Day 64 : Good Book

This is a really good book I have been reading, its about the experiences of a western worker who worked at Mitsubishi, he was the only western employee at the time that lived in Japan. Its a great insight into the conservative world of Corporate Japan.

Day 63 : Rock Monument

Really cool monument in downtown, dont know what its for though, will find out soon

Day 62 : Comic Culture

Mural on a office building in Shinsaibashi. The love of comics here in Japan is more than anywhere else in the world, at any time of the day you can go to a convience store and see a lines of people reading comics in teh magazine section. This one caught my eye as its not drawn in the Japanese style, but rather classical American comic style.

Day 61 : Don Quixote

This is one of my favourite stores in Osaka, its 24 hours, and anythign you can imagine is avaialable, we need a wii controler at 2 am a while back and then we just hit up Don Quixote and we got it. Its in the middle of the entertainment district so its a bit expensive as I think its geared towards patrons who buy presents for all the Hostesses that work in this area in the Hostess Bars

Day 60 : Roller Coaster

This is a abandoned amusement park that was built around buildings and the roller coaster went through the buildings, this was a huge facility, however due to lack of public support and customers it has been shut down, however Spa World, a huge monstrous indoor swimming and water park is still open. Its open 24 hours just like everything else in Japan. The place has a very atlantean feel to it as its got this huge abandoned facility and then a monstrous water park there as well.

Day 59 : Lawyers

This is a picture of my Lawyer, Iganaki San and his assistant Gabrielle. Only in Japan will lawyers make a house call. Whe then decided after they visited to go to the city hall and get all my Japanese Bueraucracy taken care of. Got our Hankos (Offical Seals) certified, prepared our miarrage documents as well. God Bless the Japanese Work Ethic

Day 58 : Curved Escalators

Cool Mall out in Amera Mura, I really like the curved escalators in this building. Amazing Yakiniku (BBQ) place on the top floor. Kinda sucked for Holly however since she is now a vegitarian and this was the worst place to go out to dinner with a vegitarian, but there was a large group so majority rules.

Day 57 : River Crossing

This is one of the many rivers you have to cross to get into Osaka, this is a veiw from the train from Kyoto to Osaka

Day 56 : Osakako Station

This is the crosswalk that leads right to our front door from the subway station

Day 55 : Lights

Cool Lamposts in Amera Mura, Osaka.

Day 54 : Gearing Up

I have started to notice these posters all over the place. It seems strange that the Japanese people dont believe they have a military, they remind me its a "Self-Defence Force." However it seems that recent events in North Korea and many other international events are making the nessecity of the military being strengthened and rebuilt. I believe that Japan has every right to do what it wishes with its millitary regardless of past history. I dont think that past history is any way to decide who can and cant have a millitary. Japan is a sovreign nation and should be allowed to do what ever it wants with its own governmental policy. The US isnt told that it cant have a strong millitary based on its past historical aggression, so why should Japan?

Day 53 : Ugly Duckling

Today I saw what has to be one of the ugliest cars in existence, I don't know who makes this model and whats the specs but its really a shame that this is made and successfully sold to people. On the while Japanese cars are very well built and designed, but sometimes one or two seem to slip by. It seems to be designed to be a Hatchback which then wouldn't be so bad, but they added a little trunk on the back and its just ruins the whole car, so bad is teh trunk that everything else gets brought down with it.

Day 52 : Patterns

This is the pattern the tiles make in the subway stations around Osaka, I thought it would make a cool picture, once I get a proper Camera the quality of these pics will be much better, right now I am using a camera that is on my phone.

Day 51 : Road to Prosperity

This is a picture of the road I have to walk down to get to and from the subway station and the office. Mostly commercial properties and its quite amazing how there is no space at all wasted in the area, every square inch is being used for something productive and for something that is contributing to the GDP. Its this level of efficiency that has made Japan the 2nd largest economy in the and GDP of Osaka itself is larger than all of Canada.

Day 50 : Clock

This is the clocks they have at Subways stations, I have a fascination with clocks and watches and I really like the simplicity and elegance of this timepiece. This is quite common to many clocks in public places, plain and monochromatic. However for me what sticks out and makes this really nice is the Font and the Hands, they are designed with the same width and dimensions and they fit well together. Most people don't give clocks a second look, but it you look carefully and examine them there are many different features and subtleties that make on timepiece more appealing aesthetically than another.

Day 49 : Thoughts

I have always wondered what it would be like to hear peoples thoughts. I know this sound very much like that stupid Mel Gibson movie, but I don't think it would be like that at all. I think it would be absolutely fascinating to know the thoughts of people as they are just sitting around waiting on stuff. Like these two in the subway

Day 48 : Mondays

Back to the office today, nothing much interesting happened today, usual workday of meetings, report, paperwork and Excel.

Day 47 : Shipping and CO2

I saw a news story recently about a "New" technique being tried out for shipping, basically it was German company that designed a huge kite that was moored to a container ship and the kite used wind power to move the ship across the Atlantic. Now I don't think I was the only one who thought, wait a minute isn't this what we did for centuries?? We have already tired out using the wind as a source of energy and there was a reason we decided to abandon it in favor of something better namely fuel to be used as a propellant. I think that if we want to become more environmentally friendly we need to be a bit more creative than trying out something our ancestors did and gave up on. maybe a Solar Powered ship, or even better how about a Hydrogen powered ship that had the facilities on board to convert sea water to Hydrogen fuel.

