Everything in Japan has a rule, a tradition, or a proper way that must be followed. From my experience, it is an order-based country and the people here like everything to follow the rules. This system seems to be thrown off by one minor contradiction: PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT SIDE OF THE FREAKING SIDEWALK TO WALK ON!
For the longest time I thought it was me. I tried the right side, I tried the left side, I even walked down the middle of the sidewalk, but I would ALWAYS end up almost running into someone as I went down the street. People seem to just walk haphazardly around on the sidewalks, and then glare at me no matter where I am. Throw in a few bikes weaving in and out, and you have a full fledged battle on your hands when going down the street.
I thought that I found the answer when I traveled to Osaka for the first time. In Tokyo, everyone stands on the left hand side of escalators and let people walk on the right, but Osaka was the opposite. This was explained to me in historic terms: Samurai warriors lived in the capital and went to the left to keep their swords (kept on left hip) from hitting other people. The people of Osaka were mainly accountants who carried around counting machines and wore kimonos. The kimono is open on the right hand side, so the people from Osaka would stay to the right to prevent pickpockets from robbing them.
It still didn't explain why the escalator norm does not continue once off the stairs, and why I keep dancing with people on the sidewalk. Today we asked two of our co-workers which side of the sidewalk was the proper one to use when walking. One replied "the left" and the other said "the right."
Sigh....
Monday, July 6, 2009
Catching up (again)
I have once again fallen into the cycle of traveling quite a bit and then becoming a couch potato when I get home. Now I have to catch up on almost an entire week's worth of activities...ugh
Not much to report from last Tuesday. We spent a few hours at work planning out what we wanted to see in some of the cities that we were going to go to, but didn't do much else. July 1st was the start of the fiscal year for the company, so everyone had more important things to do than worry about us.
On Wednesday morning we took off for Toyohashi to see the plant where all of the trains are made. It is a huge facility that not only produces the bullet train, but also over 30 different models for domestic use as well as export. The Toyohashi plant built the cars for rail in LA, Chicago, Maryland, and many other lines across the world. They currently have a final assembly plant in Milwaukee, so a few of the people we talked to had been to Wisconsin! We briefly talked about Miller beer and Brewers baseball :)
After our plant tour, we took another train to Nagoya to check in at the Marriott. The hotel is operated by a subsidiary of our company, and is located in the high rise above the train station. Known as one of the best business hotels in the country, the Marriott has cool views and nice rooms. Mine was on the 39th floor, and had a nice view of a fancy fashion school across the street.
My two favorite features were the fancy bathroom with a window looking over the spiral building across the street, and the sky lounge on the 52nd floor. We treated ourselves to some fancy drinks and some very sophisticated appetizers in the form of french fried potatoes (fancy, eh?) There was a piano+singer duet that "just flew in from Saigon for a few weeks" playing in the lounge, and we watched a storm form out the windows. Here we are acting like we are really cool in the elevator.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and took a local train to Takayama, a mountainous city located at the geographic center of Japan. We checked into another company owned hotel, and sat down for a lecture on the hotel business and local tourism. After the lecture, we were treated to an amazing 7 course dinner in the hotel's restaurant. The main course was Hida beef, a local specialty that was cooked right at the table, and melted in your mouth.
Here is the view from my room:
After dinner I decided to check out the main attraction for the hotel, the traditional Japanese baths (onsen) that overlooked the mountains. There are two floors, one for men and one for women, with a variety of different hot baths and pools to sit in. It was nice and relaxing once I got used to naked Japanese men walking all over the place. The baths are traditionally taken in the nude, except for the small towel that many wear on their head to keep dry. Here I am with my towel:
As I was short on pockets, I did not bring my camera to the bath, but here is a picture that I stole off of their website. Same view, but no snow when we were there:
The next morning we explored town for a few hours before our train ride back to Tokyo. We checked out a morning market, the old private homes, a historical government building, and a replica folk village. It made me feel like I was at Old World Wisconsin.
The train ride back was pretty empty, so I switched some seats out and relaxed:
The next day was the 4th of July, so Mike and I decided to go back to America. Since that was logistically difficult, we settled for going to Yokosuka, a town about an hour out of Tokyo and the home of the United States Seventh Fleet. They had a big celebration going on, and we got settled in just in time for a great firework show over the water. Even more impressive than the fireworks was the Japanese turnout for the American celebration. One local man heard me cheering and brought me a 24oz (non-alcoholic!) beer as a gift. It was very touching and will also allow me to add international ambassador to my resume.
