wake up and meet in the lobby at 5:30am to start our long journey to Narita Airport.
This time we had it down pat, using the elevator to load everyone's luggage up flights of stairs.
On the plane back to America....
Monday, June 15, 2009
(5/24) TOKYO
Today we are supposed to meet in the lobby at 1:30pm if we want to go on the company visit to the CEO of HBSC's home. Me and Hanuel definately wanted to go, but we wanted to try and go back to Nakkano first to visit the 525 yen store. We ate at Himalaya Curry (this is like the 5th time; everyone on the trip loves this place, plus it is close to the Olympic Center) and after that decided that we wanted to figure out how to take the JR line instead of the metro. Hanuel heard one guy buying a ticket speaking in English over the phone. "This guy is our only chance," she said, and so we stopped him and asked for help. He was very kind and generous with his time. He rode with us to the next station and set us up for success with maps and directions. Then I starting talking with him and discovered that he studyed abroad in America during High School in Ohio. He actually went to school at Heritage Christian in Canton; thats Crazy!!! Thats where I am from! No Way! What a small world. I couldn't believe it! We successfully shopped and bought cheap dresses! Next we had to rush back to change for the business visit/tea party.
We missed the group leaving for the visit, so we decided to call Charlie and get the directions. I knew we would somehow make it even though we only knew the metro stop and the address. Charlie said that the apartment was 10 minutes from the metro so we would have to find it on our own. We started in the direction we thought we should go and stopped people on the street or went into family marts to ask for directions. No one spoke English so we tried to follow their hand motions and just walk that way. Eventually, we passed over a bridge of water and came across the building that we were supposed to find! Yea! We somehow got through the security doors and told the lady we were Appalachian State Students and proceeded up to the 48th floor. Navin (the CEO) had an amazing place overlooking a lake in the middle of Tokyo. We had a perfect view of the Tokyo Tower which was beautiful. Navin gave us an unformal presentation, discussing the current economic situation, the real work world, and life in general. Navin is from India and is married to a Taiwanese woman that runs her own business (in fact, she makes more than he does). Navin is a worldly man that works in International business and as he was speaking I felt like a sponge, just absorbing every word he said. He gave us advice that I will use for the rest of my life. Confidence, Competence, and Candour. These three things are what Navin says he looks for in interviews and in people in general. I thought this idea was profound. Life can be this simple. Navin's temperment was so relaxed, wise, and controlled, he was an amazing person to meet and this final event was the end all for my trip. I was perfectly content; thankful that I got this experience and the chance to have this experience.
We missed the group leaving for the visit, so we decided to call Charlie and get the directions. I knew we would somehow make it even though we only knew the metro stop and the address. Charlie said that the apartment was 10 minutes from the metro so we would have to find it on our own. We started in the direction we thought we should go and stopped people on the street or went into family marts to ask for directions. No one spoke English so we tried to follow their hand motions and just walk that way. Eventually, we passed over a bridge of water and came across the building that we were supposed to find! Yea! We somehow got through the security doors and told the lady we were Appalachian State Students and proceeded up to the 48th floor. Navin (the CEO) had an amazing place overlooking a lake in the middle of Tokyo. We had a perfect view of the Tokyo Tower which was beautiful. Navin gave us an unformal presentation, discussing the current economic situation, the real work world, and life in general. Navin is from India and is married to a Taiwanese woman that runs her own business (in fact, she makes more than he does). Navin is a worldly man that works in International business and as he was speaking I felt like a sponge, just absorbing every word he said. He gave us advice that I will use for the rest of my life. Confidence, Competence, and Candour. These three things are what Navin says he looks for in interviews and in people in general. I thought this idea was profound. Life can be this simple. Navin's temperment was so relaxed, wise, and controlled, he was an amazing person to meet and this final event was the end all for my trip. I was perfectly content; thankful that I got this experience and the chance to have this experience.