I am one of the few people in the world that hasn't completely bought into the whole "Global Warming is caused by Man" theory, and I know its not popular to be on this side of the argument but I don't think that we humans are capable of changing such a huge ecosystem with production f a gas that that is a minuscule amount in the air composition. The fact that a volcanoes and the oceans put out more CO2 than we could every do should be considered. In addition the earth climate is always changing and we have had nothing to do with it. There is a really documentary out there that I think deserves to be shown and hyped up as much as Al Gores documentary, and its called The Great Global Warming Swindle.

I urge you to look at it with an open mind and then at least you should have heard the other side of the argument, which isn't comprised up of Oil Companies and Ignorants. There are many scientists and notable minds that are in the same boat as me and don't believe that we are the cause of climate change.

Day 46 : Armour

This is on my list of major purchases for the year, I am planning it out and I think I will get in the spring when I move to a new apartment. These are authentic Samurai armour and they come with a carrying case which also turns into a display mount so you can set it up anywhere. I also have to make it out to Seki, in Gifu prefecture (home of Kitana manufacturing for centuries) and get my Sword commissioned, however this is long process of paperwork, but once I get that all done it takes about 3 months for the blacksmith to design and make the sword, all using traditional techniques.

I am starting a collection of weapons of war from different time periods and cultures and I think that a Samurai Outfit and authentic sword will make a huge contribution to the collection which at this point has a Roman Knife, and a Yemeni Khanjar. The Roman Knife is ancient and it needs a bit of work to make it look presentable, but its an authentic piece of history. Many thanks to Patryk for smuggling it out of Europe and getting it to me in Canada, along with all the Roman Coins he found. In terms of academia I know its wrong to posses ancient artifacts as they should be in a museum or with some other such institution. However I want to start my own collection and there is no other way to have a collection other than to start acquiring items.

Day 45 : Ridding the Rails

I always find that soon as I get on the subway I start to get sleepy, I have no idea why. It happens at any time of the day too. Very strange link I have made in my brain with riding the Subway and falling asleep. I dont think I am the only one though as I often see other people passed out on the train and then they magically get up right before their stop.

Day 44 : Valentines Day

Today is Valentines Day, so me and Holly went to the Aquarium that is just down the street from our apartment, looks like this was a popular choice with the couples of Osaka. It was quite busy, however it was still possible to sit and watch the variety of marine life htey had there. The Aquarium here in Osaka is the largest in Asia and the highlight is one huge tank that is several stories tall that people circle around and through from the top of the Aquarium to the bottom. In the tank they had all kinds of marine life, but the biggest was the Whale Shark and the Giant Manta Ray.

I found the Jellyfish section to be the best, its strange how such things can exist as they dont seem to be made up of anything other than water. I know humans are mostly water, but we do have a brain and other organs, these just seem to be nothing but a jelly substance. Very Bizarre and very cool at the same time. Would love to have a Jellyfish Aquarium in the home someday, Im sure its reall hard to setup and maintain though.

A good Karl Pilkington Quote comes to mind

"Why not just turn the other 3% of a Jellyfish into water and make it more usefull"

Day 43 : Blade Runner

This is a picture from the Dotonbori area of Osaka, its a very commercial district with lots of restaurants and shops. This area is what is imagined by many to be quintessentially Japan. Lots of bright lights and neon signs. The one that is most recognizable is the Glico Running Man, and has become somewhat of a Osaka Landmark where people often now give directions based on the location on the Ad. This wall of Signs is parallel to one of the major canals that runs through Osaka.

Day 43 : Cool Facade

Was downtown today for a meeting and along the way I noticed this building. I love the design they have installed on the Facade of the building, the trade off is of course those offices don't have access to natural light.

Day 42 : What are these?

I see these things in all the subway stations sticking out of the roof, blink in various different colors and I have yet to figure out what these are broadcasting or picking up, I was thinking cellphone signals as there is reception underground but then its doesn't seem like these small devices could handle the data transfer, and also there is a frowning upon here when people use their phones on the trains. People find it very rude when people are talking on their phones around other people, so on the train its quiet with everyone on their phones, but emailing and texting each other. Which is in stark contrast to 3rd world countries where is an act to take pride in when talking on your phone in public. In Mexico its gone nuts with the Nextels where everyone around you hears the whole conversations all the time. I cant Stand the Nextel system at all, it's good in some cases but its ridiculous when try to have a proper conversation on it.

Day 41 : Mexican Memories

Had a great night last night over at Ivan and Eriks apartment. There was great Mexican food, and great times. Haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It reminded me a lot of our parties back in Canada where we all got together and cooked great food and ate and drank all night with The Gipsy Kings and other great music in the background. Seemed like that was a weekly ritual in Canada over at University Ave, or what became known as "The Mexican Ghetto", because for all the fun and great times that where had there, the house was an homage to a Crackhouse, yesterdays festivities where in a much much nicer place. The picture is one of Ivan playing guitar to Control Machete and eating a Quesadilla at the same time. Our attempts to play the board game Cranium failed miserably as well.

Day 40 : Snow!!!!

Woke up today to find that it was snowing here in Osaka. It the first real snow of the year here, and its bringing back all sorts of shitty memories of digging my car out of snow banks. Freezing all the time. I just mentioned how warm winter was here and then the next day this happens. This is the view from our apartment of the Monorail tracks

Day 39 : Winter Weather

Its now the dead of winter here in Osaka and its beautiful. After the Icy Hell of St John's this is like Club Med. The locals however are just as cold as we were in Canada. all huddled up and wrapped in layers of clothing. Its not just the locals however its pretty much everyone I met except for Canadians who like me are hanging out in t-shirts and jeans. At night it hits about a low of +6, and the day is around +12. This makes me think about how crazy Canadians are for living in those conditions as it is absolutely disgusting weather there in the winter.

