I haven't forgotten about you...

Hello everyone,

I really haven't forgotten about you, but last weekend I kind of did forget to write, so today it will just be two weeks I can write about.
They were actually kind of busy but on the other hand not really eventful.

Firstly I have to say that I started getting a massage once a week, for FREE! Yes my company is that awesome! And it just feels so good after a hard day of sitting in classes.

I still have classes everyday and so there is not really much to write about, they continue to be very interesting, I learn a lot, not only new vocabulary but also other important content that I will later need as a consultant.

On the weekend I went shopping in Harajuku one of the most famous young fashion districts in Tokyo. And on Sunday I used the day to study Accounting (I failed the test miserably the week before, not only because of the language problem, but definitely also because of a lack of understanding the topic), and clean my room.
I also cook every Sunday, on the other days I don't seem to find the time, but once a week is definitely better than nothing. This week it was Omrice, a Japanese Omelet with rice and ketchup. The week before grilled fish.

This week on Friday was our Kick-off Meeting for the new fiscal year (it starts in April in Japan), for that reason colleagues from Germany came to visit and we had the opportunity to go and meet them.
After a really fancy dinner in a very Japanese restaurant, we went to a Magic Bar in Ginza one of the most expensive shopping districts in Tokyo. I had never seen live magic before, only on TV, and it was really just a very small scale, but it was amazing to look at. I couldn't figure out how they did any of the tricks and I was really amazed when we left to go home.

The Kick-off Meeting itself was also incredible! There were of course some speeches of our CEO but also of a famous former Japanese football player. There was show, food and drink afterwards and even a competition in what country it is best to work. Unfortunately Europe Office did not win. But we will try and do better next year (the country that won was Thailand).

I just realized that I am just uploading pictures of food, but it is not easy to upload other pictures.
Here is one of our dinner after work two weeks ago.

By the way, the weather is really warm now (finally after weeks of rain) and I try to get as much sun as possible, which is basically on the weekend and in the morning on the way to work. But it is really nice not to need a jacket anymore and not to freeze inside the apartment.

Not really a birthday

So hey everyone,

this week was my 23rd birthday. Unfortunately it wasn't really a good one. My class that day was Japanese business manners. Which is all about bowing right, exchanging business cards and other things that are a kind of ceremony in Japan. It was really a long day and I only had time to go eat ramen with my german colleague at night. And that was my birthday...

The rest of the week was really nice. Classes were interesting and on thursday and friday I went out after work. First with my colleagues then with my counselor and other more experienced people from my company. Everyone is really nice and I am starting to get used to the Japanese way of doing business which includes going drinking after work.

My cold is changing from day to day. First it was my throat then my left ear. Now I have a running nose, but other than that I feel fine, which is something I guess.

I really did start cooking on Sunday, and it was really tasty. I made Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) for lunch the next day and even found time to cook on Monday. I brought lunch with me every day this week, which helps save money and is also a lot of fun.

That is all there is to say about this week. So check in next week and maybe there is something more that I will have to tell.

The training has started

Hello everyone,

the real training has started on Wednesday. After a welcoming ceremony with a lot of speeches we have had a lot of courses and on-boarding exercises.
My new colleagues are great. We are around 40 people divided in two classes a 5 groups. Following the lecturer is really hard for me because it is all Japanese, but so far it has all been very interesting. Group work is even harder, I usually cant contribute to the effort at all. Even if I understand what we war supposed to be doing the discussion is going so fast I don't have time to try and say anything. My goal is to say at least one useful thing in every group work. So far it has worked out, but I feel like a hindrance to my fellow team members.

On Thursday we had a party after work, with beer and pizza and the opportunity to talk and get to know each other. For us germans that was really great, since the Japanese mostly know each other already, they have been meeting and going out the couple of month before starting to work. On Friday we went to an Izakaya with everyone and I could get to know them even better. I also try not to only talk to the same people. They all want to get to know us, and help us and at least I feel already like I belong with them. After the Izakaya about 20 of us went on to another bar. We were all already really drunk and it was nearly impossible to get inside anywhere with so many people, because it was the first Friday of April (when the new work year starts and all the new graduates start working) so it was packed everywhere.

I didn't really get to do any more hanami this week, only a little walk on Monday. It was night so the pictures aren't as good as it really looked live.

I finally got a Mixer and Rice Cooker. My first smoothy is really good (Pineapple, Orange, Spinach and Banana with green tea). Tomorrow I will cook for the first time (Ochazuke) and I will definitely take a picture and let you know how it worked out. I hope I will have time to continue cooking and maybe start bringing my own lunch to work. In japan there is a whole culture surrounding this and its called Bento.

Since Friday my throat hurts, which sucks. I have been drinking ginger tea all day, and also bought some medicine. I hope it helps.

Well see you soon!

Spring is coming

Hello everyone,

the whole week the weather has been really cold, especially because of the strong wind. But since Saturday it has been getting a lot warmer, and at the moment its 20 degrees. It seems like the change in weather is all the people in Tokyo have been waiting for. Hanami season (Cherry Blossom season) has finally begun and everyone is out and about in parks and famous Hanami spots.

