tokyo - day one

thursday was our first day in tokyo!  thursday was a long travel day as we went from hakone to tokyo.  we started our time in tokyo with a corporate visit to fast retailing (owner of uniqlo and theory as well as other brands).  we learned about uniqlo's startegy for growth and its founders' philosophy.  uniqlo - standing for unique clothing, is about producing clothing in many colors and sizes but not being trendy like h&m and zara.  they are trying to expand extensively internationally (outside japan) and indicated many times that they are hiring.  however, they want ALL employees to have worked in stores which will be interesting to see how they convince mbas to work on the floor.  they are very conscious of their social impact and want to find ways to improve the world as well.

after uniqlo, we had some down time in the city before dinner and so we walked to the imperial palace which was surrounded by a moat and a guard.  also, there was a cool tree (bonsai looking) garden outside the palace.

after our trip to the palace, we went to our eel dinner.  yes, i said eel and yes, i ate it.  shocker, i know.  we had about 20 courses.  i ate/tried everything.  again, shocker, i know.  i documented every dish to prove it! food in order (down and right to left) 1. mixed fish. 2.box of random seafood products (from top left in box clockwise) mackerel sushi, shellfish dish, deep fried crustacean and fried shrimp with pink crusting, green slimy veggie, jelly cube with veggie in it and a sardine 3. upclose of the deep fried crustacean 4. sashimi (tuna and yellowtail) 5. egg with eel inside 6. eel organs barbecued on a stick 7. stuffed tempura mushroom with a soy sauce 8. plain eel 9. barbecued eel over rice. yay rice!

 

toyota and hakone

wednesday was a fun day!  we started out the day at 7-eleven. yes, i know what you are thinking. you flew half way around the world to go to 7-eleven.  and well, yes.  i learned many interesting facts about 7-eleven. 

1. it is ALL over japan
2. it is actually a japanese company.  it was founded in the us but after financial difficulties, the japan subsidiary bought out the parent company.  the japanese chain was run more efficiently.
3. have unique inventory (like bottled franzia (yes, box wine gone fancy), rice balls, coldstone, japanese anime magazines that are explicit, huge cup of noodle and more!)

 

next up was toyota.  we got a tour of their production facility and it was AWESOME.  just like we had studied in school.  tps - toyota production system.  the workers were constantly hustling.  the process was down to a science.  the conveyor belt with cars was constantly moving so that the workers had to keep moving. mixed production to keep workers engaged.  the pull cord so that production stops if there is a problem.  just in time production. a scoreboard with actual verse projected production and how many cars they had created. sophisticated technology mixed with human touch.  i could go on forever.  it was awesome. after the tour, we went to their museum/showroom.  love the next lexus rx450h.  also, got to see many of their new technologies (example: seated people mover) that are green and other ways they are trying to improve the driving experience and create safer roads.  definitely a highlight of the trip!  we couldnt take pictures inside the factory, so here are some others.  once i get the group shot, i will add it back into this post.

after toyota, we took another bullet train (we are experts now), to hakone.  hakone is known for its hot springs.  the hot springs were definitely an experience.  similar to the baths i had been to in turkey, the water is natural and supposed to give a healing benefit to the user.  however, unlike turkey, you have to go in the water completely naked.  the hotel gives you robes and sandals to wear down to the hot springs.  then once you get to hot spring area you leave your shoes with the attendant.  then you go to a changing room and lock up your clothes and take a mini towel (think wash cloth size) to "cover" yourself as you rush to the shower area where you shower before you get into the hot springs - which are shallow.  so i waddled over under water to the dark area. also, you cant let the mini towel touch the water so you have to wear it on your head.  the water was VERY hot, but interesting none the less.  definitely an experience and obviously! no pictures for that section of the trip.

after the hot spring, it was time for the enkai party.  think of 150 people dressed in the same outfit (robe thing) eating dinner while sitting on the floor, drinking sapporo and sake and then being entertained by performances.  simply amazing.  after dinner, we had a karaoke session.  enjoy the pictures and the video of one of the performances put on by our classmates!

video (trying to get the second one to work too):

and some from karaoke:

hiroshima and miyajima

tuesday morning we woke up early for our first bullet train experience.  the bullet train is a fast moving train that is known for its short stops.  apparently, you only have 90 seconds for people to get on and off the train at any given stop.   we waited on the platform ahead of schedule and all rushed to get on the train for fear of getting left.

after our bullet train ride, we went to hiroshima.  heavy place for sure.  we first heard a survivor speak.  i knew the us had dropped an abomb there, but i had no idea the extent of the devastation that it left.  the city has rebuilt itself extensively and the people who live there are definitely peace seeking. 

her talk was very serious, but one of the quotes i remember was that she said that she was supposed to hate american soldiers, but they were so good looking!  everyone laughed.  we also spent time in the museum where we learned about the history of the town, why it was selected (military town without any allied prisoners, and how at 8:15 on august 6th life changed dramatically in hiroshima and the physical impact on the people and land - skin literally melting off of people.  the bomb was made of uranium unlike nagasaki which was plutonim.  some people believe that the second bomb was more of a scientific experiment, which is truly depressing.

it was expected that nothing would grow for 75 years; however, about a month later there was a typhoon which washed away some of the radiation and the land did begin to regrow faster than expected.    it is interesting that even today, people do not say they are from hiroshima - it has a negative stigma in parts of japan.  the survivor explained that young women did not tell their future husbands they were from hiroshima for fear that they wouldnt marry them.