Day 38 : Apartments

This is a pic from the front of my apartment during sunset. Its amazing how little space is wasted here. We are on an artificial island and there is no space wasted at all, there is even a apartment building being constructed between the building we are in and the neighbor. The space it will occupy is about the size of a 6 car parking lot.

Day 37: I've Won!!!

After about 6 months in Japan I have finally won my battle against one of the Japanese Corporate Giants. SoftBank is the 2nd largest phone operator here in Japan, they bought out Vodafone operations here in Japan and are growing steadily and are posting great profits. I have a curse of being stuck in situations with phone companies, back in Boarding School there was a huge mess with Bell Canada that involved me and my close group of friends being accused of fraud by Bell Canada to the tune of over $10,000 between us. Long Story. That was settled out of court and then the next one was with Rogers over a $400 bill, which was eventually settled. Then for the whole time I used Rogers there was a continuous flow of problems and arguments over bills with them some I won some they won. I HATE ROGERS BTW.

The last one I had to deal with was when Rogers first introduced TV on their phones. I got the system for free as an introduction offer, used it a little bit, but then the Novelty wore off and never used it. Whoever Rogers being the incompetent idiots they are after one day of having my new phone shut down my line stating I had to pay $500 after one day of use, after hours and hours of arguing it got nowhere and I needed the phone so I paid it and then decided I would fight them later. Next day same thing, I try to call and the computer recording states

"Your call has been forwarded to Rogers so that we may speak to you about your Account, please hold......"


I get on the phone with another idiot, and they say yeah you owe us $700 and then we can reconnect your account, and casual as nothing it out of the ordinary, she says :

"Can we go ahead and charge the same credit card as your last payment?"

I tell her hang on , are you nuts, what the hell is going on , yesterday I paid $500, today I paid $700, what tomorrow? $900?

They tell me that the charges are for the Data I am using on the phone, basically connecting to the internet. I told her I didnt connect to the internet and I didnt use up any data. She says well it says here you did. I realized that it wasnt going anywhere so I decide to use logic on the idiot. I ask how much is the charge per KB, and she tells me how much it is, so I quickly do a calculation in my head and the $500 and $700 charges if used for Data would mean that I had downloaded and upload about 2GB worth of Data on the phone. I tell her this and she doesnt flinch and says "I guess you did"

I then ask her if she knows how much data 2 GB are, and she says she isnt good with computers, so I tell her that its a fucking huge amount, and I also mention that my phone only has 512 MB of capacity to store info, so there was no physical way that the phone could store that much data.
Again the idiot states :

"Well the records show you did DL that much Data"

Realizing that this isnt going anywhere, I ask to speak to a supervisor and of course Rogers policy doesn't allow this. So I tell her everything again, and nothing gets through. So I hang up on her in a fit of rage. After an hour or so I calm down and I think about it again and I decide I am going to call Rogers back but not going to speak to the idiots are account receivable, but rather a fellow human being who understands the concepts of Data and Storage, AKA a Geek. I call up rogers but this time I head to Tech support. After waiting for the customary 30 mins on hold listening to Rogers propaganda, I get on the line with a technician, I explain the situation to him in the words he understands:

"Dude, look up my account and see the data section, it shows I downloaded 2GB in the past two days over a GPRS network, and am getting charged for it and my line has been cut."

He instantly sees that something is off, as he mentions, your phone can only hold 512MB, something isn't right, please hold. As he puts me on hold it I think about the incompetence of Rogers and then it dawns on me. The data was for the TV that I was watching via streaming, and the idiots over at Rogers hadn't figured out how to distinguish the TV data from other data. Soon as he comes back I mention this, and he says he agrees, he then tells me how they implemented this system and they didn't really know how to handle it. He then connects me to a supervisor who apologizes and says that they will reconnect my line, as for the $500 I paid before, he says that he cant refund it but will credit my account.

SO a few years later and a few more battles with Rogers I am in Japan and haven't got my internet hooked up at home, however I do have my sweet new Softbank phone which has Data capabilities, and in the sales persons broken English was told I have an unlimited data plan. So I hook up the phone to my laptop via USB and do some configurations and voila I am online using my phone as a modem. things going good, downloading torrents at 500KB/s.

Later next day get a call from softbank, they don't speak English, and I ask them to call back with an English operator. About an hour later I get the call and its a polite operator stating that I have racked up a bill of 300,000 Yen, which is about $3000. I ask how, she tells me by using the phone data connection. I explain to her I was told I have the unlimited plan, she agrees but states that it doesn't cover this type of connection, and I have to pay by the end of the month. I tell her NO, you said unlimited and I wasn't told that this wasn't allowed, supervisor pleas, she connects me through, go through the same conversation and they were so polite about it but stated I had to pay, I signed a contract and I had to pay. I told that I cant read Japanese and therefore the whole contract and also the staff at the store didnt explain this loophole to me. This goes on and on for an hour and I tell them ok ill get in touch with them soon.

After a few days I get some Japanese legal advice and am told that the contract is void as I dont understand Japanese and the contract was not understood by me, so the law is on my side. I call up softbank and tell them this and they still wont budge, then I mentioned I got a lawyer and if need be I will go to court as I know that I am right and they are wrong. They then change their stance and start offering me discounts and I dont budge.