After the show we went down to Club Alliance to pretend we were back in the United States. We conversed with people in English, ate hamburgers, and drank Miller Lite. They even had red, white, and blue drinks! I added a tiny American flag to one of my drinks (you can barely see it in the picture below), and then took off to catch a train ride home before service ended. The celebration was fun, but neither of us wanted to miss the last train and sleep in the park.
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I finished watching season one of The Sopranos, and went to mass in Roppongi again.
Today was our first day of station staff duty, aka actual work. We met at Tokyo Station, changed into uniforms, and had an all day crash course on how to be a good station staff member. After a thorough tour of the station we received lessons in bowing, important Japanese phrases, and how to wear a uniform. After learning how to do a proper salute, I was more convinced than ever that the train company is actually a secret military force in disguise.
Tomorrow we have one more day of lessons and video watching before they will let us near real customers. I guess that is not entirely true though, as Edson and I attempted to help a Finnish woman and her daughter who were lost in the station during our tour. Sure, most foreign visitors speak English, but that didn't mean we knew anything about how to help her find her train. Fortunately for us, one of the girls we were working with also spoke English and was there when we tried being helpful.
Well, I guess I have one more day to memorize the platform layout and the name of every station in the greater Tokyo area..
Not much to report from last Tuesday. We spent a few hours at work planning out what we wanted to see in some of the cities that we were going to go to, but didn't do much else. July 1st was the start of the fiscal year for the company, so everyone had more important things to do than worry about us.
On Wednesday morning we took off for Toyohashi to see the plant where all of the trains are made. It is a huge facility that not only produces the bullet train, but also over 30 different models for domestic use as well as export. The Toyohashi plant built the cars for rail in LA, Chicago, Maryland, and many other lines across the world. They currently have a final assembly plant in Milwaukee, so a few of the people we talked to had been to Wisconsin! We briefly talked about Miller beer and Brewers baseball :)
After our plant tour, we took another train to Nagoya to check in at the Marriott. The hotel is operated by a subsidiary of our company, and is located in the high rise above the train station. Known as one of the best business hotels in the country, the Marriott has cool views and nice rooms. Mine was on the 39th floor, and had a nice view of a fancy fashion school across the street.
My two favorite features were the fancy bathroom with a window looking over the spiral building across the street, and the sky lounge on the 52nd floor. We treated ourselves to some fancy drinks and some very sophisticated appetizers in the form of french fried potatoes (fancy, eh?) There was a piano+singer duet that "just flew in from Saigon for a few weeks" playing in the lounge, and we watched a storm form out the windows. Here we are acting like we are really cool in the elevator.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and took a local train to Takayama, a mountainous city located at the geographic center of Japan. We checked into another company owned hotel, and sat down for a lecture on the hotel business and local tourism. After the lecture, we were treated to an amazing 7 course dinner in the hotel's restaurant. The main course was Hida beef, a local specialty that was cooked right at the table, and melted in your mouth.
Here is the view from my room:
After dinner I decided to check out the main attraction for the hotel, the traditional Japanese baths (onsen) that overlooked the mountains. There are two floors, one for men and one for women, with a variety of different hot baths and pools to sit in. It was nice and relaxing once I got used to naked Japanese men walking all over the place. The baths are traditionally taken in the nude, except for the small towel that many wear on their head to keep dry. Here I am with my towel:
As I was short on pockets, I did not bring my camera to the bath, but here is a picture that I stole off of their website. Same view, but no snow when we were there:
The next morning we explored town for a few hours before our train ride back to Tokyo. We checked out a morning market, the old private homes, a historical government building, and a replica folk village. It made me feel like I was at Old World Wisconsin.
The train ride back was pretty empty, so I switched some seats out and relaxed:
The next day was the 4th of July, so Mike and I decided to go back to America. Since that was logistically difficult, we settled for going to Yokosuka, a town about an hour out of Tokyo and the home of the United States Seventh Fleet. They had a big celebration going on, and we got settled in just in time for a great firework show over the water. Even more impressive than the fireworks was the Japanese turnout for the American celebration. One local man heard me cheering and brought me a 24oz (non-alcoholic!) beer as a gift. It was very touching and will also allow me to add international ambassador to my resume.
After the show we went down to Club Alliance to pretend we were back in the United States. We conversed with people in English, ate hamburgers, and drank Miller Lite. They even had red, white, and blue drinks! I added a tiny American flag to one of my drinks (you can barely see it in the picture below), and then took off to catch a train ride home before service ended. The celebration was fun, but neither of us wanted to miss the last train and sleep in the park.
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I finished watching season one of The Sopranos, and went to mass in Roppongi again.
