#StayHome Diversions for Fun and Fitness Yamaha Motor Newsletter (May 26, 2020 No. 81)

Around the world today, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically affected people’s lives and brought illness and even death to countless victims. To stem the spread of the disease, numerous countries have asked or required people to stay home and avoid going out as much as possible.

However, this unprecedented restriction of people’s freedom to go about their daily lives can definitely lead to both mental and physical stress. Looking to find positive, fun and uplifting ways to spend time at home, a variety of ideas to help us enjoy that time are being introduced via the media and social networks, and are growing in popularity.

In this issue, we introduce some of the #StayHome content available on the official Yamaha Motor website like original handicrafts and stretching and exercise routines to help people relieve stress during these trying times.

Handicrafts Befitting a Leading Mobility Manufacturer

The Amigurumi / Needle Felting website comes complete with how-to videos for each item.

Take a quick second look at the cover photo of this issue. The two cute little replicas of Yamaha’s E-Vino electric scooter are posed in front of hillsides rowed with tea bushes, with one using Japanese Amigurumi yarn knitting/crocheting and the other using needle felting. These and other Amigurumi and needle felting replicas of Yamaha products are presented on the website, complete with samples, patterns and stencils to print out, as well as video tutorials to follow when making them.
    It was around March this year that the number of visitors to the website began gradually growing, as did access to our Vehicle Bento website that provides designs and recipes for fun Yamaha-themed Japanese-style box lunches. With the growth coinciding with people remaining home in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, a connection between the two seems quite likely.
    “Motorcycles are our headline products, so a comparatively large number of our customers are men. Men also make up a substantial percentage of the visitors to our website as well, and communicating our brand and company presence to women with whom we have less contact points with is one of the issues we’ve had,” says Hidenori Miyake of the Brand Marketing Division. He has been the driving force behind the Amigurumi and needle felting website and hopes that it will help provide an enjoyable way to help pass the time while staying home.
    As of May 2020, there are five items available for both Amigurumi and needle felting for a total of ten. Using Yamaha products like motorcycles and scooters, premium yachts, personal watercraft, portable generators as well as genuine parts as models, the items available will continue to grow with the support and collaboration of the Japan Amigurumi Association and the Japan Wool Felt Association.
    According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there are currently about 12 million people in Japan who enjoy handicraft, and 95% of them are women. “I want to make a replica of the motorcycle my boyfriend rides to give to him as a present,” is an example of the comments we have received on social media, and the online gallery provides a look at the Amigurumi and needle felting creations of beginners and enthusiasts alike.
    “Yamaha Motor is a manufacturer,” continues Miyake. “Although handicraft items may seem an odd content choice for our corporate website, when it comes to the fine details of the item we choose, we don’t compromise whatsoever.” For example, the handicraft designers are first given a thorough understanding of the basic construction of the actual products before they even begin. “We spend a lot of time and effort on each one and that’s why creating just one is not at all easy. And with what the world is facing today, I hope people will take their time and try them as a challenging but rewarding craft project while they stay home.”

Yamaha-Original Stretching and Exercise Routines

Yamaha’s original Rev Stretch routine is comprised of 12 different stretches and movements.

As people around the world endeavor to remain inside and work from home to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, once work is out of the way and there is time to spend, many feel the need to exercise or relieve stress in today’s new day-to-day pattern. “I’m confident this is something that will help people relieve stress and keep you feeling fit,” says Yuko Kurabe of the Corporate Communication Division. The Rev Stretch exercise routine she and her colleagues planned and created in 2015 is performed daily by employees at Yamaha Motor group companies in Japan and abroad before the start of their workday.
    The routine is also available for free on Yamaha Motor’s website in Japanese and English versions, and has been translated into other languages as well. Further, Rev Stretch received the 2018 Excellence Award in the corporate division of the Sporty Life Awards held by the Life Insurance Association of Japan (supported by the Japan Sports Agency and the Japan Educational Press).
    The Rev Stretch project was actually first conceived as a means to help spread our “Revs your Heart” brand slogan and the roughly 5-minute stretch routine contains a number of uniquely Yamaha facets. For example, the background music—commended for its pleasing mood—was composed by Koichi Tsurusaki, a composer, arranger and lyricist at Yamaha Music Publishing, Inc. The music builds in tempo towards the end to express the revving of an engine and building of excitement, i.e., the ideals behind the “Rev” in our brand slogan. Also, the stretching routine itself focuses on relieving tightness and alleviating pain in the shoulders and lower back, and was supervised by Atsushi Kanno, a former physical training coach for the Yamaha-affiliated Jubilo Iwata professional football team. Rev Stretch combines static stretching poses, which relax the muscles, with dynamic stretches that help boost blood circulation and raise body temperature. In these ways, the stretches were designed from a scientific standpoint to be an ideal pre-work routine.
    Then in March 2019, Yamaha newly introduced Rev Exercise, a set of exercises effective for relieving chronic fatigue and physical stress. The 32 different movements were developed based on the “active rest” (low-intensity exercise) approach used by Jubilo Iwata players, designed to relieve pain or fatigue in specific areas of the body in a short time after matches so that players will recover quickly and be ready for the next match.
    A number of exercise video variations allow people to choose between standing and seated movements, versions targeting specific areas like the upper, lower or even the entire body, individual muscles or the given work environment. The exercises are not targeted for a specific age group or gender and are intended for use by anyone as a way to relieve fatigue and keep your body healthy, so we hope you will give them a try!

Needle Felting How-to Guide Videos for the E-Vino

Yamaha’s handicraft items are designed with attention to the finest details, from the key box and suspension springs down to the buttons on the instrument cluster.