Day 7: 100% Tokyo

"Ever downward water flows,
But mirrors lofty mountains;
How fitting that our hearts also
Be humble, but reflect high aims."
- Empress Shôken -

A down-flowing stream still reflects the image of the highest peak above. Let your heart, in a similar manner, be humble but reflect high ideals.

... This is the "Omikuji" I got at the Meiji-Jingû (a Shinto Shrine) in Tokyo. I like it.

Day 6: leaving for Tokyo

Could not resist TarePanda. Too cute and too funny. He's so lazy he doesn't walk, he rolls from one place to another.

Took the Shinkansen to go to Tokyo. Unfortunately, it was night-time, so I couldn't see the scenery. But I saw a different type of scenery, with all the lighting. I thought it all looked rather like North America, but when we got to Yokohama (the only stop between Nagoya and Tokyo), it really started looking like something else. So many lights, so much activity. I didn't know what to expect, but to my own surprise maybe, I loved it.
We got to the hotel (niiiiiiice hotel) and quickly left for a first glimpse (for me anyway) at the city. First stop in Aoyama, to have a look at the shops, actually to be honest, to have a look at the Prada store. I just wanted to see it for real. Aoyama is actually a really nice area, it's not the neon-and-people-all-over-the-place... place. We walked around until we felt we had seen a lot, and headed for Roppongi Hills. Another different type of atmosphere. Basically walked around, ate at Starbucks (shame on us) and spent so much time in a bookstore that we missed the last metro. But I found Isabelle's gift there (suspense, Isabelle, ne saute pas trop vite aux conclusions) so it was worth it :)
Fell asleep in a really nice bed with the feeling that I'm going to like Tokyo. A lot.

Day 5: Kyoto

We had the chance today to visit a (non automotive) supplier in Kyoto. We left early with 2 Japanese colleagues so we could take some time to visit some of the places. Kyoto is a really cultural and pretty and traditional place.
So we went to Kyoto, to visit 2 temples, actually one temple and one shrine. One is the biggest one, orange colour, with a really nice garden supposed to represent Paradise. The other temple is the more famous “Silver Temple”. Lots of tourists (it had been a while since I saw so many – there aren’t that many in Toyota City) but really worth the visit. They have a really nice stone Zen garden.
In the evening, before leaving Kyoto, we had a light dinner in the Gion area of Kyoto. This is the older part of town, and also the location of the Geisha houses. Unfortunately I didn’t see any we did see people wearing traditional kimono more than usual… I really want to go back to Kyoto another time, and spend some private time there for sightseeing.

Day 4 : still Toyota city

Food again... But it's so good here !
Had dinner in a really nice restaurant in Toyota, that I highly recommend : Sakura. I was there with my boss, the place had a really nice feeling, for once not too noisy and the lighting wasn’t too bright. Here it seems they either have super dark places or bright white lighting that makes you look like a sick person. Also restaurants are usually quite loud. The other day when we were at a “sushi going around the restaurant” restaurant, when you ordered something it was yelled in unison by the 2 wiatresses then re-yelled by the cook. Of course, when you leave a restaurant, everyone yells good bye and thank you, even sometimes the people in the kitchen.
Anyway, this time, I have to admit, it was more “european” (???), and it was a bit of a relief. I liked everything I ate, except maybe the fresh tofu. I mean I can eat it, it just doesn’t “appeal to my senses”.

Day 3 : working in Toyota City

This is my first work day here… Woke up at 7:00 and there was really bright sunlight. I think the sun gets up early in the morning here. Breakfast was better than yesterday, less fish and more fruit.
Toyota City, under sunny light, seems quite a nice little town…
One strange thing at work in Japan here. At noon, there is a little music to let you know it’s time to go have lunch. All the lights in the offices are then switched off. Some brief news is played everywhere in the building (finance, etc). When it is time to go back to work, there is music again, then a woman on the speakers explains a few gym movements (stretching) and the lights are switched on again. After that, each division has a brief meeting where everyone gathers around the responsible person. And this happens everyday… Quite unusual for us, but maybe quite effective.
Also, totally different subject but there are 15 different garbage boxes in the office… Talk about "selective sorting" (“tri sélectif” in french). But, of course, the list of what you can throw is only written in Japanese (not that I’m saying it should be in English, probably not necessary for everyday use – hey we don’t have japanese written on our garbages), so if you’re lucky you can look in the garbage and find out what you can throw in, but if you cannot find your item, you’re stuck !
In the evening we went to a local Japanese restaurant with some work colleagues from Belgium. We arrived and started to nibble on a few unidentified aperitif, while sipping our beers. The waitress came back, looked surprised and explained that we had been using some ashtrays as dishes for our soy sauce 'she actually didn't tell us but imitated smoking with her hand & pointed at the dishes). We actually took these dishes which really looked "normal" and clean, thinking they were for the sauce. There were 3 of those ceramic dishes and we were three at the table so... I tend to smile to myself everytime I think about that story.

