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.

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 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.
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). Further information to follow.

YouTube - Honda's Asimo Robot buckling on the stairs

 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

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 -