(5/23) TOKYO
Saturday= Our first FREE DAY!
Sleep in a bit.
Then off to LAQUA, a roller coaster/amusement park in Downtown Tokyo. When we got there the first thing we saw was a coaster that goes straight through a hole in a building; how sweet!! Fun rides, fun friends, it was a superb way to spend our free time. The water ride was hilarious and we rode kiddie rides and the 'hacker' over and over again. I had the best time. James told me that he knew I was having a good time because my smile streched from ear to ear for at least ten minutes straight. We met some Russian guys from Estonia but they were kind of creepy and all had rotten teeth. For dinner we went to a place called Bubba Gump's, which is an American chain based on the movie Forest Gump. I had never been to one, and we enjoyed our dinner; I got two huge sides of mashed potatoes, yes! I had been wanting potatoes for so long and for some reason it is hard to find them over here.
Sleep in a bit.
Then off to LAQUA, a roller coaster/amusement park in Downtown Tokyo. When we got there the first thing we saw was a coaster that goes straight through a hole in a building; how sweet!! Fun rides, fun friends, it was a superb way to spend our free time. The water ride was hilarious and we rode kiddie rides and the 'hacker' over and over again. I had the best time. James told me that he knew I was having a good time because my smile streched from ear to ear for at least ten minutes straight. We met some Russian guys from Estonia but they were kind of creepy and all had rotten teeth. For dinner we went to a place called Bubba Gump's, which is an American chain based on the movie Forest Gump. I had never been to one, and we enjoyed our dinner; I got two huge sides of mashed potatoes, yes! I had been wanting potatoes for so long and for some reason it is hard to find them over here.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Day 5 (5/22) TOKYO
HARLEY DAVIDSON: This company visit was pretty cool overall! Angela and I were assigned this Harvard Case Study, so about 20 minutes before entering we both gave a brief about the case and company. I felt as though mine was really beneficial- hit all the high points. After entering we were all brought to a conference room and were given a really generous gift: keychain, ads, magazine, catalog, etc. The presentation was very well planned with a power point presentation that correlated with packets at our seats. I asked a lot of questions at the end and found the visit highly educational. Everything is imported from the U.S.; hardly any merchandise in the showroom said Tokyo on it in the store.
SONY: We walked to sony and got ready for our company briefs, the wind was blowing like crazy. Food, hair, skirts, are blowing all around. We were in a wind tunnel of huge corporate buildings. As we enter, everyone is shocked at how impressive the building is. Super technological looking/feeling. Tall ceilings, open and symmetrical, sleek. Elevators were clear glass. We had a presentation in the movie room which was so relaxing and high-tech. The latest digital screens and graphics. We also saw George Lucas's camera that filmed Star Wars- the serial number on the camera was no. 1. Also, they had the Spiderman suit that Toby McGuire wore! Sweet! We also saw new cameras, ps3 games, music players that dance to the beat of the music and more! Everyone loved it!
RED LIGHT DISTRICT: After traveling quite a way, getting lost, and disputing with each other over directions we finally made it! Thousands of people and millions of lights. We were all silly at that point, thanks to Asahi. Also, we saw still more men in suits! It never matters what time it is. They actually have store fronts with portraits of the girls inside posted outside with flashing lights and velvet drapes you enter through like a door. Nuts! Totally prostitution type of thing. And when we were in Roppongi there were pimps walking up to our guys asking if his ladies could interest one of them tonight. Jake just continued walking, but I was shocked. The guy was a red-haired English/British guy and all of his buddies were black guys. All the metro station gates close to us were closed; apparently due to the fact that it is a sketchy area past dark. Taxi home; automatic closing car doors close right on my foot ouch!! The man appologized.