Today was our first day of station staff duty, aka actual work. We met at Tokyo Station, changed into uniforms, and had an all day crash course on how to be a good station staff member. After a thorough tour of the station we received lessons in bowing, important Japanese phrases, and how to wear a uniform. After learning how to do a proper salute, I was more convinced than ever that the train company is actually a secret military force in disguise.
Tomorrow we have one more day of lessons and video watching before they will let us near real customers. I guess that is not entirely true though, as Edson and I attempted to help a Finnish woman and her daughter who were lost in the station during our tour. Sure, most foreign visitors speak English, but that didn't mean we knew anything about how to help her find her train. Fortunately for us, one of the girls we were working with also spoke English and was there when we tried being helpful.
Well, I guess I have one more day to memorize the platform layout and the name of every station in the greater Tokyo area..
Intergalactic-Planetary, Planetary-Intergalactic
As Josh pointed out in the comments earlier, our work uniforms look quite similar to those worn by the Beastie Boys in their intergalactic music video. There is good reason for this, as their costumes are modeled after Japanese construction workers, and the entire video was shot in Japan. Many of the stations that we work at and trains that we take are used as the setting. Below is our tribute to the group:
If I can find the exact outfits and a video camera, we will recreate the entire video one of these weekends....
If I can find the exact outfits and a video camera, we will recreate the entire video one of these weekends....
Monday, June 29, 2009
The hard life (a grueling day at work)
Today we had to be at work at 11am, an early hour that people were not meant to be awake for. I forced myself to get up before noon (I actually got up at 6am) and got to work on time. We had some "research time," where we got to plan what sights we wanted to see in Takayama. By this time we had worked up quite the appetite, so we went and bought lunch in the station.
After lunch we met at the Shinkansen platform to travel to Mishima, a town 120km outside of Tokyo. We arrived 37 minutes later and walked to the Mishima Training Center. This is one of two centers where new employees have their intensive two month training program, as well as where current employees return for periodic classes. The grounds are pretty cool, the highlight being the spectacular view of Mt. Fuji to the West.
We met with the directors of the facility, and learned a bit more about training at the facility and the daily life of the students. My basic impression was that it was a combination of being in high school, in the military, and at work all at the same time. There were 8 class periods every day, a strict schedule (don't be late!), and compulsory physical fitness (including a 20mi hike).
Dorms are right at the facility, which can handle over 1,000 students at any one time. It is most busy in the spring, as most of their new hires come directly out of high school or college. They definitely have a large production, and take their training very seriously.
After our tour, we took the train back to Tokyo and were done for the day. I told you it was a grueling work day.
After lunch we met at the Shinkansen platform to travel to Mishima, a town 120km outside of Tokyo. We arrived 37 minutes later and walked to the Mishima Training Center. This is one of two centers where new employees have their intensive two month training program, as well as where current employees return for periodic classes. The grounds are pretty cool, the highlight being the spectacular view of Mt. Fuji to the West.
We met with the directors of the facility, and learned a bit more about training at the facility and the daily life of the students. My basic impression was that it was a combination of being in high school, in the military, and at work all at the same time. There were 8 class periods every day, a strict schedule (don't be late!), and compulsory physical fitness (including a 20mi hike).
Dorms are right at the facility, which can handle over 1,000 students at any one time. It is most busy in the spring, as most of their new hires come directly out of high school or college. They definitely have a large production, and take their training very seriously.
After our tour, we took the train back to Tokyo and were done for the day. I told you it was a grueling work day.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
It's hot out
...and humid. I am staying inside and watching movies in the air conditioning today.
On a related note, it is going to be hot and humid for the rest of the month and I am not looking forward to wearing a suit every day.
Most companies in Tokyo have adopted the national "Cool Biz" campaign which allows employees to wear short sleeve shirts and no tie to work. This is nice and cool for employees and drastically reduces the electric bills and carbon footprint of the companies. Guess which company isn't participating...
On days when we are walking around a lot I hate it, but it is pretty nice to be able to go to an air conditioned office when we have to work in the building. 82 degrees indoors doesn't sound like much fun no matter what you are wearing.
On a related note, it is going to be hot and humid for the rest of the month and I am not looking forward to wearing a suit every day.
Most companies in Tokyo have adopted the national "Cool Biz" campaign which allows employees to wear short sleeve shirts and no tie to work. This is nice and cool for employees and drastically reduces the electric bills and carbon footprint of the companies. Guess which company isn't participating...
