"Hitachi Origin Park (tentative name)" to Open in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Pref., in 2021

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) today announced that “Hitachi Origin Park (tentative name)” will open in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture - the company’s birthplace - in the first half of FY2021. Hitachi Origin Park will serve as a venue to introduce the company’s mission and founding spirit that have been passed on since Hitachi was founded in 1910, and provide examples of how Hitachi has helped to resolve social issues with partners around the world. It will open on the grounds of the Omika Club - Hitachi’s social welfare facilities - as a new venue for dialogues with residents in the surrounding region and business partners throughout the world. The “Sogyo Koya” (a recreation of Hitachi’s first factory) will be relocated from within the Hitachi Works Kaigan Factory, and a new Odaira Memorial Museum will also be constructed on the same site. By welcoming visitors from around the world, Hitachi Origin Park will strive to contribute to the further development of Hitachi City.

Hitachi Origin Park will comprise four main facilities: The Sogyo Koya; the Odaira Memorial Museum; and the original “Omika Club” and “Omika Golf Club,” both of which will undergo renovations. Three old and new buildings will demonstrate a sense of unity as they surround an open square, blending in seamlessly with the natural environment. In addition to multilingual functions, facilities both inside and outside of the buildings will feature cutting-edge digital technologies to present unique exhibits and productions, while AI and other innovations will be adopted to meet the needs of visitors from a multitude of perspectives. The new Odaira Memorial Museum will include a multi-purpose hall that can be used by many different people for a wide variety of events, including various seminars and extracurricular activities for elementary and junior high school students. This hall will also provide opportunities to introduce the local sport called “Pang Pong,” a hybrid of tennis and ping pong that was first created at Hitachi, Ltd. nearly 100 years ago.

Founding President Namihei Odaira’s strong desire to “Contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products” is Hitachi’s starting point and basic philosophy. This basic philosophy has been passed on faithfully since the foundation, and now, as the company prepares to celebrate its 110th anniversary in 2020, Hitachi is aiming at increasing social, environmental, and economic value for customers around the world through the Social Innovation Business, contributing to the realization of a sustainable society. As a result of the growth of overseas business, Hitachi’s customers, partners, employees, and other stakeholders have grown increasingly diverse. Hitachi Origin Park will give them a chance to see the company’s starting point first-hand, as Hitachi continues to resolve social issues and improve people’s quality of life with partners throughout the world.

Following is an outline of Hitachi Origin Park. Please note that this plan is current at the time of this writing, and may change in the future.

1. Facilities of “Hitachi Origin Park (tentative name)”(1) Sogyo Koya

The “Sogyo Koya,” which will be relocated from Odaira-Dai within the Hitachi Works Kaigan Factory, will be refurbished to re-create the development of the 5 hp motor that was Hitachi’s founding product. This facility will allow visitors to experience the background that gave rise to Hitachi’s mission of “Contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products.”

(2) Odaira Memorial Museum

The newly constructed Odaira Memorial Museum will continue to carry on the current concept of “Communicating to all future generations the great achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of Hitachi’s Founding President Namihei Odaira.” At the same time, through the use of cutting-edge digital technologies, it will allow visitors to experience firsthand Hitachi’s history, from its founding up to the present day, along with examples of how the company has resolved issues along with partners, and the history of industry in Japan and around the world. These facilities will also feature a multi-purpose hall and lounge as venues for dialogues with various stakeholders. The current Odaira Memorial Museum will close its doors in the first half of FY2021, but its valuable historical assets are planned to be preserved as video and other media through utilization of digital technologies.

(3) Omika Golf Club

The Omika Golf Club, which opened in October 1936 as the “Hitachi Golf Club,” was designed by Seiichi Inoue, a well-known designer of golf clubs, as a facility where employees could enjoy healthy entertainment and that could also welcome visitors from overseas. It currently features a 6-hole golf course, and serves as one of Hitachi’s social welfare facilities for employees as well as being open to the general public. Even after Hitachi Origin Park opens, the Omika Golf Club will continue to operate as facilities that can be used by everyone, as it has in the past.

(4) Omika Club

The Omika Club, built in 1936 as a clubhouse for the Omika Golf Club as part of Hitachi’s social welfare facilities, will be renovated as a venue to offer “Omotenashi” - the uniquely Japanese style of hospitality - for visitors to Hitachi Origin Park. The building was designed by Hideto Kishida, who was involved in the design of the University of Tokyo Yasuda Auditorium and the University of Tokyo Library, is well known as an authority on scholarly design in architecture, and published numerous papers related to architectural design. Following the renovations, the external appearance will still exhibit traditional elements of Japanese architecture borrowing from Japanese homes and temples, while the lobby and cafeteria, even while maintaining their current ambience, will be re-created as environment-friendly facilities, for example incorporating universal design and energy-saving technologies.

2. Outline of “Hitachi Origin Park (tentative name)”

Location:  6-19-22 Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Pref.
Total floor area:  4,907 m2
Land area:  231,818.99 m2 (including golf course)
Access: 10 min. walk from JR Joban Line, Omika Station, West Exit
About 10 min. drive from Joban Expressway, Hitachi Minami-Ota IC, on National Rd. 6; turn right at “Nikken Entrance”
 

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is focusing on Social Innovation Business combining its operational technology, information technology and products. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2018 (ended March 31, 2019) totaled 9,480.6 billion yen ($85.4 billion), and the company has approximately 296,000 employees worldwide. Hitachi delivers digital solutions utilizing Lumada in five sectors including Mobility, Smart Life, Industry, Energy and IT, to increase our customer’s social, environmental and economic value. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at https://www.hitachi.com.