Stereotypes busted (May 19, 2011)

As we have been traveling around Tokyo, I have noticed several previous stereotypes I had are now busted. For example, I thought that everyone in Japan would be short. This is definitely not the case. Most people are around my height and most of the men are about average height for America. There are some very short people, but there are also some very tall people. This has been eye opening for me. I was also under the impression that Tokyo had many more foreigners than I have actually seen. Although some of this may be a result of the Tsunami, we have heard that most people who left have returned. There are significantly less foreigners than I expected, and not as many Japanese people as I expected speak English, or are willing to speak English. We have been told that this is a result of the shame that Japanese people feel when they make a mistake. They are afraid to speak because they do not want to misspeak. This is a sharp contrast to the American adage of “just give it your best” or “fake it till you make it.”

Today we also had  several interesting meetings. We met first with a corporate finance professor from a Tokyo university. His insights into the Japanese culture, economy and post Tsunami Japan were enlightening and created great discussion. It was great to have an honest discussion and exchange of ideas. After this, we met with the US Japan chamber of commerce president and had a very spirited discussion covering a multitude of business topics, including some very interesting personal stories. To conclude our business day, we visited Itochu, a very large Japan based, international conglomerate, where were spoke with  employees around our age and learned a lot about the corporate culture in Japan, and the average work day, which runs from about 9am to about 9 or 10pm. Personally, I could never imagine working five 12 hour days, but apparently this is the norm in Japan. To conclude our day, we went to the Shibuya district which is the Tokyo that is most often portrayed in the movies. It was crowded and full of trendy shops, clubs, and food. It was great, but we did not stay out too late because we are getting up at 415 am tomorrow to go to the fish market!

Soy Presso- coffee juice box type beverage that can be bought in many convince stores