So now 5 months later I still wont budge, but now Softbank has finally given up and said that they will remove all charges and I am off the hook. According ot everyone I talked to this is very rare for a large Japanese company to deal with as most Japanese would apologize and just pay up , never get a lawyer involved. But me being used to getting shit from Phone companies I decided that this was enough, no more shit from them. Funny thing is now when you get a new Softbank phone and you are a Gaijin, they stress over and over that its not included and also get you sign an English contract stating that you understand that the charges are different. So my little fight has resulted in a shift in Policy that is friendly to the customer, and now you dont get sucked in to all these hidden charges and scams that phone companies are notorious for pulling.

Day 36 : Thanks for Smoking

I think Japan is the last "Developed" Country that is left in which you can pretty much smoke wherever you want. And the few places you aren't allowed to smoke, people just don't care and smoke away, I am totally for Smokers rights, however there are some places that its just not polite to do so, such as in an elevator, which I have seen happen many times. Here there isn't really a smoking witch hunt like in North America, so you often see people smoking right next to no smoking signs. In Japan it seems that the laws are based on politeness rather than rights, I think its is perceived to be impolite to ask smokers to not smoke and then the places where people don't I think its because its considered rude to smoke there. Sounds like a good system to me

Day 35 : Big Wheel

The last picture I got of the Giant Ferris Wheel as it is called didn't come out so great, so when I was out today I got close up to it and got a proper shot of it. I really don't get the lure of a Ferris Wheel, to me certain things that people here in Japan love make no sense at all, Ferris Wheels, Pachinko, Karaoke are main ones I can think of now

Day 34 : Spaghetti Roads

This is a picture of the highways that intersect with the road and bridges at the entrance to the island on which we live. Its quite amazing how many different roads and highways meet at this one point, this picture doesn't show nearly all of the many roads and connections here, as the area is massive, Its quite a sight at night time to see all the cars and other vehicles all moving around this maze and mixed in there is a monorail track as well. All the roads are lit up on the edges and on the line dividers, its looks just like something out of Project Gotham Racing

Day 33 : Chongqing Spicy Hotpot

Went out for dinner with friend for some Chongqing Spicy Hotpot tonight. It has been a while since I ate this meal and I finally found a place here in Osaka that has it. how it works is you have a boiling pot of two sauces on your table that is heated up all night, what you do is put in whatever your eating and cook it right at your table, everything can be cooked in this, we had Shrimp, Beef, Chicken, Vegetables, Tofu, and many other things. The good thing about this restaurant was that is was all you can eat. We were there for a couple of hours and ate like royalty. The Red side is the Spicy sauce and the white is the creamy sauce, this is great way to spend a nice dinner with friends and family as its a long dinner that is very social in its nature as you cook the food and eat it all together at the table.

Day 32 : Ad Space

Its quite remarkable that here in Japan they can find a place to put ads up, They seem to be on every conceivable surface. The law regarding advertising locations are quite lax so its not surprising to see them everywhere, but what is surprising to see is that there is still space left for ads. We are taking advantage of this lack of advertising space, however it seems once we get that medium used up there wont be any more traditional places left for billboards and other static medium for advertising. Hence the drive for new and improved place and methods in this industry.

Day 31 : Street Scene

This is a typical street scene here in Osaka. Heavily lit up and squeaky clean. Quite opposite to many other cities which are characteristically dark and dirty. I think the main reason its so neat and clean is that the people who live in Osaka done really litter that much, and what little bit there is, its quickly cleaned up. In Doha its cleaned up daily also but its always seems to be litter everywhere.

Day 30 : Office Space

This is one of the office in our building. I was just thinking about how much humans have changed in terms of their work environment. We have moved from an environment where we were all working outside as hunters and gatherers to farmers and as a majority we were all working outside. the average productivity of a person was quite low, the person barely produced enough to feed themselves and their families. Now a days productivity has jumped light years ahead per person ( well most of us) that we can feed ourselves our families and many other people, namely those that are higher than you in the organization you work in and with taxes we feed those who don't work and also our government officials.

Day 29 : Signage

This is one of the many huge signs that light up Dotonbori, or as many people here refer to it as "The Big Crab Street" For anyone who comes to visit Osaka, Dotonbori is definitely a must see as its a good shopping and eating place. I heard a saying recently that :

"People from Kyoto spend their money on clothes. People from Osaka spend their money on Food and People from Tokyo spend their money on things to look at"

I think that this is very true, the food here in Osaka is really good especially the local octopus balls or Takoyaki. Really good stuff, however it is Nuclear level HOT and stays that way for hours, so be very careful when taking that first bite, it will melt the top of your mouth and since its gooey it will stick to it too.

Day 28: Conbini Food

One thing that truly makes life in Japan great is the Conbini Culture. This is Convenience Culture in English. You can go to any 24 Store and get basic groceries, household goods, and pay all of your bills, and many more things. They are located everywhere in Japan and also have good food for cheap there. This is an example of a chicken dish you get for $4.00, often eat these at work if I don't leave the office for lunch.

Day 27: Fire

Was surfing the net at home when Holly alerted me to the fact there was a huge fire across the street and subway station. We live in the Osakako area of Osaka, translates to Osaka Port. I was surprised that the fire didn't spread out much further than this one building, it was literally 4 mins before the fire dept showed up and had things under control. Love the levels of efficiency here.