Day 2 in Japan (Nagoya)

Well I slept quite well on the futon. I just woke up once before 6 o’clock, afraid I wouldn’t go back to sleep but that wasn’t a problem.
Got up for breakfast… and the surprise was that it was a JAPANESE type breakfast. So except for a few pieces of bacon and an egg, we got rice, Miso soup, salmon (cooked), seaweed, and some brown thingies that probably were mushrooms but I’m not sure. Very unusual. I tried a little bit, but I really realized that fish was just too much for me at wake up time. And I missed my fruit juice a lot! But it was an experience, it was just the 2 of us: my boss and I, in a big 15 tatamis room.
After that, we left and took the train to Atsuta, in Nagoya (but more the suburbs) to visit Atsuta-jingu, which is a Shinto shrine. A quite famous one apparently. It was really nice and we saw 2 traditional weddings, baby “christenings” and some other kids dressed up in traditional clothes. We had a break at a … McDonalds for an orange juice. Today the weather was really hot & humid, probably close to 30°C, so we were also thirsty all the time.
We came back to central Nagoya, for some additional shopping, had a Panini for lunch. Although Japanese food is one of my most favorite, it seems that the idea of having some at every meal makes me not enjoy it as much. Anyway, I wasn’t against a little break after the fish in the morning. We then went to Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, which was really a positive surprise. It’s located in the old original Toyota plant, a nice old building, there’s lots of English explanations, and you get to see the origins of Toyota with Toyoda weaving machines. In the Automotive part, we saw a short movie, where at the end featured… my boss ! So cool ! She was actually in an interview at the end of the little movie. We have proof, we have pictures !!!
Then we walked back to the hotel where we were picked up by a japanese colleague from Lexus Design. He took us in the old Nagoya streets where there are nice shops, 2nd hand shops, quite funky stuff too. It’s near Osu Kannon Temple (nice red temple). I bought one of those pairs of socks that you can wear with flip flops because the thumb toe is independent from the rest of the toes. (Hey I'm a tourist !)
After that, we drove to Toyota city, where I am right now in my hotel room. We had a dinner of sushi, you know where the sushi are circulating all around the tables and you just grab a plate of what you’d like to eat. Very very YUMMY. And now I’m in my little room. Ready to go to bed. This time, it’s a european style room. I have faith that the breakfast will also be like that…

