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.

Day 15 : Walk Home

On the walk from my office to the Subway station there is this Spanish looking building that is completely out of place. All the buildings around this one are the classic Japanese corporate buildings or apartments. Minimum 10 stores tall, sleek, with steel and glass or tiles. This building sticks out nicely in the area however, all the trees are lit up Xmass style and it gives a nice bit of color and character to the area.

Day 14 : Trees

I have never seen this anywhere else in the world. You can see from pictures from the Port that there are Palm trees and leafless cold weather trees. I never thought that Palm trees could survive in weather like the winters here. It gets to about -2 C in the winter the coldest day. In the summer however its jumps to a very Khaleeji 40 C and crazy levels of humidity just like in the Gulf. I might just be biased in thinking Palm trees cant survive after spending winters in Canada where the icy death touch of winter wont let anything survive outside.

Day 13 : Sleep

Made it out to Josh's place after an all nighter out in Osaka and Kobe. Ended up crashing on his couch for about an hour before we went out for Lunch at Papillion and then home. Aya and Josh came with us and chilled out all day with us playing Wii and watching movies. Had a great dinner of Naan and Butter Chicken courtesy of Holly.

Day 12 : Oasis

Today was a crazy night, we went to the closing party of Oasis out in Miyakojima. Was a really nice place, its a shame we only got out to here at the last night they are open. They are now expanding and looking to find a new more central location and a larger venue. Was here till 1 am and then we drove down to Kobe to Troop Cafe to check out another DJ set and then pilled up with the DJ and friends and equipment and drove back to Osaka for the rest of the night, got back around 4 am. Ended up leaving Oasis at 8am. Finally made it home at 2pm after meeting up with other friends.Exhausted!!!!!

Day 11 : Big Wheel

We live in Osakako, which is the Port of Osaka. This was a really seedy area a while back but in the 90s the city undertook a renewal project and really cleaned things up, lots of nice new apartment buildings and is a very popular tourist area with Gaijin and Japanese people as well. One of the major attractions is the massive ferris wheel just down the street from our apartment, as well there is the Suntory Museum, Aquarium, IMAX Theater, and Tempozan. Tempozan is the smallest mountain in Japan. I don't know whats the difference from the mountain and a hill but apparently this is famous all around Japan for being the smallest mountain here. This is a view from one side of the apartment.

Day 10 : New View

This is the view I now see for more than 8 hours a day. We moved to our new corporate HQ in the Edobori Center Building. We now are officially in our own office and are up and running. The more we progress the more work I get pilled with. Our sister office is at the Hilton Plaza West. This is where Holly might soon start working as well. We use the other office mainly for meetings with clients who are from out of town as that location is much easier to access from the Bullet Train station and the Airport. The office is really bare and empty at the moment so am planning to get Holly to paint me more paintings for the office to brighten the place up a bit.

Day 9 : Interview

Holly had an interview with Gaba today in their office at the Hilton Plaza Umeda. I had a meeting there also so we went together. Its a really nice office space they got there, lots of windows and a nice view of the city. Holly said the interview went well and she likes the system they have there where you make your own schedule and therefore your own work week. So she can have a nice relaxed schedule.

Day 8 : Sega Driving School

After work Holly and I went out for dinner, while we were waiting on a friend we ducked into a local Game Centre. They had this game called Sega Driving School. Basically its a road test, you get and loose points on how you drive, doesn't sound like fun but it surprisingly is as the game is ultra realistic. You loose points if you don't put on your seatbelt, etc.. just like a road test. The game setup is very realistic with speedometer, tachometer, indicators, lights, automatic gears and also a handbrake. Holly went first and lost control and pinned a pedestrian into a light pole. I went next and did a bit better but I failed the test as I missed some road sign in Japanese. Thank God to get a Japanese license its very easy for me to get as I have a Canadian license, all it takes is short road test around a track.

Day 7: Maybach

I had to go to WTC for a meeting today and when I was in the lobby a Maybach pulled up, some CEO or Govt Official was coming to the building for work I guess. This is such a sweet car, and here in Japan where everything is tiny, this leviathan towers over the local Japanese cars. Its about twice as long as the average Japanese car. High rollers and people with high status here in Japan seem to love foreign (well European) cars even thought they will never admit that they are better that Japanese cars, and will argue that fact for hours on end. When you ask them why they are driving a European car if they are inferior to Japanese cars they will make up some excuse like the company got it for me or it was cheaper, etc....

