First business trip to Tokyo - Advice please!
Discussion
Rent a wireless internet jobby from "Japan Wireless", makes navigating the (very very good) transport system a whole lot easier.
Take cool clothes and plenty of them. It get bloody hot, humid and miserable this time of year.
Look up some of the etiquette with regards to bowing and handing over/receiving business cards, it can be quite complex but they do appreciate it if you understand the customs.
Also if you go out drinking with your counterparts don't pour your own drink but offer to pour others for them.
Learn some of the basic lingo, it's not that hard to speak verbally, reading is a different matter though!
Ohayo gozaimasu - good morning
Konnichiwa - good day
Konbanwa - good evening
Sumimasen - excuse me/sorry (very handy word for when you make a fool of yourself!)
Arigato (gozaimasu) - thank you (very much)
Nama birru - draft beer
Kudasai - please
You may have to look up the phonetic pronunciation of some of those words.
Depends how many free days you have as to what to do and see, but if you only have some evenings free and are in Tokyo I'd recommend going to the Golden Gai near Shinjuku - tiny old bars and restaurants that weren't demolished when Tolyo was rebuilt after the war.
Shibuya crossing to see the crazy zebra crossings
Tokyo tower to see the skyline at night
Robot restaurant because it's, well, full of robots!
Hopefully that's some help as a starter!
Take cool clothes and plenty of them. It get bloody hot, humid and miserable this time of year.
Look up some of the etiquette with regards to bowing and handing over/receiving business cards, it can be quite complex but they do appreciate it if you understand the customs.
Also if you go out drinking with your counterparts don't pour your own drink but offer to pour others for them.
Learn some of the basic lingo, it's not that hard to speak verbally, reading is a different matter though!
Ohayo gozaimasu - good morning
Konnichiwa - good day
Konbanwa - good evening
Sumimasen - excuse me/sorry (very handy word for when you make a fool of yourself!)
Arigato (gozaimasu) - thank you (very much)
Nama birru - draft beer
Kudasai - please
You may have to look up the phonetic pronunciation of some of those words.
Depends how many free days you have as to what to do and see, but if you only have some evenings free and are in Tokyo I'd recommend going to the Golden Gai near Shinjuku - tiny old bars and restaurants that weren't demolished when Tolyo was rebuilt after the war.
Shibuya crossing to see the crazy zebra crossings
Tokyo tower to see the skyline at night
Robot restaurant because it's, well, full of robots!
Hopefully that's some help as a starter!
1. Go to decent restaurants at lunchtime, they are so much cheaper than in the evening.
2. I don't know if it is still the case, but when I went over there on business, some of the elder businessmen used to shut their eyes during the presentations. I was told it was not rude, but their way of focussing on the subject. (It could also have been that telecoms is boring as f
k and they were having a nap).
3. As Cyder said, their culture is very respectful and there is a certain routine and hierarchy to things. If you can hire a local business guide for a couple of hours, or ask your host to explain a few things to you, it may help.
4. If you catch the lunchtime flight out of LHR, try to give yourself an extra day... and a fighting chance and not what I did the first time out and do a full day's work and then hit the bars and restaurants with the local team till the early hours. Not being able to sleep on the plane totally ruined me!
5. Enjoy it, it's a bonkers metropolis in a rather lovely country...
2. I don't know if it is still the case, but when I went over there on business, some of the elder businessmen used to shut their eyes during the presentations. I was told it was not rude, but their way of focussing on the subject. (It could also have been that telecoms is boring as f
k and they were having a nap).3. As Cyder said, their culture is very respectful and there is a certain routine and hierarchy to things. If you can hire a local business guide for a couple of hours, or ask your host to explain a few things to you, it may help.
4. If you catch the lunchtime flight out of LHR, try to give yourself an extra day... and a fighting chance and not what I did the first time out and do a full day's work and then hit the bars and restaurants with the local team till the early hours. Not being able to sleep on the plane totally ruined me!
5. Enjoy it, it's a bonkers metropolis in a rather lovely country...
Business in Japan is based on trust and not contracts. It takes time to build this trust - particularly as you are a foreigner. This means that you need to be realistic about what you are going to achieve in your first trip: largely relationship building.
The Japanese do kip in meetings and there is a reason for that: all the key decisions have been agreed by consensus beforehand (nemawashi) so the meeting is purely a rubber stamping exercise. This means you really really need to see all the key players on a 1:1 basis before your meeting.
Good luck!
And learn a karaoke song - you might need it!
The Japanese do kip in meetings and there is a reason for that: all the key decisions have been agreed by consensus beforehand (nemawashi) so the meeting is purely a rubber stamping exercise. This means you really really need to see all the key players on a 1:1 basis before your meeting.
Good luck!
And learn a karaoke song - you might need it!
Thanks for the advice.
God it was hot! People seem to get over this issue by walking really slowly and not really rushing anywhere. I was sweating constantly!
I took some tea and buscuits from Fortnum and Mason which was well received.
The meetings were pretty tough as there was 5 of them and only one spoke English so they brought a translator - It slows things down but was good.
The city is HUGE! Managed to do a bit of sightseeing also which was great!
Fingers crossed I'll be back there soon!
God it was hot! People seem to get over this issue by walking really slowly and not really rushing anywhere. I was sweating constantly!
I took some tea and buscuits from Fortnum and Mason which was well received.
The meetings were pretty tough as there was 5 of them and only one spoke English so they brought a translator - It slows things down but was good.
The city is HUGE! Managed to do a bit of sightseeing also which was great!
Fingers crossed I'll be back there soon!
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