Shops, where whatever was needed on the factory floor could be fabbed up very quickly. Kind of like our garages where we prepare our bikes for trips.

To me this was a dream opportunity, a trip of a lifetime. I work in engineering, but have been interested in improving manufacturing processes. I have been a fan of Japanese engineering and manufacturing for years. I have had Suzuki’s in the past, and I currently own Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Honda motorcycles. I also have a couple Japanese cars, an Acura and a Mazda Miata. So to be able to witness products being produced in Japan was a huge honor.

My goals for the trip were to learn more about LEAN and Moonshine from the Sensei, ride on a Shinkansen bullet train at 180 mph, absorb as much local culture as possible, try not to appear as an ignorant American, ride a motorcycle on the wrong side of the road in Japan, and not create an international incident. ;-)

Before the trip, I met a new friend on a motorcycle internet forum who offered to let me ride his wife’s motorcycle for a couple days. So after the Moonshine Seminar we took a ride around Mt. Fuji on dualsports.

Our team flew from Seattle, WA to Narita, Japan, then to Nagoya, Japan

At the beginning of our Moonshine Seminar, we got some cultural training at the Inuyama Festival. This is a festival that happens each spring while the cherry blossoms are blooming. The blossoms are called Sakura and the Japanese people adore them. The have picnics under the trees at night with Sake. The festival was intense; it has been running for about 375 years in a row. It was held at the Inuyama Castle which is one of, if not the oldest castle in Japan, placed in its current location in 1573. The festival is hard to describe, so I have included a couple links. But what I saw were these tall three level floats on carts, with dolls on the top level, the next level is where the dolls were controlled, and the bottom level had young kids playing recorders and drums. This whole contraption was being pushed by a crowd of guys yelling and grunting, having to lift the cart some to steer it. They would move the cart to a gate that is an entrance to where a god is, and then perform with the doll a little play for the god. I think this was to please the god? It was an interesting festival and all age groups seemed to be seriously interested.

Info on the Inuyama Castle and Festival

Inuyama Festival on Youtube

During the week we toured several factories; Mitsubishi, the plant where the Japanese Zero was produced, Yazaki, ICM, a Toyota Motomachi auto plant, Hitachi Appliance and IHI who produces jet engine turbine blades. At each plant we walked fast while sketching in our notebooks. Our Sensei said, “No questions, look and you will know”. It was hectic, fast paced and I loved it. Lots of learning happened that week. We were treated like Rock Stars at each plant; we had buses, taxi's, trains and bullet trains to whisk us around the country. We also stayed at some of the best hotels too. We even had exposure to a traditional Japanese bath. Lots of fish for meals, all three, I even ate a fish eyeball. At the end of the week we Americans had had enough fish. We went to a place for burgers near the Tokyo Dome. ;-) Boy were they good.

Then after the working tour, I met my new friend James and his wife in Yokohama. We had dinner and made plans for the next days ride…

Continued on Page 2 of 5...

Jeff

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