Reminds me of how things are done in the third world. In Tripoli, Libya when I was about 10 I was sitting in my house playing NES, and then all of the sudden there was a massive explosion outside, the windows were blown in and the house shook incredibly. Me and Afif ran outside to see what had happened and we saw everyone in the neighborhood was out too, everyone looking to the sky for signs of fighter jets or bombers, as the US had bombed Libya just a few years before and the tensions were always high in those times. The one of our German neighbors pointed to what was a mushroom cloud, and shouted "Das ist wo der flughafen ist". Which translates to " That is were the airport is"

Later we find out that the the Fuel Depot at the airport caught on fire, the fire trucks showed up with no water in the their tanks, and then when they went back to their station to fill up they noticed that now it was on fire too. And then the whole place blew. Taking out most of the airport with it.

The explosion was gargantuan, it blew our windows in and we lived about 10 Km from the airport. Good old Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Civil Defense, protectors of the people, the shield against Zion. Useless, utterly useless. At first of course it was the Israelis who got blamed at first, but then it looked bad for the government that the great Libyan Air force couldn't have stopped Israeli jets so it was revealed it was an sabotage caused by the Jews. when the real news came out later it turned out it was an accident.

Day 26 : Lithuanian Gangsters

Today was another crazy night, was at an invite only party thrown by a friend in honor of him closing up his club and moving to a new location. Was a great time as usual, however things were a bit messy. I did meet two Lithuanians, I have never met people from this country before and the ones I did meet were two of the most different people I have ever encountered. I would like to go into details but its not right to put such personal stuff up on the Internet. . Another crazy weekend. Couldn't make it out to Kyoto cause of Holly, oh well will try again this coming weekend.

Day 25 : Tax Dollars and Toyota

Today had a great meeting with our Government representatives here in Japan. It seems that the level of assistance that they can offer to Canadian companies that are planning to move out of Canada is greater than the assistance they offer our companies back home. The officials told me that under their new mandate they are basically in a position to offer any kind of assistance that we ask for. In addition it seems the turn around time of our bureaucrats has gone down significantly, I will have all sorts of info that we request in our hands next week. So I was told today that anything we need just ask and they will try their best to assist. Using the embassy and the consulates as a networking medium is a great free tool as they has been dropping our name at major meetings all across Japan, and apparently the Ambassador loves our services and ideas that he himself mentioned us as an example of Canadian innovativeness to an association of the largest companies in the Kansai Economic Region.

Our new Conservative government back home has made Globalization of Canadian firms a priority, however at the same time to keep their constituents happy they are cutting costs everywhere they can. Our Consulate here in Osaka was shut down in a round of cost cutting measures and the nearest one is now in Nagoya. The major reason for this move was the fact that Toyota is based in Nagoya. Toyota makes up a large chunk of the bi lateral trade that is done between Canada and Japan. As a result our Trade Consuls are deep with the top people at Toyota. One of the Consuls told me today they are going to take our message and brochures to Toyota and setup a meeting with us and them. Its good to see our government is actually helping us out now, albeit that I have to leave Canada to see a concrete substantive example of this. Now if they could somehow offer the Universal Health care that we pay taxes for be applicable here I would be set.

Well its the weekend finally, social calendar is filling up quickly, got multiple events that me and Holly have been invited to. Looks like this weekend will be another fun fueled romp around the Kansai area, this time its off to parties in Osaka and Kyoto. I'm off to our kitchen now to grab some coffee to keep me awake and sharp as I finish off my weekly reports for the guys back in Canada. I put up a pic of our kitchen, its also done with the panoramic feature on the phone.

Day 24 : Secretaries

Today has been a busy day after relaxing yesterday. I got a meeting with the Senior Trade Consul from the Canadian Embassy coming down to Osaka for a meeting with us. This guy is basically their man in Japan for getting business going between our two great nations ( diplo speak). So have had to get stuff ready for the meeting. Will be trying to squeeze as much help from him and the Government of Canada out of him and try to make our Personal and Corporate Tax Dollar back home work for us for a change. I used to work for Industry Canada and that being apparently the more efficient govt agency, I am appalled at how bad the bureaucracy can be.

So to assist me with this and everything else we have been doing out here in Japan we have had to rely heavily on our three secretarial staff. They are a god send they know what I am thinking before I even know it myself and go out of their way to assist me in my day to day work. I used to think that this profession is no longer needed and is going to the shredder of history like a typist, but for foreign capitalized companies trying to do business abroad there will always be the need for this position. In addition to all the hard work they do and the long hours they spend they are the one of the nicest bunch of people I have met here in Japan. They follow the tradition of staying at the office late and only seem to leave when I do. I don't ask them to do this but they seem to be chilling out working in the Reception area till 8-10pm at night and are here at 8am every work day. God Bless them

The Picture I took above is from my new phone ( Post coming soon..). It has a cool Panoramic function that can link up multiple pictures and this was an attempt to get a shot of one side of the Secretary Station with that feature. Came out a little blurry.

Day 23 : Meditation

Not much happening today, took a day off from work as now I am in the waiting part of our venture. Waiting on documents to arrive from Canada to give to our lawyers here. Our company has now gone into meditation mode after our battles of the recent months. We are clearing our minds to be ready to battle more effectively at our next meeting.

