The Flying Saucer At Sunset

Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds with a smooth layered appearance that form in the troposphere, usually above mountain ranges. One was spotted in Singapore recently...

Eyes Of 30,000 Honeycombs

With 30,000 individual facets, dragonflies have the most number of facets among insects. Each facet, or ommatidia, creates its own image, and the dragonfly brain has eight pairs of descending visual neurons to compile those thousands of images into one picture...

A Kaleidoscope Of Colours, Shapes And Patterns

Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments...

Lightning Strikes, Not Once, But Many Times

Unlike light, lightning does not travel in a straight line. Instead, it has many branches. These other branches flashed at the same time as the main strike. The branches are actually the step leaders that were connected to the leader that made it to its target...

Are You My Dinner Tonight?

A T-Rex has 24-26 teeth on its upper jaw and 24 more on its lower jaw. Juveniles have small, sharp blade-shaped teeth to cut flesh, whereas adults have huge, blunt, rounded teeth for crushing bones. Is the T-Rex a bone-crushing scavenger?

Japanese Business Expo - Takasaki Day

Located in the northwestern part of the Kanto region about 100 kilometres or a one-hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, Takasaki is the largest city in the Gunma Prefecture with a population of around 370,000. Takasaki is situated within a dense network of expressways and high-speed train lines. Its strategic location helps the city shine as an industrial hub with over 30,000 companies based in Takasaki City itself.


As a manufacturing hub, the Gunma province has over 140,000 employees in more than 6,000 manufacturing firms - many of which are based in Takasaki. The city is also the seat of world-class research institutes, bio industry and advanced pharmaceutical industry, contributing significantly to Japan’s economic and industrial growth.

Prosperity Daruma Dolls at the entrance of the Expo...
(What are Daruma Dolls, find out more in Merlion Wayfarer Goes World here)


At the recent Japanese Business Expo held in Singapore recently, several global brands and leading companies showcased their cutting edge technologies, solutions and products in fields such as machinery, metals, chemicals and waste disposal.

The perfect chance for Singapore and regional companies to discover the opportunities in the industrial hub of Takasaki, the Japan Business Expo - Takasaki Day showcases many sectors across different industries, be it travel, tourism, shared services, research and development, infocomm technology, food processing, energy, waste management, or consumer goods.

“This exhibition is a powerful step towards nurturing excellent business relationships between Takasaki and Singapore, to the benefit of both Singapore and Japan.”
-- Hidehiro Yoshii, Department of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Japan --


Kinsei Sangyo Co., Ltd. (キンセイ産業)

Established in 1967, Kinsei Sangyo provides waste incineration plants with their special gasification technology, providing environmentally-friendly solutions to the waste management industry, engineering firms, hospitals and furnace manufacturers. With a track record of more than 200 plants and 70 international patents, Kinsei Sangyo’s solution is highly-automated, perfect for companies seeking more technologically-savvy solutions.


In addition to its high-performance and economical energy solution, Merlion Wayfarer was impressed that this solution requires almost no auxiliary fossil fuels and creates minimal pollution. Waste is disposed of without any pre-treatment required, reducing operating costs even further. The burners here made are also highly-adaptable to incinerate any waste materials, from animal/plant waste, medical waste, to industrial waste and even rare metals.

Incinerators in Kanto, Japan - Gunma (plastic, paper) and Saitama (food waste)...

Incinerators in Chugoku, Japan - Hiroshima (wood, textiles) and Okayama (medical waste)...

Incinerators in other Asian countries - Korea (hospital waste) and Thailand (plastic, wood, fibre)... 

For more information on Kinsei Sangyo, visit www.kinsei-s.co.jp/english/ or email global@kinsei-s.co.jp.

Makino Brewery Inc. (牧野酒造株式会社)

Sake has played a central role in Japanese life and culture for the past 2,000 years. Made primarily from rice, sake is a fermented beverage using koji, a micro-organism and yeast. It has an alcoholic content of between 13-16%. Brewers tend to take advantage of the pure and fresh natural water available in many parts of japan to make excellent sake, which can then be served either warm or chilled, depending on the season.



Makino Brewery takes pride in their history of more than 320 years, consistently winning gold medals in national sake and National Tax Authority contests in Japan. Its trademark Osakazuki (大盃) is one of the most delicious sake brands in Japan. This tasteful and elegant sake is made from carefully-selected sake rice grain and cold spring water from Mount Haruna in Kurabuchi in Central Japan.



Ginjoshu (吟醸酒) is sake made using white rice which has been milled so that only 60% (or less) of the grain remains. It is characterized by a fruity, and somewhat floral bouquet with a clear, crisp flavour. If the rice is polished down to 50% or less, the sake is called Daiginjoshu (大吟醸酒).

Merlion Wayfarer had the chance to try Makino Brewery’s Daiginjo (大吟醸). Premium Limited, where distilled alcohol was used in the process. The taste is rich, with a smooth finish…
  
This is Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸) counting with 60% milled rice as its main constituent. It provides a full-bodied yet lighter taste…


The Nama Chozo (生貯蔵酒) is sake that is not heated for pasteurization after the final mash is pressed. It is characterized by a light and fresh flavour...


The Ume Liquor (梅酒) is made from Japanese apricot with the Osakazuki sake base. A perfect balance between ume extract and alcohol is achieved by aging the whole fruit, with the stone still inside. The delicious tang of Umeshu comes from citric acid in the fruit, and the refreshing flavour stimulates the appetite. The addition of alcohol to the fruit during production means that the ume flavour can be extracted not only from the flesh and skin but also from the stone.



For more information on Makino Brewery, visit www.makino-sake.co.jp/about-makino-brewery or email info@makino-sake.co.jp.