Day 1: Leaving for Japan & arriving in Nagoya

The excitement started when leaving Brussels. Since JAL cannot offer direct flights from Belgium to Japan, they include in their fare a “limousine service” from Belgium to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. As my boss had to leave earlier for a meeting in Paris, I got the limousine service all for myself, which ended up in being driven for less than 3 hours in a very nice Mercedes E-Class (it features my favourite maplamp, but probably no one who’s reading this will care about that detail). It was very nice, and I did very business-oriented things while being driven, such as reading my Lonely Planet on Japan Guidebook, sleeping and eating an apple. I’m sure Carlos Ghosn does the same type of stuff.Checking in at the airport was quite nice also, for the simple reason that I had an Executive Class seat, which, let’s admit it changes everything. I also changed some money, and found myself with a bunch of Yens, as I’ve been told paying with credit cards isn’t that easy in Japan. I met my boss and we spent an hour at the JAL/Air France lounge, sipping on free drinks and waiting for the plane.The plane was a Boeing 777, which isn’t what I’m used to when I go to Canada. I guess the extra 5 hours flight make a difference. The Executive Class seats were really great. It’s those “shell” seats, which you can actually slide to an almost flat position so sleeping is something you can actually DO! It’s the first time I actually sleep several hours in a plane. Amazing. And all the little attentions, the food. I hesitated to take Japanese food (except for breakfast) but went for Western food instead, as my boss said, "we’ll be eating enough Japanese food all week…"
Arrival in Nagoya was pretty fun to, because the airplane has this bird-eye view camera, so you actually see the landing, quite neat. We landed at the new Centrair airport built on an artificial island, (it opened last March for the Aichi Expo). Nice.The culture shock wasn’t waiting for me there yet. I had been used with my job to seeing some Japanese stuff written, and there were translations in English (I guess they made an effort for the Aichi Exhibition tourists). A taxi had been reserved for us, which was really a great comfort.
I saw at the airport at the Vodaphone store this little “phone locker” machine where you can actually plug in your computer to charge it, close the little box, and then come and pick it up later, re-charged and everything. All this for free. Kind of neat.
We arrived at a Japanese hotel ('Ryokan' type). My room was a “huge” (for Japanese standards) 12 tatami room. When I arrived, there was no bed, but a low table in the centre. The bathroom had a stainless steel cubic bathtub and… tah dah… the high tech toilets ! Meaning: toilets with a heated seat, a little water spray to clean (with hot water) from behind, and from the front. So cute, and… quite comfortable actually (as long as I remember not to set the water pressure too high). After a quick shower, we went downtown.
First adventure: the Nagoya subway system. It wasn’t that bad actually, just a bit confusing to buy the ticket, but once you’ve been shown, it’s fine (you find your destination, see how much it costs and pay the amount). We went to “Sakae” which is the entertainment district of Nagoya (2 subway stops away from Nagoya central station, which is near our hotel).The Japanese look really cool. Of course your eye is attracted by the outstanding one; but it does seem they are more original than in Europe (this is really a general feeling, don’t get all upset). And it’s silly but I really realized I really was in Japan when I saw a bunch of schoolgirls with the navy collars and the short pleated-skirts. I felt I had been sent into a movie. Because those schoolgirls are like a major cliché for foreigners, but it’s so REAL.
Anyway, on our way to the Design museum (that was where we were heading) we stopped at a punk rock open air show sponsored by some radio (got my first pack of free tissues – white polka dots on light blue – very cute). The band was dressed with rap/gangsta gear and was really singing almost oï-punk-type stuff. Strange. And the Japanese, to show their enthusiasm, were just whirling in the air some handkerchiefs or something like that. Interesting. We managed to find the Museum (even though the streets have no name, you use stores, parks, anything as a help for orientation). Quite small after all, a bit disappointing. But it was next to a big department store called “Loft”. 6 storeys of paper stuff, kitchenware, games, toys, socks, you know just little things. And so many cute things. So we started shopping on the spot! This is going to sound silly but I was almost tear-eyed in front of all the "Totoro" stuff, because there was so much CHOICE! I bought a bunch of cute stuff, calendars, stamps, and Totoro key chain (woohoo). I could’ve spent much more but I’m saving some for Tokyo. I also bought the mandatory socks with 5 toes in them.Then it was time for dinner. We found a restaurant just outside the museum, Japanese looking (duh).
I am unable to tell you the name as all all all was in Japanese. Even the prices were in symbols, and not in European numbers. At least I learned a few symbols thanks to that. My boss and I just decided to enter and see what we could eat. We ended up in a cosy traditional little room, sitting on cushions and tatami (I officially declare today tatami-day). For the first time in my life, I ordered food without having a single clue of what I was going to eat. And it ended up quite good and quite a lot of food. First dinner in Japan; yeah! Then we walked back to the hotel, walking by the Nagoya jazz club “Blue Note” (yep, just like the one in NYC), and crossing the path of maybe… 7 non-Japanese persons. We really stand out with our blond hair and clear skin…And now I am in my room, my futon bed has been laid out on the floor for me and I’m in a yakata (??? – a light kimono), sitting on a cushion and typing at my computer. No wi-fi access unfortunately so I’ll post this later…Ah one thing: I really thought that Japan being “the” hi-tech country would be ultra modern, but for now, it doesn’t really feel so much like that. For example, they are doing so much paper work all the time; there aren’t that many computer thingies at cashiers in stores, etc. Even the guy at the customs at the airport was surrounded by paper documents.Oh, and I don’t like green tea ice cream. I think I really have a problem with tea. I hope I’ll survive anyway.Tomorrow we will visit a famous shrine and also the Toyota museum… And maybe some more shopping...Now I’m going to try that futon bed…