Kyoto

The time spent in Kyoto was all together different than that spent in Tokyo.  The buzz of daily meetings, three piece suits, and all those other tangents which are found with a hurried corporate setting, were to a large degree tapered in Kyoto.  The greeting we received at our hotel set the tempo for the rest of the stay; unrushed yet formal, grateful but reserved. 

Of the two places we stayed, the Three Sister’s Inn Annex captured what I had previously understood to be the quintessential Japanese living experience.  The Weekly Mansion, while most likely representative of average Japanese business accommodations, lacked much (if not all) of the cultural influence seen in the later hotel.  Rather, The Weekly Mansion felt almost ubiquitous while having been the first place we stayed in Japan.  Aside from runny eggs, The Three Sister’s Inn Annex, provided an experience I was unaware I had always wanted, which when thinking about it, represents for me at least, an extraordinary sentiment.  I crossed off something from my bucket list prior to having written it down.

Although not as structured as the Tokyo portion of our trip, Kyoto provided an interesting look at those elements which I believe root the Japanese citizenry to its customs and traditions.  Of those elements which we explored, the one I felt had the greatest impact of my experience, was the tour of Kyoto Imperial Palace.  While the tea ceremony was beautiful, and the Golden Pavilion picturesque, the Imperial Palace left me utterly gobsmacked.  It was not simply the imposing nature of the structures, nor was it the refined yet elegant decor.  The Imperial Palace transcended the elements which denote regality or stature, and instead imparted the feeling of history.  Although many of the buildings had to be rebuild due to fire, the palace and accompanying buildings bore an energy of past importance.  It was not hard to imagine Emperor, Samurai, and commoner alike bustling back and forth to complete their day’s duties.  Of all the places we had and would visit, the Imperial Palace was without question the destination which had the greatest impact, and I wished I could have spent more time.  In an aside, the greatest disappointment of the trip would actually come during the tour of the palace, after 15 or 20 pictures my camera died.  Thankfully Tony, our trips photographer, did not have that same issue.  (A special thanks to him for all of the time and effort he put in to photo documenting our trip.)*

Tony

Golden Palace

Overall, takeaways for the Japan trip are difficult to put to paper, exceptionally difficult.

While I had the time of my life, mostly a credit to the friends whom I shared the trip with, and the hosts, Paul, Keiko and Jason, who were gracious enough plan and implement the trip; I feel as though Japan itself failed to leave me with the desire to revisit.

There’s a distinct feeling of longing from the younger working generation, a zeitgeist of sorts which feels unquenched and tempered by the traditional hierarchies and customs embraced by their parents and grandparents. 

One last observation is in regards to the interaction between me and other members of our group, and the Japanese public.  When one is in the room with a number of Japanese individuals, there would seem to be a level of fascination and tolerance for your presence.  It’s hard to explain, but the sensation I got was something I could only compare to what an animal in a zoo might feel while being gawked at by visitors.  A level of indifference to ones presence, which is hard to describe if one has not been in that situation.

This of course is only a cursory examination of a people through very limited experiences, to really have an understanding of the complexities of Japanese culture, for all its depth and layers, innumerable years would have to be spent living with and amongst them. 

Bettering US/Japan Relations

An American Pastime

For our free day in Tokyo the group (Russ, Jeremy, Jane, Ian, Tony and I) went to watch a major league baseball game.  We watched the home team, named the Dodgers, play a relatively slow paced game (especially on the part of the pitchers) for nine innings, at which time we chose to return to the Weekly Mansion rather than watch extra innings.  The Weekly Mansion being the hotel we’ve stayed at since Monday May 16^th, and will be checking out  from Monday May 23^rd.  It was incredible to see both the striking similarities and obvious differences the Japanese sport has with the MLB (Major League Baseball).

Similarities…  

The game’s rules seem to play out much akin to its North American counterpart.  Four balls, three strikes, three outs, four bases, a number of umpires, and accompany equipment all mirrored MLB standards.  Hometown fans wore their full regalia and the visiting teams fans were contained and ostracized to a relatively small section.  Beer/soda was overpriced, and the game itself lasted a full 3 ½ hours.