SONY: We walked to sony and got ready for our company briefs, the wind was blowing like crazy. Food, hair, skirts, are blowing all around. We were in a wind tunnel of huge corporate buildings. As we enter, everyone is shocked at how impressive the building is. Super technological looking/feeling. Tall ceilings, open and symmetrical, sleek. Elevators were clear glass. We had a presentation in the movie room which was so relaxing and high-tech. The latest digital screens and graphics. We also saw George Lucas's camera that filmed Star Wars- the serial number on the camera was no. 1. Also, they had the Spiderman suit that Toby McGuire wore! Sweet! We also saw new cameras, ps3 games, music players that dance to the beat of the music and more! Everyone loved it!
RED LIGHT DISTRICT: After traveling quite a way, getting lost, and disputing with each other over directions we finally made it! Thousands of people and millions of lights. We were all silly at that point, thanks to Asahi. Also, we saw still more men in suits! It never matters what time it is. They actually have store fronts with portraits of the girls inside posted outside with flashing lights and velvet drapes you enter through like a door. Nuts! Totally prostitution type of thing. And when we were in Roppongi there were pimps walking up to our guys asking if his ladies could interest one of them tonight. Jake just continued walking, but I was shocked. The guy was a red-haired English/British guy and all of his buddies were black guys. All the metro station gates close to us were closed; apparently due to the fact that it is a sketchy area past dark. Taxi home; automatic closing car doors close right on my foot ouch!! The man appologized.
JAPANESE TRENDS
CELL PHONES: They use their cell phones way more than we do. Especially in the subway. Every single person is either reading a small book (which may have a decorative cover) or playing on their cell phones...even grandmas and older people- it's not just the younger generation. They also all have cell phone charms kind of how we have keychains for our sets of keys. Some are straps, some are little animals, beads, logos, etc. This seems so funny to all of us. Barely anyone does that in the U.S. It's strange that different cultures have different wants and needs. For them, these are either useful, fashionable, or enjoyed in some way.
MEN & WOMEN OF THE WORKWORLD: Everyone wears suits! Suits every day, all day. Even when we were in the park men are wearing suits just leisurly walking through and women are wearing heels riding a bicycles with a babies on the back. Crazy huh?! We were shocked. Even when we would walk home late, say 1am, people are STILL in their suits carrying their briefcases. It seems like they never let go and wear something comfy. Dang. Women wear heels every single day too-no matter where they are-walking through the city all day or even at the amusement park we went to. When looking from a far or above the street, everyone looks the same. Identical. Almost robotical; it's kind of scary this many people all looking/doing/wearing the same. Charlie gave us an example of the difference between Japanese culture and American culture:
Japanese: Formality. Japanese culture places everyone all together, working for one another. They try to blend in as much as possible with the crowd and each other. Thisi explains why they all dress alike- to blend together. It's a lot more conservative than our culture. Seems a little stuffy.
Americans: American culture has taught us to be INDIVIDUALS; to find things that make you unique so that you stand out from the crowd. We tend to think about ourselves more- a type of "I" attitude. No conformity. Just express yourself how you want.
END RESULT: hard for us to relate; we don't see life in this aspect or perspective.
DRESS AT THE WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY: These ladies have some funky fashions, it's ridiculous. They all wear itty-bitty skirts that are usually made of lace tiers or tiny little shorts that are sometimes invisible because their top is long. It is trendy to wear black knee-high hose to cover part of the leg. High heels always. a lot of black eye make-up too. Everytime I was in the bathroom I saw at least one girl running her black eye liner around her eye. Still shocked by the short attire. They probably figure, hey what the heck- wear what you want now because once you start working you become one of many boxed into a certain look. When they were going through the lower levels of school they wore uniforms, were prohibited to wear any make-up or dye their hair at all. See, strict rules. And I thought my grade school's rules were strict.
