We headed back to Tsubame Sanjyo after a wonderful time in Yahiko. We waited at the station for the bullet train to arrive from Tokyo we could meet up with Chris and Jacque. After Chris and Jacque arrived we were picked up at the station by the staff from Endo. They drove us about 15 minutes away to the Epon/Endo factory. As we arrived in the parking lot, my first impression was that this factory was huge. It consisted of 7 humongous buildings all with different functions in golf manufacturing.

	Business Planning Department, General Affairs Department, Accounts Department
	Stainless Steel Department(2F, Stainless Steel Office)
	Golf Plant No.3 (1F, Materials and Logistics Office) (2F, IT/systems)
	Golf Plant No.2
	Golf Plant No.1(1F, Golf business office)
	Golf Die Plant(1F, Die Plant Office)
	Golf Forging Plant

Very impressive. We headed over to the business office which also housed the Epon Golf main store. Now I wish all stores had hitting bays like these! After introductions we had sime tea as we waited for another tour to end (a big US brand was touring the factory in front of us). We were taken on the tour (no pictures allowed unfortunately due to confidentiality for Endo's customers, but store pics were okay) with Epon's Production Manager and Sales Manager who showed us everything from the R&D facilities where designs and Auto CAD work for the creation of Epon (and other brands) were given birth. From ther we went to section of the factory soley dedicated to making molds for clubs. amazingly much of this was automated with the use of robots which as Endo explained meant that the process of mold making could go around the clock!

From there we went to the Forging area where Endo had 6 full sized presses in action. It was amazing watching as so many different models of irons and wedges were being forged. It was especially fun trying to recognize all the brands and models of irons in their "raw" form. From the Forging area we went to the Q&A area where they inspected all forgings and prepared them for finishing. The Production Manager picked out an iron from a heap of discards asking us if we could see what was wrong with it... it looked perfect to us however, the quality assurance tester showed us with a magnifying glass a thin hairline scratch which meant it was a discard... After Q&A we visited the club finishing and assembly and packing area. Tons of boxes with logos of many famous golf brands (American and Japanese) were piled up waiting for clubs to be finished and assembled. There was one whole area dedicated to the building of Epon clubs. This was not surprising considering the amount of detail that Epon clubs get and also the customization.

At the end of the tour Mr. Kobayashi who is the president of Endo and Epon met with us and took us out to lunch to have some delicious Niigata ramen. After lunch we went back to Endo to talk about it's business and Epon's future as well as take more pictures of their wonderful shop and all their club displays. I had an awesome time. For me being a real equipment junkie it was quite an experience. I learned so much about golf club manufacturing and developed a great respect for Endo and all the work they do. Special thanks to Chris and Endo for inviting my wife and I!