Differences…

The differences between the two examples of professional baseball, in my opinion, outnumber the perceived similarities.  The fans attending the game today were in few ways similar to the fans attending games in the US.  Fans were constantly abuzz in a game which remained scoreless until the seventh.  Additionally, all fans cheered for outstanding plays, no matter which team on the field had made them, showing unparalleled respect and reverence for the sport and its players.  The energy felt was not limited to the sphere of occasional cheering as seen in the US; rather the Japanese fans sung numerous songs, sometimes with instrument accompaniment, which was present throughout the entire game.  Musical instruments were not the only things allowed into the domed stadium—unlike MLB games, backpacks, food/drinks, and giant embossed flags representing the team’s colors were also allowed. 

The stadium itself was smaller than I would have imagined, probably only 350 feet from home plate to homerun.  This made every seat one which would not put a strain on the eyes.  Nor were the tickets a strain on the wallet.  The price for my ticket was only 2000 yen, or $24.44 (USD).  Ticket prices for Fenway Park start at nearly 3 times that, for seats not nearly as good.

The last point of contrast which deserves mention is the interconnectivity between fan, player, and team (only intensified by the aforementioned stadium size).  This feeling of connection was the byproduct of numerous integrated elements before and during the game, which transformed the experience into something the MLB could only ever aspire to achieve.  Prior to the opening pitch, local children played pass and ran drills with the players of the home team.  During the game, players repeatedly threw balls to the fans, in addition to giving nods and high fives to reinforce a sense of connection.  Between innings mascots performed, cheerleaders danced, and fans were solicited via jumbo-tron to show their team spirit. 

The sum total of the 3 ½ game was an experience I will never forget, nor think will ever be surpassed by a regular season, or even for that matter post-season, MLB game.

Yesterday — (If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.)

American Express and 12 hours of sleep

I went to bed at 6pm last night, to wake up at 6am this morning. *This was a good decision, seeing as I had not slept more than 5 hours any one night since arriving in Japan, and it was starting to take its toll.  I had my blood pressure taken on the street, 160/79; I’m assuming it was an error, but could also be the effect of days sans rest/pachinko (see picture below).  :-P

Today will be Mount Fuji, I’ll be sure to post some pictures up later in the day.

 Yesterday was our last formal meeting with a Japanese corporation.  American Express was gracious enough to give our group a formal executive presentation describing the B2C dynamics of their industry in Japan.  This was a fascinating look at the internal perceptions held by a fortune 500 company operating abroad.  Some of the basic Japanese trends they alluded to included:  a high contextual/group/relationship oriented culture, detail driven, quality demanding, and of course exceptionally high standards regarding service.  Interesting, a high level of customer service is hard to articulate in promotions, due to the fact that it is assumed that an organization will give service only at a 100% level.  What I found to be most striking was the level at which Japanese credit card users’ pay off their monthly balance, 83.5%!  This is in stark contrast to the 54% of Americans who pay in full monthly.  This 83.5% is also in contrast to how Japanese people view national debt, which is very high.  High Japanese national debt could be an indication of a disconnect between the Japanese citizenry and their government/represented officials.

The use of cell phones as an integrated means of communication, banking (being used as credit cards), GPS, and entertainment, is omnipresent.  Smart phone integration with the world of B2C is staggering, an example could be the 30,000,000 Japanese using an app which provides discounts to McDonalds.  That means ¼ of the population of Japan has McDonald’s sending them direct and relevant communications!  What I also find as amazing, is that fact that because of its sheer market potential and relevance, this already developed concept, in many ways represents a technology in its infancy.  

An interesting morning

Going to the docks this AM was a well worth the 4:30am wakeup call.  Three immaculate cabs rolled to the curb of our hotel to whisk us away; the ride, comfortable and brief. 

Tight roads at moderate speeds have never been so pacifying.  The overall feeling of the trip thus far has mirrored that sense of security and tranquility found in the cab ride, a feeling I was dumbfounded to recognize in a metropolis.  Honestly, I’m more anxious walking the streets of Bangor at midnight, than Tokyo.  

The plan was to watch the auctioning of recently caught tuna, which would have been a silent treat, watching hundreds of thousands of dollars (USD) spent on fatty fish.  But, for reasons outside our control, we were not afforded this unique opportunity.  Instead, we enjoyed a sushi breakfast and a tour of the small shops and fish mongers whose shops snaked the narrow allies surrounding the docks.  Breakfast was amazing, though they incorrectly took my order.  The resulting meal was 1000 yen more than expected, but to be honest well worth the added expense.

