Japan
Earlier this year I received an e-mail from our Dean of
Students about an opportunity to participate in a friendship ties trip to Japan
through a program called the Kakehashi project. The trip was sponsored by the
Japanese government and offered the chance to learn about Japanese culture,
economy, businesses and lifestyle in an intimate way that would be very hard to
accomplish as an independent traveler or on a business trip. As you may know if
you’ve read any of my other travel posts, my style of travel is often
fast-paced and adventure-seeking, but rarely have I had the chance to really
get to know a country in such a manner as what was being offered by the
Kakehashi project. I applied to be one of 23 Yale School of Management students
chosen for the trip and am so grateful to have been selected.
Our trip took place during spring break and began on Monday
morning and lasted through the following Tuesday evening. Although it wasn’t a
lot of time, it was an action-packed week!
Day 1
Day 1 was fairly uneventful, as it consisted primarily of
travel. I met the other Yale students at Newark airport a couple of hours prior
to the flight, and we reviewed customs such as how to give and receive a
business card, what the appropriate cadence of conversation is, and how to
conduct ourselves on trains and other forms of public transportation. The
flight itself was fine, although 15 hours can begin to feel like a long time!
Upon landing we were greeted by our guides and were
introduced to the trip coordinator Meichiko. Meichiko accompanied us for the
full week, and I now consider her one of my Japanese moms 😊.
We had about an hour to kill before taking the bus to leave the airport, so we
took care of some of the basic things like getting money out of the ATM, and
some of my friends picked up pocket wifis for the week (which is a great
alternative to purchasing an international phone plan for people who don’t have
T-mobile). After boarding the bus we were taken to a welcome dinner which was
at a traditional Japanese restaurant. We had to take our shoes off and put them
in a locker before climbing onto mats to get to our table. It was more of an
eastern/western hybrid table, so we were able to let our legs dangle into a pit
rather than sitting crossed legged. The meal was amazing – we had chicken
skewers, salad, rice, hot pot style soup, and other types of chicken sausages.
Other tables had some fish options as well. It was a great welcoming to the
country, and very helpful in preventing us from going to sleep too early and
succumbing to jet lag. We got back to the hotel around 9 or 10 p.m. and crashed
before our first full day.
Day 2
Day 2 started VERY early – we had a 6:30 a.m. wake up call and
were expected to be done with breakfast by 7:30. In accordance with our program
guidelines, we all took and recorded our temperature to ensure that everyone
was healthy before the day began. We also brought all of our luggage down to
the lobby and checked out of our rooms because we had plans to transfer to Nagoya
that evening. Our first lecture was given by Mr. Hiroshi Ogihara, Director, North
America Economic Coordination Division in MOFA. The lecture helped us to
understand the aims of the program and to understand Japanese politics,
economy, society, culture, history and diplomatic policy. In particular, we learned
about Japan’s leadership in the TPP negotiations and the impact of the U.S.
withdrawal. After the lecture we took a bus tour of the city and got to see major
government buildings, markets, and shrines. One of the coolest parts was
stopping at the Asakusa Sensoji Temple. The architecture was beautiful, the
smell of incense was soothing, and the spirituality was present. One interesting
thing was the ability to donate to the temple in order to get a fortune. There
were barrels full of sticks that you shook until one came out while making a wish,
and then the characters on the stick matched characters on drawers that contained
the fortunes. Unlike Chinese fortune cookies where the fortunes are typically fairly
upbeat, these fortunes has a wide range of outcomes. Sadly I received a fortune
that was rather ill-boding. I had wished for health, happiness and
companionship, and my fortune said that it was a “bad fortune” and that none of
my wishes would come true. Funnily enough, I did get sick during the week, had
some down moments, and even had a minor fight with my boyfriend. So – fair warning!
These fortunes mean business!
During our time to explore the temple my friends and I also went
to explore the nearby markets, stopped by a macha-focused ice cream and tea shop,
and watched a performance of a classical band. It was sunny outside, and a
lovely way to experience Japanese customs and culture.
After the temple we assembled to go to the Tokyo train
station for our journey to Nagoya. The train station is AMAZING – there are
great shops and restaurants, and even the convenience stores have killer and
affordable food options (rice balls, sushi, salads, etc.). I also was really
impressed by the presence of lockers, electronic ticketing, and the general
cleanliness of the space. We took the bullet train called the Shinkansen to Nagoya,
which was a real treat. It went really fast (>100 mph), was clean, comfortable,
and cutting edge. The thing I envy most about the Japanese is their access to
efficient, clean, and affordable public transportation options. The US has a
lot to learn from Japan on this front. The train ride only lasted about an hour
and a half before we arrived in Nagoya and took a bus to our hotel. It was
around 8:30 p.m. by the time our official day ended.
