XVII. Quake

It is almost surprising how easy it is to get back into Tokyo life after a week of sleeping on tatami and eating wafu food. Big city life can be addictive, and sometimes it takes travelling through a countryside devoid of functioning ATMs or subways to fully appreciate its comforts. I was just getting back into the work-eat-sleep-study routine when early Thursday morning, a fairly large earthquake hit. It had a force of 6.8 on the Richter scale, and although the epicentre was off the coast of Ibaraki-ken, this was the strongest I’ve experienced so far. Although it was quite scary at the time, being woken up by my shaking bed, I must say that I usually don’t worry about the possibility of an earthquake. Of course, seeing the devastating results of the recent quake in China has made me very aware of how serious a matter it is. Yet, living in modern and comfortable Tokyo I do as the Japanese do: I am aware of safety precautions, but I go about my day-to-day business, not worrying too much about a possible quake. Of course, the earthquake in China has been big news with Hitachi as well, as the company has many factories and offices in China as well as Chinese employees working in Japan. Luckily, my Chinese colleagues have not lost any friends or family members in the quake, but they are understandably worried. Hitachi has pledged financial aid to the stricken area (as it has also done in the case of Myanmar). It makes me proud to be a (distant) member of the Hitachi family...

Other than that, the week after Golden Week has been fairly quiet. Walking through Marunouchi on the 7th, I did see several pro-Tibet protesters, who had turned up in response to the Chinese president’s visit to Tokyo. Apart from the Tibetan flags and banners, the demonstrators, standing in central Marunouchi, looked surprisingly like ordinary salarymen, dressed in suits and greying around the temples. Apart from that, the only big thing this week for me was the Tokyo International Singers concert on the 10th. It was great; the choir sounded a good deal better than before Golden Week, and the concert hall was quite full. Biggest and best surprise for me was to see the seven smiling faces in the front row, all belonging to fellow JPP students. The choir will give another concert in July, singing lighter repertoire such as songs from musicals and popular Japanese songs. Invitations will follow!

XVI. Golden

Now that Golden Week has come to an end I can only come to one conclusion: Japan must be one of the most beautiful and impressive countries I have ever travelled in. In just one week I have seen everything from snow-capped mountains and forests with Macaque monkeys to surf beaches and picturesque wooden houses and bridges. I have several hundreds of photographs to organize and will probably write a lengthy travel story in time, but here I will focus on the highlights of our trip.

Together with 3 other JPP students I spent the first leg of our Golden Week vacation in Takayama. This village in the Japanese Alps was praised by my colleagues as a connoisseur’s choice. They were right- it was great. We slept in a former temple turned into a youth hostel, but still with its characteristic features intact. There’s nothing like the feeling of bare feet on clean tatami mats after a long day of walking! The town itself was equally picturesque. With its wooden houses, narrow streets, traditional restaurants, morning market and countless rickshaws Takayama seemed almost untouched by modern times. Even more so was the secluded mountain town of Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its Gasshozukuri style houses. Walking around the green village in the blazing hot sun it was difficult to imagine that from November to April, this town is covered in several metres of snow, making it as isolated as Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country.

We did manage to see some snow during our trip when we went hiking at Kamikochi. This area is famous for its natural beauty- and rightly so. With the snowy mountains in the background, our hike past the river was amazing. Large chunks of snow lined the road, Macaque monkeys were foraging in the woods and the walk through the Takazawa marsh (walking on elevated wooden walkways) was very atmospheric. All in all, this was yet another great hiking experience in Japan- unbelievable how such a densely populated country can have so many areas of exceptional natural beauty. And the greatest thing about enjoying nature in Japan is that you can soak in an onsen afterwards, even if the water is so sulphuric you have to wash your hair twice to make sure it doesn’t smell afterwards.