Day 22 : Women Only

This is an example of how Japanese society, for all its modernization is still quite traditional when it comes to gender relations. This is no surprising as we are in Asia, and this is a common trend across all of Asia really. However here in Japan it seems a bit out of place. I think that the end of WWII forced a lot of "Modern" traditions and values on Japan by the United States. This imposition of a Western mindset on a centuries old Japanese mindset has led to a strange set of values here that don't seem to fit correctly in the moral landscape of Japan. In all aspects of the law women are equal and have the same rights as men, which is the way it should be. However in practice it doesn't seem to work out that way. Out of all the top Japanese corporations only one (Sanyo) is run by a female executive. In the office environment it seems that all the secretarial positions and other such careers. It seems that there is a very definite glass ceiling here in Japan and its a combination of an old mindset and also by the fact it seems lots of women look at jobs as a thing to do till you find a husband and then settle down for a life of homemaker. I don't think that there is anything wrong with this at all of course, but it seems like to me that Japan for all its modernity is still quite traditional in terms of gender issues, and therefore you find things like womens only trains on the subways.

Or I could be wrong and they have womens only trains not for traditional reasons but because Japanese men love to play Grab-Ass on the trains and this is the only "Honorable" way to keep it under wraps

Day 21 : Meetings

My daily work schedule is primarily made up of meetings. I never thought its possible to have this many meetings to discuss the same things over and over but it seems to be the Japanese way of doing business, meet over and over until there is nothing left to say to one another. The corporate culture in Japan is like no where else I have seen. I am comparing this to North American, European Middle Eastern and Latino corporate cultures. Japan is in a league of its own. In the Advertising industry things are about as competitive as things can get. Meetings with potential clients are a stressful and a battle of wits, balls and anything else you can fight with, while being utterly polite in every single way. Meetings have given me a great insight into Japanese Corporate culture and how things are done here. I got the basics from one of my favorite professors at university, Prof Aviv. She taught us the basics when dealing with Japanese and other foreign businessmen and executives.

The basics she taught include the most important , BE ON TIME ( this means by the second, two minutes late is the same as being two hours late)

The second thing she taught us was the whole business card exchange. This is a highly ritualized ceremony here. Hand your card with both hands, with it facing your opponent. Japanese Salarymen exchange business cards even before they shake hands or bow. Be certain your business card clearly states your rank. This will determine who your negotiating counterpart should be. Once you recive the card take time to appreciate it. I used to fake this at first, but now I truely admire the cards I get, noticing all sorts of minute details. The card is a subtle way of showing hte other person who you are and what you are. Once the Cards have been exchanged, DONT put it in your pants pocket. Hold on to it and place it on the table. This helps when you want to refer to someone by their name. Then you take your seats on both sides of the table. Often I think that this must be how peace treaties are hashed out and signed.

Once everyone is seated then your guarantor (person who introduces you to them) Stands up and gives a short speech, outlining who you are, what you do and what will be discussed. This is very important as this person has now Vouched for you in front of the other side. This is how meeting are setup, in Japan you cannot just call up and set up a meeting, you need to have a common link, someone who you know and they know and that will vouch for you. In our case we usually have JETRO ( Japan External Trade Organization) this is a division of METI ( Ministry of Econpmy, Trade and Industry) vouch for us. Vouching for a company in a meeting is sort of like in the Mafia, if anything goes wrong they are the ones who get blamed. This is often why many Gaijin Companies find it hard to operate in Japan as they try to do things the "International" way. This doesn't work here at all. You need a local Guarantor. To get one takes time and lots of confidence building and millions of meetings of their own. Once he is done he sits down.

Then its your turn, millions of thoughts run through your head, you tell yourself what to do and then all of the sudden bang your on autopilot. I burn through the power point slides with perfect speech elocution and speed, emphasizing the points of benefit and maintaing a calm and confident composure. The whole while you are speaking you hear your Interpreter repeating every word, gesture and mannerism in Japanese ( they may cost a shit load, but its worth it)
your mind pulls up a image of the scene from Kill Bill with O-Ren Ishii talking in English and Sofie Fatale translating to the Yakuza Bosses. You laugh inside and continue with the presentation.

Once the presentation is done you sit down and the other side now adjusts themselves in their seats, lets you drink some water to wet your parched throat. They have now a minute or two to ingest everything. You take this time to pass around samples and pictures of projects and services. The part you have just done is describe what is up for grabs and now the Battle will commence.

When meetings are carried out the seating position of the people at the table or boardroom has a lot to do with the position of the person in that particular chair. The Alpha of every party must be seated dead center. I found this confusing at first as I would often sit anywhere on the table and then would be invited to move to the center of one side of the table and the translators and advisers would sit around on both sides. In these meetings The ammunition is subtle prods and pokes at you personally and your company. This is standard in any business meeting around the world as there is a level of competition and one up manship. However the Japanese Executive is an expert in this field. Like a Samurai Armed with his trusty Kitana. With his steely eyed stare, masterful use of body language, and the constant reminders he will throw at you that you are in his Den (if you meet in their offices). Subtle hints, movements, posturing and sayings are constantly thrown at you and your company to test you and to show that they are on top of the situation and things will go their way. Under no circumstances should you back down and show any weakness, you have to strike back continuously but it must be done carefully and with a huge shit eating grin on your face. Each comeback must be respective, friendly, cordial and under the surface a direct hit at their ego and shame that their company is not the giant that they are vying to become. The moment you back down and show any signs of weakness or doubt its all over, they will continuously aim all their fire at the gap in your defenses.

Usually the first meeting it the hardest battle, where it has not been uncommon for a minute of starting in complete, time warping silence, where you just stare at each other and contemplate your next move. I thank NOVA for showing me this side of the Japanese behavior. It happened often in lessons a student would sit silently staring at you, this is when they are contemplating. If I hadn't been exposed to this before it could have turned out bad. Intimidation is the weapon of choice. This intimidation is done however with extreme politeness and cordiality. The meetings are a balancing act of respectfulness and intimidation, you cant come off as rude and arrogant, but at the same time you cant show any weakness at all.