Day 3
The third day started in a very similar fashion to the day
before – we had an early wake up call and temperature check before breakfast at
the hotel. The breakfast was a very Japanese offering – soups, egg roles
(literally rolls of egg – not what you can get at a Chinese restaurant), fish,
and fruit. We were staying very near Nagoya temple, so before the programming
started I went with some friends to check out the premises (although
unfortunately the gates did not open until 9 a.m.). At 8:40 we assembled to begin
our day’s company visits. We started at the Brother Museum. Brother is best known
today for their printers, but they began as a sewing machine company. The
museum is very well designed and we got to learn quite a bit about Japanese
resiliency and adaptation to change as it detailed how the company had evolved over
time into offering different product lines (from sewing machines to karaoke
machines, home and commercial printing, and coding and marking equipment).
After Brother we left for the much anticipated Toyota Motor
Corporation headquarters and plant visit. All MBA students study the Toyota
production line, so it was a real treat to get to see it in action. Before our
plant tour we were given a presentation about Toyota’s leadership in innovation
and learned about it’s evolving role as a leader in the fields of self-driving
vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and battery powered vehicles. We also got to visit
the showroom floor where we could sit in the most popular car models, see their
work in robotics and mobility assistance, and get glimpses at the cars of the
future. After the HQ visit we went to the plant and toured the production line.
It was like a MBA case in real life! We saw the different principles of just-in-time
production, built-in-quality, and the tools that helped to coordinate the
process all in action. It was awesome.
After Toyota we went to a sake brewery to learn how sake is
made in the traditional Japanese way. Kaminoi Sake Brewery was awesome – it was
small scale and did the fermentation of rice on mats in the attic. Our guide
was incredibly kind and enthusiastic, and let us see and taste the rice at the
various stages of production. He even let us sample the different types of sake
that they produced, and many of my friends left the brewery with bottles to
take home.
After the sake brewery we went to dinner as a group at a
Japanese BBQ place. It was delicious and really fun – we had the chance to cook
our own meats and vegetables on a grill in the middle of our table. It was like
hibachi, but on our own! We made it back to the hotel around 9 p.m. – another really
long and action-packed day.
Day 4
Day 4 followed the same morning routine, but we brought down
our luggage to send back to Tokyo minus a small bag to bring for our overnight
homestays. After breakfast we took a bus to a BEAUTIFUL park called Expo 2005
Aichi Commemorative Park that housed a traditional Japanese tea house and participated
in a tea ceremony. We learned the appropriate way to sit, bow, and to accept
and drink tea. We also got to see the correct method for preparing the maccha
tea. It was my favorite part of the whole trip – it was special, unique, and
incredibly peaceful – as we were in the room it started raining outside, so the
calmness of the tea was complemented by the calmness of the rain.
After the tea ceremony we went to an office building to
attend a lecture by JETRO – the Japan External Trade Organization where we
learned about the top drivers of Japanese trade, the importance of the Aichi
prefecture, and Japanese policies to support trade, including the “new economic
policy package” and membership in trade partnerships like the TPP. We also
learned about specific initiatives to improve the Japanese business
environment, including promoting tourism, FDI, and easing regulatory burdens with
an innovation “sandbox” regulation system. It was a rich lecture with a lot of
information and discussion around global business.
After the JETRO lecture, we took a bus to Toyohashi City to
meet with our host families – I was so excited and nervous about the homestay experience!
Luckily I was paired with my close friend for the weekend, and it turned out
that we had an absolutely lovely host family. After the opening ceremony and
match, we went with our host family to dinner at a popular ramen restaurant.
The food and service at the restaurant were incredible, and my friend and I
were so impressed by the unique way of calling servers to order – each table
had a doorbell! Our host family was very generous with the meal and let us
sample gyozas, edamame, and chicken skewers on top of the bowl of ramen. We
topped off the meal with ice cream cones, which was a surprise to me, but super
yummy. After dinner we headed to their home and were shown our room, the bathroom,
and were given water and snacks. Experiencing a traditional Japanese bath was
very different from baths at home. There, you shower before and enter the bathtub
already clean. The water is typically much hotter, and you treat it like a hot
tub. When done, you leave the water in the tub for the next family member, cover
it with boards (like a hot tub cover), and then rinse off a final time before
dressing. The idea is that the heat from the tub helps to improve circulation
and warm you up because houses don’t have central heating and can get cold at
night. I’m very grateful for the bath, because it did get rather cold at night –
I slept under 5 blankets!