On days when we are walking around a lot I hate it, but it is pretty nice to be able to go to an air conditioned office when we have to work in the building. 82 degrees indoors doesn't sound like much fun no matter what you are wearing.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Maintenance and Hamamatsu
After breakfast on Wednesday, we met up with some employees from the Rail Center and Track Maintenance Department. We had a very special opportunity to see the rail lines up close and personal during normal operating hours. With trains traveling at 270km/hr, they are obviously very concerned with keeping people far away. We were two feet away:
After watching trains and learning about the tracks we had lunch and then learned about how the rail lines are maintained every night. There is a lot of crazy heavy duty equipment and many hours of work involved. We then went to the rail yard, which is where they make precision welds to create flawless 200m long sections of track. The rail yard was flying an American flag for us when we arrived. Below is a picture of it, as well as me working in the yard and a sample of what a stack of rail looks like.
For dinner that night we went out to a local restaurant called Boss Burger, which had big screen TVs and country music blaring over the speakers. The burger was good, but I don't think it was big enough to be called The Boss.
The next morning we had free time, as we would not be going to work until late at night. We checked out of the hotel and explored town. Below is a picture of Hamamatsu Castle. It was first built around 400 years ago, and was the site of many battles. I also made my way to an air base and museum where I got to see a lot of cool planes flying and on display.
At night we got a chance to see track maintenance firsthand. The shift starts at 11PM with a briefing on the night's work. By midnight the trains are done running, and the crew heads out to the tracks. We got to see the process for replacing ballast, the rocks underneath the tracks. As many trains pass over the ballast slowly gets crushed and must be replaced to ensure a smooth and even ride. Work goes until just before trains start running again at 6am, but we only stayed out until 3.
After watching trains and learning about the tracks we had lunch and then learned about how the rail lines are maintained every night. There is a lot of crazy heavy duty equipment and many hours of work involved. We then went to the rail yard, which is where they make precision welds to create flawless 200m long sections of track. The rail yard was flying an American flag for us when we arrived. Below is a picture of it, as well as me working in the yard and a sample of what a stack of rail looks like.
For dinner that night we went out to a local restaurant called Boss Burger, which had big screen TVs and country music blaring over the speakers. The burger was good, but I don't think it was big enough to be called The Boss.
The next morning we had free time, as we would not be going to work until late at night. We checked out of the hotel and explored town. Below is a picture of Hamamatsu Castle. It was first built around 400 years ago, and was the site of many battles. I also made my way to an air base and museum where I got to see a lot of cool planes flying and on display.
At night we got a chance to see track maintenance firsthand. The shift starts at 11PM with a briefing on the night's work. By midnight the trains are done running, and the crew heads out to the tracks. We got to see the process for replacing ballast, the rocks underneath the tracks. As many trains pass over the ballast slowly gets crushed and must be replaced to ensure a smooth and even ride. Work goes until just before trains start running again at 6am, but we only stayed out until 3.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I am still alive
Ok, I realize it has been a few days since I have posted so here is the update:
Last Friday we checked out the Tokyo Metro line, which consists of 9 different subway lines crisscrossing the city. Our presentation was given by an American woman from New York. It was almost weird listening to a native English give a presentation, but we learned a lot about their routes and business model. The Tokyo Metro receives most of their capital from the city of Tokyo, but is in the process of becoming completely privately owned. The most interesting thing about the subway line is that it shares rail lines with 2 or 3 other private train companies. Passengers can ride on one train across the different territories without getting off. Only the drivers change as the trains move from one company's zone to another. Great for the passengers, but I am glad I am not the guy trying to coordinate the schedules of 3 train companies on one line.
After the lecture we had lunch and checked out Old Tokyo. Here I am by a temple. Besides Roppongi, Old Tokyo had the highest concentration of foreign travelers that I have seen since I got here. Once lunch was over, we took the subway across the city to check out the newest Tokyo Metro line and some of their newly renovated stations.
This weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday night we stayed in and watched movies. Then Kazuma and his girlfriend came over and we listened to old American songs and sang along. On Saturday, I met up with Adam, the brother of my co-worker in Wisconsin (Sam). We met at "What the Dickens," a British pub located smack dab in the middle of Tokyo. It just so happens that some of his college buddies also live in Japan, and I got to see their band play that night. The guys are all from Minnesota so we got to talk sports a bit. I am going to meet one of the guys for lunch sometime, and am planning on going to a Japanese baseball game with Adam on July 10th.
