Janet and I just came back from visiting the Yonex showroom and HQ in Tokyo, Japan. the showroom is basically a small Yonex shop located in Yushima, just north of Tokyo downtown on the green subway line. to get there. just hop on the green subway line to Yushima, then get off at exit 5. right after you get out of the exit, turn right and the Yonex showroom is right in front of you. upon asking and lots of sign language, the ppl in the showroom told us that the "Yonex Office" (ie. Yonex HQ) is just a short walk behind the showroom. we walked over there and there it was, a tall narrow building with a big unmistakable blue/green Yonex sign right in front. we only took pictures though, as the woman told us, "businessmen only." here are some pictures we took to share with you guys.
right after we got off the subway train, a sign that tells us Yonex is on exit 5. the blue arrow is where the showroom is. the green arrow is where the HQ is.
the showroom is a decent sized show at a street corner. there is a big yonex sign that cannot be missed.
yours truely in front of a big rack of Yonex racket. the NS7000 isn't displayed so that means it is not out as of today..
lots and lots of strings. they have all the JP ones including bg88/bg75, etc. there are also lots of grips.
and lastly, the Yonex HQ, probably where most of our rackets are designed and created, and probably where many many future ones are currently being designed in there right now. only if we are able to go in there and take a look.....................
YY HQ! Wow! Will you go there next time? Please tell them that you are the owner of a major International Badminton Web site(Business Man) with a very high daily hit. I think the some one will entertain you. 1 Did you see/try Nanospeed 7000? 2 Any new and interesting things in the shop? Thanks
yes, u just confirmed a source that told me Yonex Japan plan to standardize branding and labelling (ie clothing, shoes, etc) Not sure about country codes on racquet, my guess it would br remain as status quo
we looked at the prices and they are the same price as the ones advertised in the yonex.co.jp website (ie. *expensive*) . you know if i were alone i probaby won't be able to control myself and bought up the whole store, but since janet is with me she managed to handcuff my hands. so as a result, all we managed to walk out (and afford) was 3 pairs of nice and thick Yonex socks. they are still advertising the AT series. there are many more tennis rackets there as you can see. also, there are some golf clubs which i didn't bother taking pictures of. it was very difficult to communicate and ask the ppl there anything as they don't undestand any English at all. it took us 5 mins to ask them about where the HQ is and it turned out to be just around the corner. it was very very cool though. imagine that tall green building is where all our beloved Yonex racket are designed! and for the string machine fans, there was a huge electronic Yonex stringing machine there hid under a big dust cover as well.
awesome pics kwun any more to show? You should've told Janet this is your one time trip to Yonex HQ and the only one in a million chance to get all those geniune goodies from Japan. Maybe then the handcuffs would be a little looser.
It's easy to get 20% discount on racket on the Japan street but it's more difficult to get discount on shoes or shirts. You are lucky not buying any but socks.
You've gotta be kidding me! 3 pairs of socks?! and that's it?! If I ever manage to go there, I will definetely get as many things as I can carry on my hands. PS: Now I am thinking marriage isn't a great thing
that's all guys. we are leaving Tokyo tomorrow so we won't be going back there anymore though i do think now that perhaps i should've taking more pictures..... although not able to go in to the HQ itself, but it was worth it if you are in Tokyo. it isn't very far and will take an hour or so. very much recommended for any badminton fanatic.
actually, we did get around 4% discount from them. i am not sure exactly why and it was impossible to ask..