Day 6 : Returning to the Scene

This is a picture of the WTC Cosomostower. This is where we had our New Years Party, up on the roof of the Tower. Its 55 Stories tall and was built in 1995. I often have to come here for work and its a great building, nice little mall in the basement, however almost everywhere in Japan has a Mall underground.

Day 5 : Order

One of the first things foreigners (Gaijin in Japanese) will notice about train/subway travel here in Japan is how calm and orderly people are when using the trains. When a train arrives people are lined up in two rows to get on the carriage, no pushing or shoving, everyone politely waits for the passengers to get off and then everyone gets on in a neat orderly fashion in two lines. Their elementary teachers would be proud that the lining up skills they taught in school are still being used by adults. All very robotic.

Day 4 : Amalgamation of Technology

One thing I truly love about Japan is how there is a push for combining all sorts of personal technology into one single device. The cellphones in Japan are years ahead of the rest of the word in terms of additional features besides phone calls. All phones here have email on the phones, in addition to SMS, MMS, etc... Internet accessibility, not just for WAP sites, but also for full blown websites, Digital TV off the 1SEG broadcast, so tis not using data or internet streaming, its off the airways, and the phones have built in digital video recorders so you can record your favorite shows and then transfer them to your PC later on. The phones have a two way radio system built in like the Nextel System. In addition phones have smart GPS systems that are linked to buses and trains and will give you the best options to get anywhere from your current location based on walking, driving and public transportation, it will also tell you where the train is at the moment so you can plan and see if you will make it to the train in time.

Then there are a plethora of additional features that each company has such as Text translation from Japanese to other languages via the cameras on the phone, so all you have to do is take a picture of some text and it will translate it for you.

Another great service offered is check in for flights with your mobile, so you can book your flight on your phone and head to the airport and check in to your flight with your phone and don't have to deal with airline staff at all, takes about 2 mins to get a ticket and check in instantaneousness, just put your screen up against a QR reader and it will scan a 2D barcode that your phone will display.

All very impressive stuff, however I do miss my Blackberry as it is still the best phone in terms of ease of use, however I am planning on getting a X02HT from Softbank which is supposed to be just like the Blackberry, so I will see how that compares. Or I might just get the Blackberry 8707h which is the only model they offer here in Japan, however that is not available to the general public as it is only for corporate accounts. The 8707h is offered by NTT DoCoMo.

Day 3 : Subway

This is the map of the subway system that I use everyday. Really good system compared to other systems around the world as the layout here means your never more than 15 mins from a station when your in the city, and once you are in the suburbs you have access to the JR, Hankyu, Hanshin, Kintestsu and Keihan Lines. Here in Japan there are many different train and subway companies so there isn't really anywhere in Japan that you cant get to with public transport. However I do miss my car sometimes, not for the ease of use or costs, but just for the fun of driving. I am planning to get a car here in Osaka, but it will only really be used for fun or going on road trips not for day to day use, however I need to prove that I have a parking space before I can legally be allowed to get a car.

Day 2 : Friend is leaving

Tonight my friend from back in high school is going back to Qatar after visiting us for the better part of two weeks. We had a blast showing her around our new home of Osaka. It was her first time visiting Osaka for an extended period of time and hopefully she enjoyed her stay and her New Years celebrations Osaka style. It was a fun holiday that involved lots of good food and lots of Kenny vs Spenny Episodes.

Day 1: First Post

I have tried to do this type of project before but wasn't able to keep it going for that long, however its part of my New Years resolution to keep this Blog going for one year straight. The main difference from the last attempt will be that this blog will be based out of Japan rather than Canada and there are a lot more interesting things happening here on a daily basis than in Canada. This blog is starting on the first Day of the year of 2008. Had a great party last night at the World Trade Centre in Cosmosquare in Osaka, Japan. We had the party on the 55th floor of the tower and had a great view of the fireworks and the city below us. This is a picture of a Aussie Capoeira guy trying to impress us, didn't really work (except on one member of our entourage)

Well Happy New Years to all and hope that this year will be a productive and great year for us all.