On the way back home, I rushed to get the last train (with a quick stop to grab a burger at Wendy's) and made it at the last minute. I was pretty bummed when I found out the train stopped for the night at the stop before mine, but within walking distance. When I got off the train everyone started running towards a different platform, so I followed. There was one more train there, but it was already very packed. I barely squeezed myself in, and was followed by a few more people that somehow also squeezed in. I ended up in the middle of the train. I was very pleased with myself until the train started moving...the wrong way. So much for following the crowd. Now two stops and a few miles from home, I took a $20 cab ride back to my place.
Stayed in the apartment all day Sunday and watched movies...
On Monday morning, we took off for Hamamatsu. We had a lecture on the operations of the Hamamatsu workshop and then took off for our hotel. We checked into the Grand Hotel Hamamatsu, and explored the town a bit. There isn't a whole lot here, but it is still a fairly large city with the usual shopping and restaurants. We had dinner at a local chain, and dessert at a Mister Donut. Apparently Mister Donut used to be a huge competitor for Dunkin Donuts in the US, until DD bought them out. They now mainly operate in Asia and El Salvador.
Today we went back to the workshop, which specializes in the complete overhaul of the Shinkansen trains every 1.2 million km. One of the trains was just getting done, so we got to tag along for the test run to Nagoya. The train was loaded with sensors and computers to make sure everything was working correctly. We ate lunch on the train, which was probably the fanciest bento box ever eaten on a train. It was amazing. The main course was eel, a local Hamamatsu speciality.
I think you are about caught up now. I am back in the hotel room this evening just watching some movies. Tomorrow I get to wear this fancy getup and learn about repairing rail lines:
Last Friday we checked out the Tokyo Metro line, which consists of 9 different subway lines crisscrossing the city. Our presentation was given by an American woman from New York. It was almost weird listening to a native English give a presentation, but we learned a lot about their routes and business model. The Tokyo Metro receives most of their capital from the city of Tokyo, but is in the process of becoming completely privately owned. The most interesting thing about the subway line is that it shares rail lines with 2 or 3 other private train companies. Passengers can ride on one train across the different territories without getting off. Only the drivers change as the trains move from one company's zone to another. Great for the passengers, but I am glad I am not the guy trying to coordinate the schedules of 3 train companies on one line.
After the lecture we had lunch and checked out Old Tokyo. Here I am by a temple. Besides Roppongi, Old Tokyo had the highest concentration of foreign travelers that I have seen since I got here. Once lunch was over, we took the subway across the city to check out the newest Tokyo Metro line and some of their newly renovated stations.
This weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday night we stayed in and watched movies. Then Kazuma and his girlfriend came over and we listened to old American songs and sang along. On Saturday, I met up with Adam, the brother of my co-worker in Wisconsin (Sam). We met at "What the Dickens," a British pub located smack dab in the middle of Tokyo. It just so happens that some of his college buddies also live in Japan, and I got to see their band play that night. The guys are all from Minnesota so we got to talk sports a bit. I am going to meet one of the guys for lunch sometime, and am planning on going to a Japanese baseball game with Adam on July 10th.
On the way back home, I rushed to get the last train (with a quick stop to grab a burger at Wendy's) and made it at the last minute. I was pretty bummed when I found out the train stopped for the night at the stop before mine, but within walking distance. When I got off the train everyone started running towards a different platform, so I followed. There was one more train there, but it was already very packed. I barely squeezed myself in, and was followed by a few more people that somehow also squeezed in. I ended up in the middle of the train. I was very pleased with myself until the train started moving...the wrong way. So much for following the crowd. Now two stops and a few miles from home, I took a $20 cab ride back to my place.
Stayed in the apartment all day Sunday and watched movies...
On Monday morning, we took off for Hamamatsu. We had a lecture on the operations of the Hamamatsu workshop and then took off for our hotel. We checked into the Grand Hotel Hamamatsu, and explored the town a bit. There isn't a whole lot here, but it is still a fairly large city with the usual shopping and restaurants. We had dinner at a local chain, and dessert at a Mister Donut. Apparently Mister Donut used to be a huge competitor for Dunkin Donuts in the US, until DD bought them out. They now mainly operate in Asia and El Salvador.
Today we went back to the workshop, which specializes in the complete overhaul of the Shinkansen trains every 1.2 million km. One of the trains was just getting done, so we got to tag along for the test run to Nagoya. The train was loaded with sensors and computers to make sure everything was working correctly. We ate lunch on the train, which was probably the fanciest bento box ever eaten on a train. It was amazing. The main course was eel, a local Hamamatsu speciality.
I think you are about caught up now. I am back in the hotel room this evening just watching some movies. Tomorrow I get to wear this fancy getup and learn about repairing rail lines:
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