The second part of our holiday was spent on laid-back Izu-Hanto, as we wanted to include some relaxation in our holiday as well. At the coastal village of Shimoda we relaxed on the beach and explored the exciting nightlife of the town (aka the Cheshire Cat Jazz Club, which was very cosy albeit a bit quiet). As this was also the landing place of the famous Black Ships, we decided to go and visit the Shimoda Historical Museum as well, which featured a large exhibition on Perry and Harris, especially on the latter’s maid Saito Kichi, whose tragic life story has been the subject of many books and plays. The exhibition also included a fairly large section on Harris’ Dutch interpreter Henry Heusken, who was assassinated a few years after their arrival in Japan. It was interesting to see how the Americans used several interpreters working in Dutch as well as Chinese to communicate with the Japanese.

The last stops on our journey, Matsuzaki, Dogashima and Shuzenji, are less historically important but were still nice. Highlights included joining the locals to pick flowers in the fields surrounding our gorgeous wafu youth hostel in Matsuzaki, taking a boat tour round the cliffs at Dogashima where I saw my first flying fish ever, soaking in a tiny cliff-top onsen with an amazing view, taking a stroll through the very picturesque village of Shuzenji and drinking matcha in the sunny garden of a small teahouse in the hills overlooking the town. I must say, the traditional red bridges and bamboo grove at Shuzenji were exactly what I imagined Japan to look like when I was a kid.

All in all this holiday was just what I needed and it has inspired me to plan more trips for our last months in Japan. I can’t wait to go out and travel through this country again.

XV. Future

The last days before Golden Week were not easy, as I was trying to keep focused at work but my mind was wandering elsewhere. Outside, the sun was shining. At home, travel guides and bag pack were ready to go. At work, Golden Week was The Lunchtime Topic. It struck me that whilst most managers had to go on business trip during Golden Week and had only a few days off, many Office Ladies were using Hitachi’s long Golden Week to go on trips to far and exotic destinations, ranging from Italy to Trinidad. I guess the combination of having fewer responsibilities than their male co-workers and being able to save up more money living with their parents enables many young Office Ladies to make trips many salarymen can only dream of. It made me wonder: should Japanese career women really aspire to careers similar to those of their male colleagues? Or had Japanese salarymen better follow the example of their female counterparts and invest more in free time and having fun? I wonder if emancipated Japanese women will want to adopt a salaryman lifestyle or if they will be able to change Japanese corporate lifestyle as they rise in the company’s ranks.

All this Golden Week talk made me eager to get out and travel. Luckily the working week ended early as I got Friday afternoon off to go to the Dutch embassy’s Queen’s Day reception. Although I am not too fond of expat culture in general, it was quite nice to chat to other Dutch people and find out how they are experiencing life in Tokyo. The Dutch cheese was also wonderful, although I did miss the dropjes.

The first days of Golden Week I spent relaxing, catching up on sleep, e-mails and enjoying the gorgeous weather. I discovered Hamarikyu Teien which is now officially one of my absolute favourite parks in Tokyo, and sipped matcha in the tea pavilion in the middle of the park’s salt water pond. I also explored Odaiba, which sometimes feels like a city from the future. There are dancing robots at the Toyota Universal Design Showcase, there are the Fuji Building and Tokyo Big Sight which seem like spacecrafts carelessly left behind by aliens, there is even a Tokyo Teleport Station. It doesn’t get much more SciFi than that. I read somewhere that Tokyo is the place the rest of the world goes to in order to see what the future looks like- looking back at the island’s futuristic skyline from the deck of the water bus, I myself felt a bit like a tourist back from the future. It was a strange sensation, yet at the same time “just another day in Tokyo.” Be it a miniature Statue of Liberty, a trumpet playing robot or an indoors recreation of Venice: if you can’t find it in Tokyo, it probably doesn’t exist- or you’ll have to wait at least another decade before it does.

