Blending in with the masses

Today I experienced first-hand what it feels like to work in Japan. My colleauge and I took the train to work. The hotel is across the street from 2 or 3 different train stations. The one that we take is about a 5-minute walk...along with all the other Japanese either walking to their train station or going to work. I took this photo after work, but it looked similar in the morning with twice as many people.

What struck me most was the sea of black hair, white shirts and black slacks. A splash of color was sorely needed. I now wish I packed a bright colored shirt so that I don't have to blend into the sameness that Japan is known for. The evening I arrived I noticed that everyone had black umbrellas, as if that was the only color available for purchase. Unfortunately, it's the rainy season in Japan and I forgot to bring an umbrella so I'll blend in even when it rains.

The train was clean, quiet and about $1.50 for a ticket. My colleague was actually silenced by a passenger because we were making small talk (he put his hand on her arm and shushed her, then sat down and closed his eyes). And so we learned that many use the time to sleep. Not surprising since some spend hours commuting. We have a guest auditor from Tokyo who lives in the far eastern part of the city, near Tokyo Disneyland. It takes him 2 hours each way and 4 train changes to get to work. Luckily this only a 3 week audit and he'll be back to a 1 hour commute to the office.

Upon arrival at our destination, we board a company bus to take us to the plant. It leaves at precisely 8:26 am. I made sure I synchronized my watch to their time. We missed the afernoon bus by a minute and ended up taking a taxi home rather than wait an hour for the next bus. The taxi cost $39 so I'm sure we'll be on time from now on!

This morning 4 Middle Eastern mafia-looking guys had breakfast in the hotel. Two of them wouldn't take their sunglasses off the entire time. They sat at the table behind us and didn't speak. They were oddly out of place. It'll be interesting to see if they're back tomorrow.

After dinner I stopped into Krispy Kreme and picked up a donut. How could I resist the "Hot Doughnuts Now" light? They pulled KK out of Texas and I have to come to Japan for my fix? Even better, they were giving away a free donut to eat while waiting in line. I only wanted one but ended up with two. What a great dessert!

The last words for today's blog will be "Coke Plus with Green Tea flavor." It was such an unusual combination that I HAD to buy one. I can't wait to try it tomorrow!