FAMILY & RELIGION: Family seems to be really tight-knit. A lot of the girls at the university actually still live at home. They commute to school. More emphasis is placed on family closeness. Kids are everywhere; they are my favorite! They have the cutest faces. Women tend to have children at a later age than most women in America. They also wait until their 30's or so to get married. Probably a good reccomendation for couples in the states. Religion prominance is nothing of what it is in the U.S. Sachiko said that she doesn't practice any religion- wasn't brought up with it. She did say that their is some Chistianity and definately Buddism. Hmm... somehow this doesn't really seem to strange to me, yet so different from the religious environment I was raised in. Actually, in one of our classroom sessions (Dr. Fox's Lesson) the girls said that when they die they just want to be remembered as nice people.
MEN & WOMEN OF THE WORKWORLD: Everyone wears suits! Suits every day, all day. Even when we were in the park men are wearing suits just leisurly walking through and women are wearing heels riding a bicycles with a babies on the back. Crazy huh?! We were shocked. Even when we would walk home late, say 1am, people are STILL in their suits carrying their briefcases. It seems like they never let go and wear something comfy. Dang. Women wear heels every single day too-no matter where they are-walking through the city all day or even at the amusement park we went to. When looking from a far or above the street, everyone looks the same. Identical. Almost robotical; it's kind of scary this many people all looking/doing/wearing the same. Charlie gave us an example of the difference between Japanese culture and American culture:
Japanese: Formality. Japanese culture places everyone all together, working for one another. They try to blend in as much as possible with the crowd and each other. Thisi explains why they all dress alike- to blend together. It's a lot more conservative than our culture. Seems a little stuffy.
Americans: American culture has taught us to be INDIVIDUALS; to find things that make you unique so that you stand out from the crowd. We tend to think about ourselves more- a type of "I" attitude. No conformity. Just express yourself how you want.
END RESULT: hard for us to relate; we don't see life in this aspect or perspective.
DRESS AT THE WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY: These ladies have some funky fashions, it's ridiculous. They all wear itty-bitty skirts that are usually made of lace tiers or tiny little shorts that are sometimes invisible because their top is long. It is trendy to wear black knee-high hose to cover part of the leg. High heels always. a lot of black eye make-up too. Everytime I was in the bathroom I saw at least one girl running her black eye liner around her eye. Still shocked by the short attire. They probably figure, hey what the heck- wear what you want now because once you start working you become one of many boxed into a certain look. When they were going through the lower levels of school they wore uniforms, were prohibited to wear any make-up or dye their hair at all. See, strict rules. And I thought my grade school's rules were strict.
FAMILY & RELIGION: Family seems to be really tight-knit. A lot of the girls at the university actually still live at home. They commute to school. More emphasis is placed on family closeness. Kids are everywhere; they are my favorite! They have the cutest faces. Women tend to have children at a later age than most women in America. They also wait until their 30's or so to get married. Probably a good reccomendation for couples in the states. Religion prominance is nothing of what it is in the U.S. Sachiko said that she doesn't practice any religion- wasn't brought up with it. She did say that their is some Chistianity and definately Buddism. Hmm... somehow this doesn't really seem to strange to me, yet so different from the religious environment I was raised in. Actually, in one of our classroom sessions (Dr. Fox's Lesson) the girls said that when they die they just want to be remembered as nice people.
Day 4 (5/21) TOKYO
KIMONO SHOP: We started our day by riding the MRT to Nakkano to go to one of Charlie's friends' Kimono shop. I really didn't spend much time there because the store was super small adn I did not want to buy one anyways. So we shopped and found a great store that had all clothes for 525 yen, way cheap! They actually had some cute stuff so I ended up buying a pretty little dress.
EDO MUSEUM: Much better than the museum in Taiwan. It had real-life models and stages of traditional Japanese houses, towns, etc. It was more hands-on, so I think everyone enjoyed it much more. Everything was so interesting to look at that it actually made me want to learn about it further. They had a couple cool things that you could do like carry a wooden rod across the back of your neck that had two heavy water buckets on either side. It was intended to give you a test to see how it was to carry something like that.