Samples on dirty street corners should be left unsampled. Enough said.

Yesterday’s adventures were both intense and worthwhile.  Intense mostly due to the fact we had lined up three meetings in one day. 

I found the most worthwhile the meeting with Michael Alfant, President of the ACCJ (The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan).  His insight into the entrepreneurial prerequisites in Japan, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), and international media, was striking.  But, of course not nearly as striking as the character which he exuded, which I personally enjoyed. 

Yesterday also included a meeting with Kazunori Suzuki, to discuss the economic  environment and Post Tsunami Recovery Issues of Japan; and a meeting with Mamie Ogawa and Shinya Nishimaki, to discuss the Itochu Corporation.  Both very interesting, though the last meeting of the day, regarding the Itochu Corp., I wish I had more energy to fully immerse myself in their presentation.   Suzuki sons presentation was really interesting, and the parallels between the US and Japan were, in a word, blatant.  I also saw a parallel in regards to neighbors, how we view our sometimes contentious relationship with Mexico is very much similar to the attitude the Japanese have toward China.

The night life in Japan is…  interesting.  I’ll defer to pictures to try to convey the experience.

Stereotypes smashed:

1.       Japanese people are considerably shorter than westerns

2.       Sushi is a staple of the Japanese diet

3.       Fish is the defacto protein over beef, pork and chicken

4.       Technology is an invasive part of the Japanese lifestyle

5.       Anime/cosplay is rampant

A long day...

Another day, another adventure.  But before sharing the day’s events, a mention of yesterday’s happenings should be made.  For me the highlight was a visit to Japan’s Imperial Palace.  Though we were not permitted entry into the palace itself, the guided informational tour of the gardens and palace provided an interesting look at eastern culture primarily relegated to footnotes.  The tour covered imposing buildings, manicured gardens, ancient carvings, and stone bridges, but also provided a vivid story to each element, which I personally appreciated.  The kicker was that the tour was gratis, making it a great investment of student capital.  High ROI for sure.  *What I found particularly interesting were the staffs meticulously tending to the maintenance of the grounds.  Though at this point it is becoming commonplace—seeing a work ethic which transcends simply “hardworking” and embodies a sense of duty is always captivating.  Even though their task was medial, you could see they were steadfast and resolved, and took great pride in completing it to the best of their abilities.  This trend is something I’ve noticed from those selling shaving beef on rice, to directors of major consulting orgs.  It just seems that no matter what station in life, they strive to prove their worth through earnestly trying.

Today was broken into two halves.  The first was a formal sit down with Intralink, a consulting group focusing on testing the water for up-and-coming VC represented orgs.  The second half was a meeting with Avaya, a multibillion dollar telecommunication company, whom was gracious enough to show us the future of interpersonal communication. 

Intralink contends with Japanese populous which, in and of itself, lacks (in large part) entrepreneurial motivation, primarily attributed to a cultural tendency of risk avoidance.  (Here the risk of failure embraces the idea of shame from being seen as failing in addition to monetary risk.)  Intranets model has to embrace American vc’s as to supply new tinder to test in the Japanese market.  This highly specialized activity demands an exceedingly narrow, i.e.  degree holding multilingual, salesmen primarily, pool of applicants to choose from. 

Avaya gave us a glimpse of the toys the US will enjoy in 20 years.  So, in that light, it was both marvelous and depressing.  The flat touch screen 3D projector stole the show; it will undoubtedly be showcased in a villain’s lair sooner rather than later.

(Sorry for any typos.)

Tokyo

We were solicited by a gentleman in a small hat to visit his basement bar last night.  *Turns out, if food is placed on your table without having been requested, it isn’t gratis.*

Aside from the bar, we were met by the best ramen I’ll ever had, san packet of salt.  Stewed creamy pork with fish roe is my new favorite! 

Everything is exceptionally clean which pairs well with the reserved yet polite nature of our Japanese hosts.  Another glaring difference between major US cities and this Japanese metropolis, is the hours in which Tokyo is in business.  We went out walking this morning, around 6:30AM, to discover nothing is open and only the occasional jogger on the street.  Quite strange.

JETRO was our first formal meeting.  Extremely gracious hosts, who took the time to explicate their role in Japanese FDI.  They did a great job conveying their message, it’s too bad we only had an hour of there time. 

PS.  I room with a tornado named jane.