the city of hiroshima constantly advocates for peace and the mayor writes a letter every time a nuclear test is performed in protest.  the war memorial has a flame that will burn until there is no more nuclear material.

i wont drone on about history; however, one of the monuments was for a child who had leukemia and she believed (japan tradition) that if you fold 1000 paper cranes your wish will come true.  she folded over 600 before she died.  now, many school children fold cranes before they come to visit hiroshima and they are on display near the statue of her (sadoko sasaki).

after hiroshima, we went to miyajima.  miyajima is an island near hiroshima, best known for the itsukushima shrine and the famous gate.  the shrine was built on stilts, just above the high tide sea level so that it appeared to be floating.  the gate is also in the water and is built from camphor wood. 

miyajima is also known for its maple leaf shaped treats and oysters.  i tried the treats which were like cakey bread with filling.  i preferred the chocolate one to the red bean one.  after we visited the shrine we had sometime to walk around the island and see the shops before we jumped back on the ferry back.

after miyajima, we took another bullet train to nagoya.  toyota plant tomorrow!

sidenote:  our organizers were amazing at logistics.  we would drop our bags off in the lobby in the morning and they miraculously would be in our next hotel room that night in our next city.  amazing way to travel and we would not have been successful in all of our destinations if we had to worry about our luggage.

kyoto

we started our trip in kyoto.  after breakfast we split up into our buses.  there were four buses of wharton students.  each bus had a name - we were the dragon bus and contained six tenkos (smaller groups) as well as four organizers.  each tenko had six people and we always had to make sure we had everyone in our tenko before getting on a bus, train, etc. 

in kyoto we started our time with a tour of kiyomizu temple which is a beautiful buddhist temple on the eastern part of tokyo.  interesting facts about the temple include the fact that it was built with zero nails and is taken apart and rebuilt often (dont remember exactly how often).  additionally, back in the day, people would jump off the ledge of the temple and during the jump would find the answer to the problem that was puzzling them.  approximately 234 jumps were recorded and 85% of people survived - pretty impressive given the height of the jump (and rough landing spot).  at the temple there were love stones and it was said that if you touch one stone and think of a person and then can walk to the other with your eyes closed you will find true love with that person.  the hanging wood reflects wishes people had written down and hope will come true.  the temple also had a fountain you could drink out of for good health and little rock statues with apron looking things that people had left for their kids. (more pics at bottom of post)

after the temple, we went to kinkakuji, the beautiful golden temple.  the top two stories are covered in gold leaf.  it looked fake it was so beautiful.  the area was so serene. 

 for lunch, we had our first bento box experience.  the japanese pay great attention to presentation and all of the meals are presented beautifully.  this box was adventurous for me. i tried quite a few of the items, but definitely survived off of the white rice.

after lunch, we had a choice of what activity we wanted to do.  a few of us had signed up to dress up like geishas/maikos.  i chose maiko (apprentice geisha) as i wanted to wear a colorful kimono.  the experience was unreal.  it is amazing how you can look in the mirror and not even recognize yourself!  also, kimonos are way heavier and have WAY more layers than i ever expected. 

for dinner, we went to a ninja restaurant where the theme was ninjas.  all of the servers dressed up in ninja costumes and some of the food was in the shape of ninja stars.  cheesy, but fun.  i heard the nyc version is more thematic.

tomorrow is an early morning as we head to hiroshima.

japan background

i guess i should give a bit of background before i start into our trip.  my trip to japan, aka wharton japan trek 2013, was organized by 14 students in my mba program who are originally from japan.  these students offered to show us around the country and organize all of the details of our experience.  they are super organized and great ambassadors for their country.  the trip is extremely popular and they can only accommodate 150 students.  in fact, the trip sold out in under one minute.  the next few days of posts will describe my experience in japan.

i made it

after a long haul - i made it to kyoto!

on saturday morning (us time), i woke up at 6am to catch a cab to the train station in philly to newark (new jersey).  i then took a 14 hour flight from newark to tokyo.  i landed on sunday afternoon in tokyo and then met up with my friend, kristen, for our flight from tokyo to osaka.  once we landed in osaka, we took a bus, not sure how long as i passed out on the bus, to out hotel and got in around 10pm sunday night.  long day, but excited for the week to come.  i skipped the wharton welcome party and decided to catch up on sleep - thank you jet lag.

random sidenotes from my flight:
1. i watched 5 movies on the plane: argo, crazy stupid love, the bodyguard, hope springs and the descendants
2. the guy next to me claimed to be 40, had quit his high paying job at a hedge fund 9 months ago as he wanted to enjoy life and had enough money to retire but thought he was too young to retire so he is trying to figure out what to do next.  he was also flying to tokyo for a friends birthday party.  i kept thinking why the heck are you sitting in the middle seat of the economy (coach) section if you are a millionaire?  shouldnt you at least pony up for economy plus?
3. apparently vegetarian meals on planes to japan = indian food.  we all know my thoughts on indian food.  i thought vegetarian meal would be safer than airplane meat.
4. your legs really really hurt after that many hours in a seat
5. definitely worth paying the $100 to upgrade to economyplus on the way back.
6. i flew japan airlines from tokyo to osaka. coach class was like flying business class. amazing and comfortable seats with great leg room.  also, no fees for checked bags = much more efficient boarding process.  also, the japanese line up so nicely when boarding the plane. simply amazing.

ready for spring break

i am officially on spring break!  i just turned in my last paper for the quarter (crazy that i am 3/4 of the way through my first year) and took my last final.  i am off to japan tomorrow, so be ready for some fun updates in the next few days.