Category: Japanese Business Culture & Society

I read the English newspaper in the morning. It had an article on Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo. I found his initiative fascinating for Japan, almost uppity. He planned to charge banks a local tax of 3%. This would bring some money and power to local governments and break the overriding control of the central […]

In San Francisco in the 1970s, I bought a sewing machine at a garage sale. Sewing was just construction — carpentry without the splinters and purple thumbs. This machine referenced a complex time in the history of our two countries: printed were the words, “Made in Occupied Japan.” My guess was that after the war, […]

After a rest in my room, I went out to Shinjuku for dinner. The place still puzzled me. Thousands of Japanese young people cruised the streets for evening entertainment. It was like a flood of humanity pulsing from the train station, up the streets, into restaurants or onto walls and benches. I went toward a […]

I accompanied Ichihashi-san to a Tokyo trade show, scrambling along behind him as he navigated both metro and JR trains to arrive at a large pavilion. It was not well attended and we quickly found CTC’s booth — spartan by American standards. The information was there, but the presentation lacked the Las Vegas glitz. This […]

For dinner I walked from Shibuya station, outward. Worst case would be that I meandered around until the closing of the subway, at which time I would follow the stream of revelers like a dutiful lemming. After a bit of wandering I found myself in an area with large, open patios – rather unusual for […]

I had heard of tube hotels in Japan but had never seen one. Curious, I followed a sign and entered, asking the manager if I could see the accommodations. He didn’t catch my drift at first, but with enough pointing to my eyes and to the stairway, he agreed and led the way. On the […]

My train from Tokyo pulled into New Yokohama in the late afternoon. Exiting, I managed to find a bank of public phones and began an unsuccessful attempt to read the instructions. Using phones is a basic section of any travel guide. Still, I was confounded by the dialing sequence required. Repeatedly, the box would return […]

Fortunately this flight would take me to Narita directly; no stop at Haneda, the domestic airport near Tokyo. No need to figure out ground transport and luggage. Relaxing with this thought as the plane flew over Honshu, I reviewed my visit. I’d done a number of things right, not just in various conference rooms. I […]

At noon the next day I caught my train to Niseko. It was a pretty ride through forests and along the coast, the track running only meters from the water. I gathered there was no problem with heavy winds sweeping the water onto icy rails. I decided to break the ice with my seat partner, […]