Day Three

And so ends another wonderful day in Japan...

Today was our first full day of company meetings. Early in the morning we headed to the offices of Squire Sanders, a law firm with 32 offices in 15 countries all over the world, and headquartered in my very own home town of Cleveland, Ohio. There we had a very interesting conversation with some top management personnel about topics like the current economic downturn and its affect on the firm and Japan as a nation, the Japanese law system, and the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes, which the firm is heading. After our meeting with Squire Sanders, we broke for lunch, and a group of us stopped by a delicious Ramen noodle restaurant. This was certainly not the kind of Ramen I was used to in the U.S.! Just like with most things in life, the real thing is always better!

After our lunch we headed back on the subway and arrived for our tour

of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. After watching an informational video on the exchange, we were escorted around the building. We were able to see what used to be the old trading floor before the exchange went all digital roughly 20 years ago, along with all of the very impressive technology that the exchange uses to keep itself up and running. Our group asked some very insightful questions, which was good, because I'm not really a finance guy. (haha) I was just trying to absorb as much as possible, because it was really very interesting. Next we were off to the offices of Avaya, a telecommunications firm headquartered in the U.S., but with divisions all over the world. We met with their director of marketing and director of product development. Our conversation revolved around the issues the firm has faced when trying to localize some of it's products for Japan, given the differences in culture between the two regions. Avaya actually runs the call center for L.L. Bean in Maine, so the firm had a nice connection to the state.

After our full day of meetings, we came back to the hotel to change and head out for what was my favorite experience of the trip so far: a Shabu-shabu dinner. We all met up with some Japanese UMaine alumni a professor and some of his students from a prestigious Japanese university at a Shabu-shabu restaurant in the heart of the Ginza district. Basically, the meal works like this: you take thinly sliced pieces of raw beef and dip them in hot oil for a few seconds to cook them, then you take the cooked beef and dip it in a number of different sauces. I tried the sesame sauce, soy sauce, and a raw egg, and they were all very, very tasty. It was all you could eat and drink for two hours, and we took full advantage of it. I had a really great cocktail made from pineapple juice and orange juice, some really smooth Japanese vodka, and plenty of sake. It was my first time ever trying sake, and I really enjoyed it. The taste reminds me a bit of whisky and wine mixed together, but there is almost no bite to it. It goes down really easy, which could certainly be a bad thing!

After dinner, a few of us walked around Ginza for a bit longer taking in all the amazing lights

and expensive cars. We made it down to Sony Square, and I got some great shots of the Sony building along with all the awesome lights. I really cannot believe how beautiful this city really is. It's extremely clean, too, which I think may be the most impressive thing of all. I've been really taken aback by this city, and how well the Japanese blend the modern and traditional sense of their culture. It's all been rather breath-taking. I already want to come back in a few years!

Well, we've got a VERY early morning tomorrow (4:45am to be exact) so I better get some sleep! Until tomorrow....