XIV. Yarikata

Suddenly I find myself halfway through my stay in Japan, which is a very strange feeling. I have already experienced so many new things that January feels ages ago, yet I can't believe how fast the days fly by. I try not to think too much about leaving Japan and focus on Golden Week instead. Having worked with Hitachi for 2 months, I feel in need of a holiday, even though I only work 4 days a week and my overtime hours are limited. I must say I have gained a new respect for the salarymen and office ladies of Japan. Granted, the image of the overworked, underpaid and sleep-deprived salaryman is a cliché, but when I observe my colleagues I do think the company makes up a much bigger part of their life than is the case in the Netherlands. For example, when his wife delivered their first child, my colleague only had the weekend off and returned to his desk on Monday, his wife still in the hospital. He had been on a business trip a week before his wife was due. My female colleagues are, naturally, at the bottom of the unit’s hierarchy. Usually they stay longest, often clocking up to 3 hours overtime. Managers, too, stay longer than they have to. Often, their business trips fall in weekends or on holidays, in order to limit the impact on normal business proceedings.

But does all this devotion make the Japanese more productive or better at what they do? Working at a division that is largely involved in information gathering and dissemination, as well as generating a good deal of information in English, I must say the answer is no. Over the years, Hitachi has developed a rather peculiar form of English. In an earlier report, I already mentioned the infamous Hitachi-go: a mixture of business Japanese, technical terms, jargon and a couple of "invented words," that even employees of similar Japanese companies don’t understand. The term "monozukuri" is an excellent example. It means something along the lines of manufacturing, although it can also include design or management of production processes. Japanese from outside the company generally do not know what it means. In fact, the word is so wholly untranslatable that it often appears in Hitachi's English-language texts as well.

This special Hitachi-speak leaves its mark on most English-language texts we produce. In Brussels I received intensive article-writing training, learning to write succinct and accessible articles, often about complex subjects. There are a few tricks of the trade, such as concise, enticing headlines, clear phrasing, and putting the essence of an article in the first few sentences whilst saving background information (that which would usually be put in the introduction of books and essays) at the end of the article. After all, most readers have little time and even shorter attention spans, and getting the correct information across is essential. Unfortunately, all my pieces for Hitachi's newsletter (including some really good headlines) were reviewed and largely rewritten by a Japanese colleague, rendering them as dry and factual (and, frankly, boring) as the articles from previous issues. This confrontation with the "yarikata" (way of doing things) of the company, which is essentially reducing the effectiveness of its own (information) products, was a little frustrating.

At the core of the problem is, I think, the reliance on the company's yarikata. Once a certain practice has been established, it is virtually impossible to change it. And even if you manage to make some changes, your work has to go through such a long chain of people that by the time it comes back to you it’s hardly recognizable. The same thing often goes for top-down instructions. There is a popular children’s game where someone whispers a sentence into his neighbour's ear, who in turn whispers it into the next person's ear, who whispers it into someone else's ear, and so forth, until the last person in the group is reached and he then repeats the sentence out loud. Laughter is the result: the original meaning of the sentence is completely lost. This whispering hierarchy, with instructions trickling down from bucho to kacho to sempai, can form a communication problem even larger than the language, and sometimes results in superfluous work.

Yet, despite these more trying aspects of working in a Japanese work environment, it is still a great experience- not because of the system, but because of the people who are all very friendly and at the same time quite committed to the work we do. Even though I want to work to live, instead of living to work as some Japanese are doing, I do think the devotion of Japanese to their company can be fascinating to watch. If a little impractical at times.

XIII. Local

Even though life in Tokyo is never dull, there can be weeks that are relatively quiet, with nothing much going on. Not so this week. Last Friday one of my bucho’s invited me along to a meeting at UN University. Together with a group of Hitachi employees working in the field of CSR, Supply Chain Management and Human Rights, we had a meeting with prof. Yokota, an expert on UN/CSR-related issues. The entire meeting was of course in Japanese, and the details were often lost on me, but I still managed to get the gist of it. It goes to show that collecting and learning job-related words really improves the kenshuu-experience. I had prepared some questions and was able to ask one, which made a good impression on my colleagues. It was nice to get out of the office for a change (working at Hitachi is fun, but very sedentary) and I got some new ideas for my CSR-research.

