Last Day in Tokyo - Visiting a Japanese Office for a Business Lunch

Lunch with former coworkers while in Japan

So after the fish market I was in a hurry. I had told Hiro I would meet him at 10am at the office and it was already 9, and I had to make a stop at the hostel first. There was no way I was going to make it in time so I emailed him when I was leaving the hostel to let him know it would be more like 10:30.

Well it was 11 by the time I showed up to the main gate. The neighborhood that the office is in is basically just how it was described to me - very residential and off the beaten path. I was told by a friend of mine that you can see people's clothes drying on their balconies from the building. It made the walk from the train station to the office that much more interesting. It was a small slice of suburban Japan, even smaller town feeling then Eric's town (Shiroishi). Without a smartphone walking in Japan can be a trechorous thing. I had a screenshot of the map so that helped me tremendously - I knew right away when I took a wrong turn at the 7-11 (you can always count on them for a great landmark) and made it to the office in one piece. Hiro wasn't there waiting for me so I thought maybe he cancelled and I didn't know since I had no internet (and no Kindle to check my e-mail with me). I asked the receptionist/guard to call him and she managed to track him down.

Hiro showed me around the office and Keiko joined him in introducing me to everyone. The desk/office part of the office was exactly what I expected from the stories I had been told but the group meeting area, architecture and sheer size of the campus blew me away. Considering how the US office looks I did not expect anything even close to what I was seeing. A gym and clinic, a pond with fish and a guy hired just to guard the fish. No wonder they are always telling me to sell more product - some one has to pay the bills! It reminded me of the US's status as the runt of the family, now I know it's in nearly every way.

After meeting everyone who happened to be around and enjoying the sauna-like temperature of the office Hiro and Keiko invited me to join them in the canteen for lunch. Another adventure! There were so many people but at the same time so much space so I didn't think it was too bad. There were so many choices - and my favorite way of presenting them with the plastic replicas in the window. I settled on chicken ramen and it was pretty good. After lunch I was taken to the conbini that resides right next to the cafeteria. Freakin chuchi. I still can't get over how the facilities are like that of a real company, definitely nothing like back at home. Keiko treated me to the pancake/maple syrup/vanilla ice cream sandwich that I hadn't seen or had since my first night in Shiroishi with Eric.

Although I was very hesitant to visit the office at first I am very glad I did. Not only did it give me one more chance to see Hiro (and Keiko and Yoshi) before leaving but I also finally got a peek behind the curtain.