Honda Welcome Plaza in Tokyo: See Asimo and Honda's Newest Cars

I'm a long-time Honda driver: I'm on my third Honda, AND it's a Japanese import, but that's another story...

So I was pretty excited to be able to go see all the latest cars from Honda at their Welcome Plaza in Tokyo. But even more so to see Asimo, their top-of-the-range robot!

The Honda Welcome Plaza is really easy to get to - simply look for Aoyoma Itchome on the Oedo Line, and when you come out of the turnstiles at the station head to the right - the building is right in front of you (to the left) when you get to the top of the stairs - couldn't be handier.

Go inside and you'll be presented with a range of cars and motorbikes. There's a coffee shop (with reasonably priced coffees to offset any outrageously-priced items in the gift shop) where you can pick up something to drink in the run-up to the show. The stage area with the screen has about six or seven tables in front of it, so try and get one of those early near the middle before the show.



If you come earlier (or have time after), you can wander around and sit into the latest cars from Honda. My current favourite is the S660, a sporty kei car that is only about $20k in Japan. Have a look at the red and white beauties below.



(I have lots more photos tagged honda on my Flickr account.)

Of course, the highlight of the visit is seeing Asimo. Check out the show times beforehand and enjoy a demo of the Uni-Cub personal mobility vehicle ahead of the main event: Asimo coming out on stage!





Asimo is put through his paces but the bit that really freaked me out (and that I missed in the video) was when he ran across the stage. I'll have to go back just to see that again! I got a blurry picture as he sped by, I think it was 9 km/h, but when you see a robot do it right in front of you it's pure Terminator, or like that video of those freaky robot dogs.



Asimo then does some hopping on one leg, balancing, and moonwalking? I forget but it was pretty good, here's the video:



After the show, you get to have a photo taken with the little guy himself.

And the best part of all - it's FREE!

(There's also a great Asimo guide from John Daub of "Only in Japan" fame, or watch his video with Asimo.)