After an interesting though less ambitious Day 1 than planned… welcome to Tokyo Day 2!
I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a good dose of snnnnnz!
Work
After all the pre-program warnings about needing to meticulously prepare (with impeccable timing!), I found it rather amusing that we could not access the room early to set-up and the projector didn’t work! Tried a few combinations with my laptop, another participant’s laptop and then efforts to get another projector were initiated…
In the meantime, I didn’t let faulty technology get in the way of the program – even with the projector hiccups! Who needs slides after all when the participants have the material as a hand-out and most of the focus is on activities and discussions anyways. I sure don’t!
What was even more amusing after ALL the stress on promptness, a couple of hours into the program… in strolled a few rather tardy participants…
“So we can join now, yes?”
Huh?!
Guess Japan isn’t so different from everywhere else in the participant department. 😉
However a big benefit of a well-timed program that my belly fully appreciated was the ‘sacrosanct’ one-hour lunch! I invited the program organiser to join me for a sushi – yum!!!
Yummy lunch….
Water closets
Another aspect that was a wee bit amusing was walking into the washroom… to be greeted by the sound of running water in each stall. Whaaat?
Could this be extra-efficiency in action? Get everyone to ‘go’ immediately triggered by the sound of running water?
It was later explained that the purpose of the water sound is actually to disguise the embarrassing sounds of your… ahem… bathroom business!
I wonder if the lads also sprinkle to the tinkle of water?
Naked office dude
The rest of the program carried on without a hitch and finished bang on time. After a post-program chat with their HR team, my work was done and I was free to enjoy my evening.
Knowing Day 3 would only have time for breakfast and airport, I immediately proceeded to my last mission – whisky from Isetan Shinjuku.
Now… for the uninitiated, the Isetan department store is a marvel. Full of fabulous window displays, creative corners and an abundance of merchandise! I started my quest in the basement and exercised great discipline walking past rows upon rows of Asian then Western sweet delights to get to the coveted liquor section.
Feel like a kid in a massive candy store!
It even has a tasting bar where for a fee you can sample many of the wares before buying. The selection was superb and it was challenging to focus only on the Japanese section… it was even more difficult to know exactly what I was buying.
While I recognised the Suntory and Nikka offerings, it was the lesser known ones that I was after that were trickiest. Naturally all labels were largely in Japanese! Duh! I AM in Japan after all! 😉 Even today I’m not altogether certain that I actually bought Ichiro’s Malt Phoenix.
Just a glimpse of the Japanese whiskies…
My choices made, I started to wander through the other floors. I’m not really a ‘shopper’ but this store had crazy displays all over the place.
First Nations themed fashion alert
I particularly enjoyed the paper section on the top floor and came away with high-quality well-designed paper plates that I’m saving up for a special occasion!
Then it was back to the crazy streets of Tokyo…
Dizzying lights
Up next… Day 3 – Tokyo to Shanghai!
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