Is the Yamaha U3 piano made in Japan?

I have stocked several hundred Yamaha U3 pianos over the years and one of the most common questions I’m asked concerns the manufacture location. Customers are beginning to wake up to the fact that not all Yamaha pianos come from the top quality factory in Japan but are in fact made in much cheaper factory with lower quality output in places such as Indonesia.

The full answer to this question is quite in-depth so I’ll start off with a quick little summary of my answer just in case you are in a hurry. Here goes:

Summary: As far as I know, every single Yamaha U3 piano that has ever been made has come directly from the premium quality Yamaha factory in Hamamatsu, towards the South West region of Japan. I believe even the brand new Yamaha U3 pianos are still being made in this same factory. So as long as you can find a professionally reconditioned U3 then you can be sure of getting a top quality piano.

Well I hope that summary helped, I’ll now waffle a bit about the wider aspects of the question. There was a time when you’d look at a Yamaha and think “Japanese”, you’d like at a Kemble and think “British” or maybe you’d look at a Bechstein and think “German”. But things have changed. The massively popular Yamaha B1 upright is made in Indonesia, Kemble pianos are now made in Indonesia and even Steinway have a range of pianos being made in China. So you have to dig a little deeper under the surface these days to find out where each make & model of piano is made.

Germany, America and Japan make some of the the best pianos today and if possible stick to those countires with the best reputation for piano manufacture. Yamaha manage to combine the highest manufacturing standards with some sensible prices too which is why they are so popular. As for the Chinese and Indonesian pianos I’d say they are a long way off being suitable for any serious or ambitious player or for anyone who wants to sit down and hear a nice tone coming back from the piano.

To sum up, YES the Yamaha U3 is made in Japan and for the best combination of quality and value for money a properly reconditioned Yamaha U3 or U1 is a very popular option at the moment. See my stocklist above to see what I’ve got in stock.

Thanks for your interest
Feel free to email me at any time with any questions or feedback
Many thanks
Mark :)