The first time he threw up

My first week in Tokyo and at work has reached a climactic conclusion, no not the one you are thinking of, but it was good times nevertheless. After a week I am better adjusted to the time difference, I can find my way around a little better, I have done some touristy things and I have had a great time at work.

First things first, my presentation to my company was well received by all of the employees, especially my boss. So much so that I had to do the presentation over 7 or 8 times this week. I felt like I was the company's prized talking American doll, I was introduced to every client and asked to do my presentation over and over again. I believe that by third time my boss, Takiguchi Chiaki, had memorized it. So when he helped me translate he would go from memory rather than what I said. Presentation aside, my first day at work was absolutely phenomenal. In all honesty, I could not have asked to work for a better company, with better coworkers, or have a better boss/CEO. On Monday all the staff and management received me very warmly. After meeting with several clients I was asked to present information about myself to the staff. After the presentation the company had a welcome party for me where everyone went around introduced themselves and told me a little about their lives in English. The highlight of this little event was when one of the staff decided to tell me a few English phrases her friends taught her. The first few were standard, 'how's it going,' 'we should go party after work,' etc. Then when the room was quietest she said 'I'm so fuckin horny.' No one knew what she had said but my facial expression gave it away.

For much of the week my job was to travel around Tokyo with my boss and find out more about the recycling facilities. I visited several sites, of which a paper recycling plant was absolutely the most impressive. It converted sensitive documents such as company budgets, employee records and various secrets to toilet paper. The plant had 100% efficiency, meaning that there was absolutely no waste in the process, but more importantly it meant that you could be wiping your ass with an investment bank's financial date or employee records.

Meeting with clients and with my company's partners was all very exciting but I must say that this experience is made all the better because of the fact that the people I work with were so amazing. I can honestly say that I look forward to work much more than I look forward to having my own free time. My boss is extremely welcoming and generous to me, and my CEO is always ecstatic to see me. On my first day my CEO greeted me with a hug and a speech about how excited he is to have me work for him. I thought he could speak English and started a conversation with him. It turned out that he spoke very little English, and had in fact prepared the speech ahead of time. These sort of little things make this company very welcoming and unique.

After having read some literature regarding the issue I decided to ask as many Japanese people as I could about the usual structure of companies in Japan. The overwhelming consensus seemed to be that they are almost all based on hierarchy and seniority. It seems that throughout Japanese society there seems to be this system in place. You can see it in filial piety, you can see it in school, you can see it in government (the same party has been in power for 60 years) and you can definitely see it at work. From my conversations with people it seems that the consensus is that this system is there for several reasons. The biggest reason being the stability of the society it provides. However, I believe that more and more Japanese people are starting to realize the possible faults of a society where such a system dominates all parts of life. I got very lucky to work for a firm that is the complete opposite of the aforementioned stereotype, but is instead open and flat in structure. When I asked Takiguchi why he decided to leave his prestigious government job to work for the Shirai Group, he simply stated that he was tired of the fact that there was no flexibility and original though was not valued.

On a slightly lighter note, you all must be wondering who threw up for the first time. If you are not, you should read the title more carefully next time. Thursday after work I caught the train to an AIESEC meeting at Tokyo University. After chatting with a few AIESECers about how their work was going I accompanied them to have dinner and drinks (a more accurate description would be drinking with some snacks thrown in). Everyone was very curious as to whether the fact that Russians had great drinking prowess was true. I said yes, and a gentleman by the name of Hido decided to challenge me. Not being one to turn down a few extra drinks I accepted the offer. About four drinks in I came to two conclusions. One, that I would easily win this challenge. Two, Hido would most likely throw up. I informed Hido of the fact that in the past, when my friends got to the condition that he was in, I would usually wager on whether they would throw up or not. In his slurred English he replied that he had never thrown up from drinking and that he was giving up on speaking English because it was far too difficult for him at this point.

Needless to say, Hido spent much of the night on the floor just outside of the restaurant. On the one hand I felt bad because I helped contribute to his condition, on the other hand I had a great time teaching this young man a lesson. So all in all....I had a really good time and don't regret anything.

This past Saturday I finally got the chance to explore Tokyo and visit some touristy places. I was accompanied by Ryota, Hido (who was feeling better), and two AIESECers from the Netherlands when we visited the Tokyo government center and their tall observatory. I then visited a Shinto Temple right in the middle of Tokyo and concluded the day by having dinner with my boss, Takiguchi. The week concluded by us having scotch on his roof and talking about the cultural differences between the US and Japan. This is once again a testament to his hospitality and great generosity.

Below are some photos of the past week, enjoy:






The CEO and me.


My coworkers.

I usually have no idea what I am eating.


Outside of Shinto Temple.

Lucky enough to witness a wedding.