Day 5
Day 5 was a full day with our host family in Toyohashi City.
Our host mom planned a very detailed schedule for us that started with a Japanese
breakfast consisting of miso soup, salad, terryaki chicken and egg roll. Next,
we dropped off their daughter at running practice then took a ride on a passenger
ferry to cross the big river in town. We got to hit a gong and enjoyed the ride
across the river. After the river we went to visit plum blossoms in a park,
explored a local supermarket (so fun and different!), and then picked up their daughter
before having a picnic lunch at an aquarium and petting zoo park. We ate
outside on a bridge near beautiful cherry blossom trees and had a lovely meal –
the sun even came out! And, of course, we looked at the fish and all of the
animals at the petting zoo. After lunch, we headed back to the house where we
got to meet the family dog Pockey and spent a little time resting before heading
out again to visit the Merchant’s House and a local art exhibit. I’d try to
describe it, but pictures will do much more than words can 😊
After the Merchant’s House we went to visit a local shrine and wondered through
the colorful white and red gates.
We returned back to the house for a really exciting evening
of mochi-making and calligraphy. Our host family taught us how to make mochi
dough and mochi balls with different spices, and we stuffed ourselves with all
of the different combinations. They also taught us how to write Japanese
characters and we got to try writing our names and other cute words (like
Mochi!). It was such a fun night and something I’ll always remember. I ended
the day with another bath, and then slept like a baby for like 10 hours.
Day 6
Day 6 began with breakfast from our host mom and then included
a visit to a shrine on top of a hill where we got to ring a giant gong and then
learn about the community efforts to preserve the place of worship. It was a
beautiful area, and we enjoyed walking around all of the cherry blossoms. We
went back to the house briefly to pick up our stuff before heading to the Homestay
Farewell Party with the rest of our classmates. At the party we had a final
meal with our host family and enjoyed toasts by the students and families
alike. The most interesting part of the party was the student performance (!).
Although we didn’t have time to prepare, we gave a performance that included
singing America the Beautiful, performing hula dances, and I even did a solo cheer
dance and performed a two-step dance with one of the other southern guys on our
trip. We wrapped up the performance with salsa dancing and then pulled members
from the crowd onto stage to dance for a couple of songs. I really enjoyed
dancing with our host sister!
After the farewell party we had a workshop to prepare for
our final presentation, and then headed to the train station to return to
Tokyo. We got back to the hotel in Tokyo late and crashed for the night.
Day 7
Day 7 was a blast – and our last full day in Japan. We
started the day at the Tsukiji Market, which is the Japanese fish market that
is home to the best sushi in the world and some of the largest and most popular
fish auctions. Although I don’t eat fish, I tried the sushi and it was
INCREDIBLE. It melted in my mouth – I was absolutely shocked. I also adored
having the time to explore and take in the different culinary trends. I saw wagyu
beef, all sorts of fish, and lots of beautiful ceramics and knives.
After the fish market we went to DIC Corporation for a presentation
and an opinion sharing lunch. We were surprised by the attendance of the
executive board and were blown away by the incredible speech by Professor Cindy
Yoshiko Shirata. The DIC visit was high energy and exciting as we had the
chance to engage with the executive team on strategic issues critical to the
future of the firm – from transformational products that keep pace with
shifting industry trends, to building a strong and resilient brand and
developing a global workforce that mirrors the diversity of the customers. It
was a powerful moment to see Japanese business philosophy and how that leads to
innovation and industry leadership. I’m very grateful to the leadership team
for giving us their time and sharing insights.
After lunch we went to the Meiji Shrine, which was stunning,
and then had some time to observe pop culture in Harajuku. Harajuku was so fun!
It was super high energy, and we got to experience a monster café and a cat café!
That night I had dinner with a friend from UT Austin who was
in Tokyo for work, and then headed back to the hotel for our final night.
Day 8
Our final day included a reporting session where we shared
our observations from the trip, and a lecture by the famous Professor Watanabe
from Keio University focused on Asia-Pacific trade. The lecture was very
insightful and helped us to understand how Japan entered into the TPP and the
obstacles it had to overcome to do so.
After the presentation and lecture we went to a different
part of Tokyo called Toranomon for lunch. We had a delicious final meal and got
to see some of the coolest malls I’ve ever been to! They included rides and all
sorts of virtual reality attractions. After lunch we boarded the bus one last
time and headed to the airport. We were all sad to leave, but it was a pretty
incredible opportunity to get to see Japan in such an intimate way.