A great tactic I learn't years ago was necessary in the meeting. Its similar to a Neutron bomb, takes out the enemies and leaves the rest of the infrastructure intact. I didnt want to use this but our defenses where taking a hammering and this could have been damaging and had to be stopped. I had to stop this Executive and his line of questioning immediately, and it worked like a precision guided missile. A Executive at one company we went and presented to kept hassling us on our lack of experience in the Japanese market and he had found a weakness in our front, as we are new company here and have not done any work here in Japan. This is a huge kink in our armor here in Japan. So I said Fuck it I'm taking this guy down in front of all his comrades as this is getting damaging. So I start scanning him all over and look for something I can use, I get to head and notice he is almost bald and has a horrible combover. This is the weakness in any man, no matter how powerful, the lack of hair is like a ventilation shaft on a death star. Target Aquired!!!!

Exectutive : Khan San, we are all impressed by your presentation and the services you could offer our company here in Osaka. We are honored that you have chosen Japan and our company as a potential partner in your international ventures. However I am concerned that such a project might not work as you smoothly here here in Japan. Things here are not the same as in Canada or Europe. Here we have different regulations for scaffolding...... ( long winded technical chatter)

Nabio : ..... San, your question and concern is a very valid one and I wish to allay your concerns. We have done all the research on this matter and have received all necessary information from the City and the Prefecture, sitting next to me is ..... San from the Osaka Prefecture Govt, he will inform you that we have spent many hours pouring over regulations and by laws and our services are well within legal, safety, and operating parameters ( The representative from the Osaka Prefecture nods with agreement)

Time to move in for the kill to shut down this line of questioning and this potentially harmful questions

Nabio : I thank you for bringing up this concern so that you and other members of your company can be assured that we are highly respectfull of local laws and practices and we will work within all local laws, precedures and customs.

Its a very good question and an important one as you want to make sure everything that is done in the project is done properly. I can assure you that this will be the case. (As I say this final important point I run my hand through my hair and look him dead in the eyes, BOOOM Asshole, Tomahawk through your fucking living room window)

He gets the hint, his cold expressionless face makes a slight adjustment as he leans back in his chair and nods and smiles nervously and looks to the CEO for help, (who has a full head of hair as well), Everyone at the table looks at him silently for about 3 seconds and the silence and then the CEO turns to me and says "OK that is good to know"

No more questions came out of the other guy after that and no more questions about that subject where brought up again. Just like Kill Bill off with the head of the intransigent Yakuza Boss, no more questions about our inexperience.

Subtle things like this are used through out the meetings and its quite exhausting, and something you do could jeopardize a lot of money and ruin a whole project, if your too over the top you could insult them and your ruined, if you appear weak when it comes time to negotiate prices and costs, you will be lost. The stress levels are high in these meeting, any signs of nervousness and weakness are used by the other side. If they smell any weakness on you its like Sharks with a wiff of blood, sends them into a feeding frenzy. Japanese companies don't mess around, in order to succeed here in Japan you have to be the absolute best at what you do or you will just get chewed up and spit out.

And I absolutely love it, I wouldn't give up this job for any other...

Day 20 : Sundaze

Last night was another crazy night of all nighter insanity at Oasis Lounge. Last week as actually a small closing party, Last night was the official closing party. Was packed like sardines, but it was a great time, got to see people hadn't seen in a while, Rik, Simon and Don and Yoshie. Had a great time, there was lots of memorable moments, great music, great company.

This picture is a building down in Umeda. Classic Govt building, I find my self now looking at things in a different light, before If I saw this building I would look at it from a viewer perspective and admire the architecture, or the grandeur of it. While this building doesn't really have anything special in those aspects, when I look at it from a point of view from our company its a great building. Prime location, the Facade is pointing in the right direction on all sides for our clients and it needs renovation. Our company turns construction and renovation sites into advertising medium and now I am continuously noticing and taking pictures of buildings in that light. Every building I see I think of potential projects.

Day 19 : Rising Sun

Finally the weekend is here, time for rest, relaxation and some free time. Since coming to Japan I have come to the realization that I am slowly becoming what people here refer to as a Salaryman. This transformation is taking place slowly and its not visible if you take a look at it from a daily perspective, but if you look at it from the monthly perspective you can see the changes. When I first came to Japan I was deeply rooted in the Gaijin side of life in Japan, easy work, short working hours, very very low productivity. Then came the collapse of NOVA and that lifestyle of the Eikawa Expat has all but gone the way of the Dodo. Now to survive in Japan as a Gaijin you need to get a real job, with real responsibilities, or you just cant make it here anymore, unlike with NOVA most people cant just chat with Japanese people as a daily job and make good money off it and enjoy life here in Japan. As a result about 80% of the people I first met when I came here have gone home, most of them had been here for a while and saw that it was the end of the easy life here in Japan and from then on things wouldn't be as easy, and it made more sense to go back home.

When I first came here to Japan, I had it in the back of my head that I was using NOVA just to get over to Japan secure things here initially and then look around for business opportunities. Japan being the 2nd largest economy in the world must have had something that I could get my hands on. After researching and burning through my contacts here in Japan and elsewhere, I did find my calling here in the Land of the Rising Sun. Advertising. By linking my contacts in Canada and my contacts here in Japan I was able to find a new market for a company in Canada and for my contacts here a great service that all parties will benefit from. So since I started working on that my working life has taken a dramatic shift and the transformation to Salaryman has begun.

