Working in Japan

OK...two and a half weeks of working in Japan doesn't make me an expert by any means, but here are some observations from the conference room I've been cooped up in at the facility.

1) Company bus - Love this idea. The bus is in sync with the train schedule, thus we leave at 8:26 am in the morning after the 8:11 am train arrives from the Kawasaki station. You miss your train, you miss the bus. There are earlier departures in the morning, but we seem to be on the schedule to catch the 8:26 one. In the evening the last bus leaves at 6:25, which we usually take. But this last week of work, we're leaving at 6....barely.

2) Uniforms - This is a plant facility and I expected to see uniforms, but I didn't expect to see them on the office employees. The men wear shirts and suits on the bus in the morning, then change into a uniform of a light blue zippered jacket and slacks. The women wear a navy blue vest and matching skirt with white blouses and a flouncy bow tie with navy knee-high socks and loafers. They all look the same. Cute, but the same.

3) Exercise - Every morning at 8:40 am the sound of a grandfather clock chimes and a woman's voice says good morning and something else in Japanese. Then the piano begins playing and a booming male voice starts the exercise program. Ichi, ni, san, shi.....counting in Japanese. It's the same recording every day. It plays again at 3 pm. Today was the first day I happened to be in the hallway and saw people exercising. They're simple stretches - touch your toes, touch your shoulders and raise your arms, twist back and forth, etc. - but it was amusing to watch. It runs for about 8 minutes or so. Maybe I'll join them before I leave!

4) Cafeteria - The plant canteen offers 3 choices each day - a brown curry (Japanese love curry) with rice, noodles (usually cold soba or udon noodles...sometimes ramen), and the daily special with rice. Cost is 210 yen or about $2.10 US. A bowl of soup is included. Milk or coffee-flavored milk (yum!) is 60 yen. Total cost of my lunch is about $2.70. There is no cashier. We pay a vending machine and deposit tickets in a basket. We're usually in and out in 20 minutes. The food is decent. Some days better than others. I've had much worse at other locations - the food in our Germany operations suck (sorry Martine, but it's no better than airplane food) and Italy has the BEST food hands down.

What's great about eating at a canteen is that it's true local food. Some of this stuff I wouldn't have eaten if my Mom made it when I was growing up. For example, I dislike the slimy texture of yama imo (mountain potato). It's white and has the consistency of okra and I've avoided it as a child. But there it was on my plate of udon noodles and I ate it. I still don't like it, but I did eat it.

5) Employees - They're all kind and willing to endure my questioning and requests for documentation. It's been difficult communicating at times. Yesterday the gentleman I've been working with since I arrived told me that Accounts Payable (APAY) was sent the invoice. This was the first I had heard about the existence of an APAY department and I asked him where APAY was located. "Here," he replied. Then later in the afternoon when I asked again, he looked at me dumbfounded and said there was no APAY. Sigh! The joys of working in a different country where you don't speak the native language!