Arriving in Hamamatsu, Home of Yamaha

Hamamatsu is a lovely small city 2 hours bullet train ride southwest of Tokyo. Being right by the ocean, there is a constant ocean breeze that keeps the air smelling clean and fresh. Hamamatsu is the hometown of Yamaha, the world's largest manufacturer of the finest pianos. We had a chance to look at one of their downtown retail stores.

Afterwards, we explored the side streets looking for Passion, a tiny bar that's a favorite of one of the Yamaha USA executives. We found our Passion, but Passion was closed, probably due to the Emperor's birthday.

Instead, we managed to find a small basement craft beer place, and enjoyed some really smooth and creatively named brews. Mine was called "Caramel Mama", and it tasted exactly like caramel. Fun!