Hamamatsu, the home base for Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai, bills itself as the City of Music, but we think it’s the synthesizer city. Here’s how to get the most out of a visit to this central Japan town, a must-see for any fan of Japanese synths.
Japan is having a moment. Ever since it opened its borders after the end of the COVID pandemic, people have been flooding in, eager to see its world-famous castles and temples, and eat sushi and ramen. I completely get it. I’ve lived in Japan for 13 years and never plan to leave. But if you only stick to the Golden Route of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, you may get to see the most famous sites, but you’ll also miss a big part of Japan’s appeal – at least for synthesizer fans. I’m talking about Hamamatsu, the home to two of Japan’s big three musical instrument companies, and the self-styled City of Music.
While Japan’s big cities groan under the weight of over-tourism, its lesser-known locales remain blissfully empty. This includes Hamamatsu. This is excellent news for synth fanatics, as it means hotels and restaurants will be easy to book. And this even though Hamamatsu is straightforward to get to: it’s a stop on the Tokaido shinkansen bullet train line between Tokyo and Kyoto, with most of its sites located in the downtown area close to the main Hamamatsu Station. It really is an ideal place to visit.
