Mazda's awesome Hiroshima museum now navigable by Google Maps

Fri, 15 Mar 2013

Visiting an auto museum is one of the best ways we know to connect with car culture and to commune with the past and bone up on one's knowledge. Most of us have a decent museum within a few hours drive of where we live, but that doesn't mean it's easy to see the world's great collections – factors like cost, time and mobility can get in the way. Videos are great, but they don't allow us to browse at our own pace or choose what we'd like to focus on. The folks behind Google Maps have a solution – the virtual museum tour, as seen here at Mazda's fantastic museum in Hiroshima, Japan.

The Google Maps tour allows viewers to take a walk through the main exhibition area of the museum, and you can focus on specific classic cars from Mazda, or check out displays featuring new technologies like Skyactiv. To take a quick spin through the museum – or a leisurely stroll at your own pace – scroll down to start your own virtual tour.

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Visit Mazda Museum in Hiroshima Online

• Inside of Mazda Museum in Japan now on Google Maps Street View
• The moving history of Mazda available online
• Exploration of current Mazda models, technologies and futuristic concepts

Leverkusen, 14 March 2013. Mazda Motor Corporation recently introduced a new service to its Mazda Museum in Hiroshima, Japan and is now offering a virtual tour of the main exhibition areas via Google Maps Street View*. This is a new and unconventional way for visitors to experience the Mazda spirit as well as its technological breakthroughs and heritage.

The easiest way to access the virtual Mazda Museum is by going to Mazda's global website at www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/museum/. At the Museum Guide, visitors can tour five areas of the museum – the Entrance Hall, the History and Future areas as well as the Technology and Rotary Engine exhibits – by clicking on the appropriate Google Street View link. They are taken into the museum itself for a near-reality experience with the possibility to turn in any direction and even come close enough to a few of the text-displays to read them.

The History exhibit lets visitors explore some of Mazda's most legendary cars like the amazing Mazda Cosmo Sport (110S) from the 1960s, RX-7s from the 1970s and 80s, and the original MX-5 roadster that went on to become one of the most popular two-seat sports car in history. (Direct Link: http://goo.gl/maps/JtEC3)

At the Technology exhibit, Mazda displays its new technological approach "SKYACTIV" which is currently under the hood of Mazda's new generation of award-winning SKYACTIV Technology vehicles, Mazda6 and Mazda CX-5. (Direct Link: http://goo.gl/maps/oYrbd)

"A visit to the Mazda Museum is a must for anyone who loves cars," said Wojciech Halarewicz, Vice President Communications, Mazda Motor Europe. "For people interested in Mazda, our new Street View experience makes a visit possible without travelling to our headquarters in Japan. And once inside, they will get to know the Mazda spirit in a very intimate and real way."

The Mazda Museum is located near company global headquarters in Hiroshima and first opened in May 1994. After a renovation project in 2005 which improved museum space, the museum has offered six different exhibition areas and a gift shop with Mazda memorabilia. The Mazda Museum is open only on week days, and offers guided group tours in Japanese and individual guided tours in Japanese and English. Reservations are required and can be made up to one year in advance via email at mazdamuseum@mail.mazda.co.jp or by telephone at +81 (0) 82-252-5050. Admission is free.

*Google Maps with Street View enables the exploration of places around the world through 360-degree street-level imagery

By Chris Paukert