Tsukuba Monogatari: Sixth post I came up with the idea of hosting a picnic/barbecue for alumni of our U.S. training and future trainees who had been nominated by their managers. I nemawashied the barbecue idea and got a positive response. Then I asked a few of the alumni to recommend a suitable date for the […]
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Category: Japan stories
Japanese-style encouragement
Tsukuba Monogatari: Fifth post I fell into step with Hori-san (the HR manager) on the way back from lunch one day and told him how wonderful it was to have a company car. He asked me if I’d had any accidents yet. No, I said, omitting mention of a near-miss in the parking lot of […]
Recommendation to Japanese pantyhose mak...
Tsukuba Monogatari: Fourth post This is to recommend that Japanese pantyhose makers begin production of a size “LL” to target the gaijin women market. Currently, Japanese “L” size pantyhose literally falls short at a maximum length of 165 cm. Two additional centimeters could mean the difference between success and a critical incident. What evaluations must […]
Irrepayable debt
Tsukuba Monogatari: Third post Word must have gotten around about my minimally furnished apartment. Honda-san (who I trained in the U.S. last year, and who lives in my neighborhood) dropped off a t.v. and a heater so I don’t have to buy them for my relatively short stay. He insisted they were “extra.” Does this […]
Getting settled
Tsukuba Monogatari: Second post Because I would be staying in Tsukuba for three months, I offered to stay in a Japanese-style apartment rather than in a hotel. (This was long before the advent of airbnb). In reality, it was all part of my dream to once again live Japanese style. My company, ever eager to manage […]
There’s always more to learn
Tsukuba Monogatari: First post People who have lived in California all their lives can hear words like “hot” and “humid,” but I doubt very much whether they truly know what these words mean. It was mid-September in Wakayama, where I was visiting my friend Penny before starting my assignment in Tsukuba. I left her air-conditioned […]