On Saturday Margreet and I wanted to escape the city for a day, so we made the two-hour trip to the supposedly sacred island of Enoshima. To get there, you need to take the Enoden line, which runs over tracks so narrow you can almost reach out of the window and touch the houses and garden walls. The weather was pretty good, and although we had intended to lounge on the beach all day, we decided to have a look at some temples instead. Of course we ended up walking all around the small island, working our way through throngs of weekenders shopping for kitsch souvenirs, visiting pleasant but mildly bland temples and walking around on the rocky coast, where young families had pick nicks and children tried to catch tiny sea crabs. Apart from an older woman chanting in an atmospheric, dimly-lit temple, and the bicycle locks with hearts and dates that were chained to fences everywhere, the island wasn’t particularly noteworthy, although I’ve never before seen a beach with signs warning people to watch out for hawks.

It was a good idea to go to the beach on Saturday, as the weather on Sunday was bad: cold and wet. It was perfect museum weather though, so I seized the opportunity to finally visit the Edo-Tokyo museum in Ryogoku. Although the outside of the building is more overwhelming than the inside, it’s still a nice museum. I liked the scale-models of Edo Ryogoku and Meiji Ginza best; they are so detailed. The temporary exhibition of Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto’s work, especially the costumes he made for David Bowie, were a highlight of my visit. I am also looking forward to the next temporary exhibition, which will be about Matthew Perry, Townsend Harris and the beginning of American-Japanese relations. I will definitely go back to view it and bring my camera with me- the museum allows its visitors to make photographs inside!

As the weekend is never long enough, I’m very happy to have Wednesday afternoons off to experience living in Tokyo too, rather than just working there. Yesterday I ended up exploring Yanaka, an area close to Ueno Park with a very cosy and old-fashioned atmosphere. As the area was mentioned in several Tokyo guides, I had wanted to go there for some time. Walking past traditional shops at Yanaka Ginza, it was difficult to imagine Marunouchi’s skyscrapers were only 15 minutes away by train. The area reminded me of Kyoto, with shrines and old shops and warehouses on every street corner. Walking through Yanaka cemetery, I saw a couple of old men trying out Japanese traditional flutes they had made by hand. They were playing from sheet music, but the notation was very different from what I am used to, using numbers rather than notes to indicate pitch. I talked to them for a while and they explained to me how the flutes are made and showed me how to read their sheet music. It is chance encounters like this that make me realize how great it is to have learned the language before coming here. Even though our grasp of the language is still relatively basic, being able to chat to the locals really adds to the experience of living and working here in Japan.

XII. Ghibli

The blossoms have all but gone now and in the office, last month’s frantic activity has been replaced by calmer planning and introduction meetings. Last week, a group of employees was introduced that came to work with us, having previously worked in another part of the company. This morning, I went to a meeting where all Global Business divisions introduced their plans for the coming financial year. Unfortunately, the presentations were rather difficult to follow. Not because of the speakers’ speed or unclear pronunciation, but because of what my colleague termed “Hitachi-go”: too much company lingo. And finally, this afternoon, our new colleague (a real nyuushain, fresh out of university) joined us. After an extensive briefing about the team’s work, we are going out for his welcome party. Although I have been under the weather since Tuesday (flu-like symptoms), I will of course come along- but no sake tonight.

Apart from these new developments, we’ve also begun working on The Caring Tree, Hitachi’s CSR newsletter. Thanks to my colleague who has devised a system of forms people reporting their CSR activities can fill in, only two topics required much back-and-forth e-mailing to get sufficient data for the article. It’s a nice change from the research to be able to write straightforward pieces again- thanks to all the concise article-writing training I received in Brussels, I was able to write the bulk of the articles in one day.