The first change that is noticeable is how many hours I spend away from home. Before it was an average of 5-7 hours out of the apartment at work, now its jumped to sometimes 12 hours away from home. The other change is in my dress code, now I am wear a suit daily. I have worked in the corporate world before but it was in Canada and in Qatar. In Canada I was with Industry Canada, our Ministry of Industry. There the dress code was like all Govt jobs, business casual. In Qatar it was with the Danish oil giant Maersk. At Maersk I was in the IT dept and our dress code was also business casual, but this was mainly because of the heat of the desert and no body at the company wore suits, it was just as common to see a Thobe (traditional Arab long tunic) as it was to see khakis and a button down shirt. Now here in Japan its the uniform of the Salaryman I wear daily.

Another change I have noticed is that I pay attention to things I never really cared about before, namely Business Cards. Whenever I get new cards or Meishi as they are known here I pay close attention to all the details of the piece of paper, the weight, the texture, the writing font, if the text is raised, the colors used, etc.... Often I get Meishi Envy, particularly when meeting higher ups in a company, as there is hierarchy in the type of meishi you get at your company, the higher up you go the better your card. It gets heavier, different textures, and often your name will be raised off the card in a regal manner.

I have also begun to notice that when meetings are carried out the seating position of the people at the table or boardroom has a lot to do with the position of the person in that particular chair. The Alpha of every party must be seated dead center. I found this confusing at first as I would often sit anywhere on the table and then would be invited to move to the center of one side of the table and the translators and advisers would sit around on both sides. However this really seemed to apply to the first or second meeting, then you can know how you are perceived by the other party. It seems if they like you they will ask you to sit next to them as you discuss details, which is strange as you are talking to the person to your left or right and your translator and adviser will be across the table. This happened with one company and it seems the CEO seems to have taken a liking to me and my company, in his broken English he said he was very impressed that our company is jumping into one of the most shark infested waters of one of the most cutthroat industries (which is Advertising in Japan). He said that most foreign Ad Agencies stay way clear of Japan and the fact that we are willing to commit and fight the locals at their own game shows that we are very confident in our services and products and that is a great selling point to potential clients.

Getting into the corporate world of Japan is quite the culture shock but once you get into the groove its a lot of fun. Its highly rewarding and you get a great sense of accomplishment when you succeed at something here, if you can make it as a Gaijin in the world of the Samurai Salarymen, you can make it anywhere.There are many things that are changing slowly about me and will keep you all up to date on them. The transformation continues.......

Day 18 : 6 Month Anniversary

Today is the 6 Month Anniversary of our move to Japan from Canada. It seems like just yesterday we were all excited and in a rush to sell off all of our useless "stuff" that we had accumulated while living in St John's. It seems that is was just yesterday that we were saying goodbye to our good friends we had met over the years. Then like a wave our migration across the planet was underway, first stop was New York City. We had a great time and I got to meet up with an old friend Hector for a nice brunch in Greenwich Village.

Then from there it was off to Mexico City or DF as it is commonly known. Back again in the monster city that I love. My Spanish was still holding up which was surprising since i hadn't really used it in a whole year. It was like living in a sense of Deja Vu, same hotel on Avenida de Reforma, same sights, smell and sounds. We had spent 5 months in Mexico the year before. It was all so similar, but this time the throngs of protesters that had camped out on the Reforma had disappeared, vowing to continue the struggle from their homes and respective villages.

From DF it was off to Veracruz, also another overwhelming sense of Deja Vu as this is where I spent the bulk of my time the year before. same beaches, restaurants, food and people. Was like having a second serving of a perfect Arrachera Steak. When all the partying and fun was completed then it was off on our migration to the land of the Rising Sun. Veracruz by bus to DF. Spent the last day in Df wandering around Zona Rosa contemplating how different Japan was going to be to Mexico.

From DF it was off to LA, there we had a short stopover, some usual hassling by TSA officials and then on to our 14 1/2 flight across the Pacific. After what seemed to be a lifetime in a torture chair we finally arrived in Taipei, the first footstep in our adventure in the East. From Taipei it was a short hop off to Osaka, and we had finally arrived in our new homes for the adventure of living and making it in Japan.

So much has happened here in Japan since then that it will be put in other posts to this blog, but it puts a lot in perspective, we went from a view of the harbor in St John's to the view in the picture above in 6 Months.

Day 17 : Workout Machine

Another strange item being sold here in stores. This is from Yodobashi Camera. These are workout machines for your abs and core. What it does it that it moves like a mechanical bull and you sit and ride this seat and in the process you get an abs workout. I was skeptical so I tried it out, surprisingly it does work your stomach out pretty well. Not sure about all of them but the one I was on was quite a ride. Are available here for sale in North America.

Day 16: Laps

Saw these in Loft. Basically these are for lonely people who don't have a lap to rest on. Its soft like a pillow and are apparently really popular items here in Japan. There is a demographic problem that is hitting Japan these days. I read in the paper that this year is another record low for people under 20 yrs old. Its undeniable that there is an aging population here in Japan, but what is even more disturbing to the government is the fact that young people are becoming increasingly isolated and less and less people are getting together in relationships and this is adding to the demographic problems. The Japanese government and society has to come up with some solutions to this problem as this will undermine the country's economic wellbeing and societal make up. Immigration seems to be the best option in terms of economic benefits. You only allow the best and brightest from around the world in and they will contribute and help out the country. However this has many social aspects that the current society must come to terms with. The people of Japan must welcome some form of increased immigration in the short term to help counteract the demographic situation.