The morning activities began with welcoming mild weather. On our way to visit the Shimadzu corp. in Kyoto, we were given a brief history of the city which once served as the ancient capital of Japan and now is the country's repository of culture. Our guide, Ms. Chieko Sakihana, made a point of discussing how Japanese people are able to embrace both the traditional Shinto and more recent Buddhist religions. In some cases, Christianity is also included.

Upon our arrival at the Shimadzu corp., we were given the usual warm greeting and taken to the auditorium where we were shown a brief film on the scope of Shimadzu. Primarily a scientific research and development company, the company is also a leader in producing analytical and measurement instruments, medical systems and equipment, and aircraft equipment and industrial machinery. The presentation was impressive and informative. I was particularly awed by their innovations with non-invasive methods of X-Ray, and the fact they are one of the top global leaders in their field. We toured the Shimadzu Foundation, had a wonderful lunch, and wrapped up the day with a visit to the company, Omron.

Like Shimadzu, Omron is also headquartered in Kyoto. As Japan's first welfare factory, Omron employs disabled people as responsible members of the company. They also manufacture traffic control systems, health related products and a host of other products.