Of course, I had some free time as well, this week. Last weekend I went to the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka. I have seen some of the anime studio’s films before (Spirited Away, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) but even though I like them, I am not a hardcore fan. Many others are, however, and we had to book our tickets a month in advance. But it was worth it: the museum was built in typical Ghibli-style, with pastel-coloured walls, winding staircases, odd turrets and stained glass windows depicting scenes from some of the studio’s most famous anime films. On the ground floor there was an exhibition of various animation techniques, including a carrousel similar to those used in 18th century Europe. But this one, lit by a stroboscope lamp, showed 3-D animation. This room, as well as the quaint study/library/drawing studio upstairs, with countless Miyazaki sketches tacked to the walls, was my favourite part of the museum. There was a special animated film as well (one that can only be viewed in the museum). The best thing about the film was not the plot, which was a little simple, nor even the animations, but watching it surrounded by Japanese children who really got into the story, holding their breath, laughing uncontrollably and reading aloud all the hiragana that featured in the film. The museum’s motto “Let’s lose our way together” doesn’t really apply to the museum itself, as it is a little small and not quite the Disney-like overwhelming fantasy experience one expects, but I liked it very much. Standing on the roof, taking pictures of (and with) a Laputian robot statue, it struck me once again that Japanese have an imagination and a fairytale-world of their own, less sugary-sweet than Disney, but perhaps even more imaginative.

XI. 入社式

Time flies when you’re having fun. Or when you’re working hard. In my case it’s both. I can’t believe that my first month with Hitachi passed by so quickly. For me it was a tougher month than I expected, as I needed to get used to my new place, my new job and especially my fuller schedule. I must admit I didn’t have much energy left for planning trips, planning Golden Week, going sightseeing etc. But as I have established a routine, I find there’s room in my head again for other things, and I’m beginning to enjoy Tokyo-as-a-tourist again. Perhaps this has got something to do with the countless Hanami trips I made. Apart from Hibiya and Ichigaya, I have now also seen the blossoms at the Sumida Kooen (Asakusa), Yasukuni jinja, (where we saw great traditional dances as well), the Imperial Gardens and Shinjuku Gyooen. Shinjuku Gyooen is by far the most gorgeous park I’ve been to and it’s definitely going to be one of my favourite summer hangouts.

At work, things are still going well. One of my bucho’s regularly requests me to do small research assignments for him, which always take more time than expected (partially because they can be difficult, but also because the research question is often rather vague). Apart from that, I have my own CSR research which is going slower than expected -due to aforementioned assignments- but, as my other bucho regularly takes time to discuss my progress with me, I still have a good feeling about it. My first deadline is at the end of this month, so I’ll really have to keep up the pace. This is why, when I stay longer, I stay not just because it’s good form, but because I actually have work to do.

Luckily it’s not just all work and no play. On Thursday my colleague and I went to Hitachi’s 入社式 (nyuushashiki, welcome ceremony for new employees), which turned out to take place in the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Centre in Odaiba. It was great to get out of the office and travel with the Yurikamome line through sunny Odaiba. With the nice sea breeze it must be a great place to escape the summer heat. The convention centre looked like something straight out of a Star Trek episode, with huge bronze-coloured inverted pyramids resting on four broad corner pillars. Walking underneath it, the building reminded me a little of Le Grande Arc de la Défense. Inside, we were ushered into a huge hall where a stage had been erected, flanked by large TV screens showing the Hitachi logo. Rows and rows of 入社員 (nyuushain, new employees), all dressed in black suits and white shirts, were patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin. My colleague told me that Hitachi’s Head Office has recruited one thousand 入社員 this year- it was quite a sight. As the ceremony began, the lights in the hall were dimmed and the stage lit up with a Disney-esque light show accompanied by similarly dreamy orchestral music. A great entrance for Furukawa-shachō, whose speech was short but inspirational (as far as I could understand). Many other speeches followed, including one by a 入社員 who subsequently got to shake Furukawa’s hand- he must have a great future ahead of him. The ceremony lasted several hours and although I tried my best to understand as much as I could, it was hard to keep focused. My colleague even dozed off. But it was very nice to experience this part of Japanese corporate life. Our division will get its own 入社員, too: on the 10th of April we’ll go out together for his welcome party. I’m looking forward to meeting him, but first I’ll have some manual labour to do as I will have to move to another desk, which is now cluttered in a way only Japanese desks can be...