OH SUMO!!!!: The sumo tournament was held at a really nice venue behind the Edo Museum. I thought it was so cool! These men are utterly HUGE; fatty but somehow muscular too. One thing that I didn't expect is the lengthyness of each adn every round. These guys go in and out of the ring a zillion times before actually fighting. Each time they perform a different ceremonial act. They clap their hands to let the gods know they are ready to fight, then they throw salt on the ring to purify and protect themselves from evil. It is really neat to see it in real life. When the guys get thrown out of the ring, sometimes they get thrown into the people in the front rows...SCARY! The entire lower level is flat seating for the audience to sit on the floor and watch.
DINNER IN SHINJUKU: Restaurant with private rooms. This was really interesting. No Shoes; feet under table in the ground. I got edamame and a margarita pizza that was made on a fajita; it was excellent; for once, some food that looked appetizing. Man, you never know what you are getting yourself into with food over here. Most of the time its a surprise!
EDO MUSEUM: Much better than the museum in Taiwan. It had real-life models and stages of traditional Japanese houses, towns, etc. It was more hands-on, so I think everyone enjoyed it much more. Everything was so interesting to look at that it actually made me want to learn about it further. They had a couple cool things that you could do like carry a wooden rod across the back of your neck that had two heavy water buckets on either side. It was intended to give you a test to see how it was to carry something like that.
OH SUMO!!!!: The sumo tournament was held at a really nice venue behind the Edo Museum. I thought it was so cool! These men are utterly HUGE; fatty but somehow muscular too. One thing that I didn't expect is the lengthyness of each adn every round. These guys go in and out of the ring a zillion times before actually fighting. Each time they perform a different ceremonial act. They clap their hands to let the gods know they are ready to fight, then they throw salt on the ring to purify and protect themselves from evil. It is really neat to see it in real life. When the guys get thrown out of the ring, sometimes they get thrown into the people in the front rows...SCARY! The entire lower level is flat seating for the audience to sit on the floor and watch.
DINNER IN SHINJUKU: Restaurant with private rooms. This was really interesting. No Shoes; feet under table in the ground. I got edamame and a margarita pizza that was made on a fajita; it was excellent; for once, some food that looked appetizing. Man, you never know what you are getting yourself into with food over here. Most of the time its a surprise!
Day 3 (5/20) TOKYO
My day started with a metro ride to Asakusa, which is a shrine to the gods in an old traditional Japanese neighborhood. We went through a cute strip of markets all along the sides of the shrine, purchasing gifts as we saw them. Next we went to Yoyogi Park right next to our hostile. It was probably the best day in Japan thus far. It was total serenity, we enjoyed living to the fullest. As we layed out in the grassy meadows, we found it interesting to people watch. We saw so many men in the park wearing suits (they wear suits 24/7) as well as seeing a woman riding a bicycle in heels with a baby on the back. Dang! We couldn't ge over that. They also seem to love and domesticate dogs in the same way we do; much different from Taiwan. There was a guy who was shooting park pictures that asked us if he could take our picture...so of course we said sure! We thought that was great- maybe we would be in an article or something, who knows. Teh park was so serene adn relaxing. At this point in the trip we really needed that. The park was also better than any park I have ever been into in the states. It was huge- with rolling hills, longer grasses, free growing trees, and plenty of bikers. At one point we heard beautiful tunes and saw two people playing flute in the grass. There was also a buddist man that sat nearby us in the grass, indian style, smoking his pipe and enjoying the environment. Perfect.
DINNER IN ROPPONGI: dinner at outback was delicious, but we found that since the waiters do not make additional tips (tipping in Japan is offensive) they are not as attentive as we would have liked, but we enjoyed each other's company and the food. Having something that reminds you of home is phenomenal.
DINNER IN ROPPONGI: dinner at outback was delicious, but we found that since the waiters do not make additional tips (tipping in Japan is offensive) they are not as attentive as we would have liked, but we enjoyed each other's company and the food. Having something that reminds you of home is phenomenal.
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