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The year 1991 marked Shimano's 70th anniversary. On February 8th of that year approval was granted to establish the Shimano Cycle Development Center as a foundation. Among the activities the Center engages in are: research development related to bicycles; research support; the training of new personnel for the cycle industry; exchange with research organizations in Japan and overseas; and the collection and exhibition of classic bicycles.
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The Cycle Center (Bicycle Museum), which serves as a base for these activities, stands on a plot of land rented by the city of Sakai in South Osaka adjacent to Daisen Park. The open ceremonies were held on April 17, 1992. The three-store building of reinforced concrete has a total area of 1,355 square meters, and is the first bicycle museum in Japan.
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People's attitudes toward bicycles differ from culture to culture, particularly between Japan and the West. Most Japanese people use bicycles as a means of transportation-for commuting to work or shipping whereas in the West bicycles are used mainly for sports, health, and recreation. The Shimano Cycle Development Center has begun specific activities aimed at teaching people in the local community about the culture of bicycles, and also to contribute to the standard of living of the Japanese people and assist the bicycle industry.
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Among the Center's activities are many events for children. A drawing contest on the theme of bicycles is held annually. In 1992, the first year of the contest, there were 472 entries. In 2003, the twelfth year, the contest drew 20,228 entries. An event that allows people to ride replicas of classic bicycles is also held annually at the bicycle plaza in Daisen Park. In 1994, the first year of the event, there were 1,049 participants. Three years later there were already over 10,000. Other events include a bicycle school for beginners, and a bicycle assembly class for parents and children in also conducted.
Visitors to the Cycle Center (Bicycle Museum) numbered 33,000 in the first year, and within eleven years, by 2003, the total had reached over 264,000 visitors.
Other events and ideas involving the Center include "The Bicycle Town," to make "World Heritage and the Earth" a permanent exhibition at the bicycle museum, and to assist with the Shimano-sponsored 11th International Bicycle History Conference.
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