I also took the opportunity today to walk around my neighborhood a little bit and found the most amazing places. With the warm weather not only the cherry blossoms began to bloom but also a lot of other plants are getting green and colorful! Around the corner of my house is a small park with a playground where Sakura (Cherry) trees grow. Underneath families were sitting, eating, drinking and talking, and just enjoying the nice weather and the cherry blossoms, that is what Hanami is all about. A little bit behind the playground starts a long street lined with cherry trees. They are now all blooming in beautiful light pink and it looks just amazing.

Here are my impressions of today:

In the next couple of days I will go to some places famous for their sakura, and hopefully will be able to take some beautiful pictures there as well.

On another note, I tried the Japanese interpretation of radler, and it wasn't really bad, but it wasn't good either. I guess if you are german, and really in desperate need for a radler it will do, but other than that you should be drinking Japanese kinds of alcohol when in Japan.

On saturday I went around Akihabara (the electric town of Tokyo). It wasn't really my thing, and I actually felt kind of uncomfortable with all the geeks and otaku milling around young girls dressed up as maids trying to get them to come to a maid cafe. I left pretty quickly to go to Ikebukuro, my neighborhood where you can really buy anything you might want. They have a huge shopping mall, a gigantic department store and electronics stores but also normal small shops and streets with one small restaurant and izakaya next to the other. It is actually very convenient to live here. I was planing to do some shopping, but in the end didn't buy anything (not that that is a bad thing ;-)).
In the afternoon I met with Markus in Shibuya, we went first to the Irish Pub we had been the weekend before, and afterwards met his German and Japanese friends at TGIF to eat some burgers. They were amazing!

 

First week is over

Hello all,

first week in Japan is over. Time to reflect and plan for the future. Until now I kind of lived from day to day, the fact that I will stay here for over one year not really catching up to me.

The people responsible for us at work are really nice people and they do everything to help us getting started. We are being prepared for what is to come starting April. For that reason we have been studying relevant vocabulary and doing some PowerPoint exercises. Anna and me are taking Japanese classes 5 hours every day for one week. It is really tough but I think we will learn a lot, especially about the right usage of Keigo (Japanese business language).

On the weekend I had time to meet old friends from University. Going out with them I took the opportunity to make some new friends here in Tokyo. After going to a Japanese style bar we went to a nice Irish Pub in Shibuya, it was really packed and there were about 40% foreigners. I took one of the last trains home, which leave before one o'clock at night.

On Sunday I just went to the nearby supermarket where I bought fresh fruit, one of the most expensive things in Japan. I payed 111 Yen for one apple, which is roughly 90cent, but it was on sale, the usual price is from 230 Yen to 350 Yen per apple. In their defence I have to say it was really delicious and I bought another one of them on Monday. For the same price you can also get two bananas, which I also bought. If I ever run out of money it will be because I want to live healthy, and since I don't get any sunlight all day I rely on fruit. The thing about sunlight is going to become a real problem soon. My balcony faces into an inner courtyard and I don't get any sunlight. In the office the blinds are always drawn (I don't know why) and when I get out of the office at 6 p.m. the sun is already gone.

This is the view from the office lounge on the highest floor of our building, we can see the imperial palace from above, pretty cool right.

And something my German friends might be interested in: This is a Japanese Radler add, I saw it on the train today. If I see it sold anywhere, I will buy it and I will taste it. And then we will see how it tastes.

My apartment

Good morning everyone,

jet lag got a hold of me still, thats why I write this at 7:23 a.m. I was already awake at around 4:50 a.m. and couldn't fall asleep again, so I decided I might as well get up.

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon at Narita Airport and went straight to our office, where I received my apartment key and cell phone. At around 8 p.m. we arrived finally at our apartment, which is small but all in all I wasn't expecting any more or less. I have one room, a small kitchen, and shower with bathtub and a separate toilet. The cupboard is a little small but it will have to do. I even got a balcony where I can hang my laundry to dry. I have a TV, laundry machine, microwave and fridge.
I had to buy a Wifi router, but now I also have internet to use on my mac and phone.

Yesterday we had our first workday. Of course we didn't really do much yet, only some general information about the buildings facilities, our salary, our computer and phone usage, and about the training that will start from April first. Until April we will have time to prepare and also have Japanese classes at Berlitz language school.

I will keep you updated on everything I do, so wait for my next post!

Onboarding in Germany

Hey everyone,

my first two weeks in Frankfurt are now over. I can still say that everyone in my company is really nice. In the first week we were really busy getting information from everyone about our time in Japan, and what to expect there. We will have a basic training where we will learn everything Japanese people think you should know when starting your career (courses about what a consultant does, how logical thinking works, how to take minutes and write emails and much more). Then we will receive SAP training (in my case for the Finance system) and also ABAP programing training. For the time in Tokyo we will stay in a small but seemingly nice small apartment in Ikebukuro (very central in Tokyo). It will take only 20 minutes by subway to get to our office (something 90% of Japanese Salarymen can only dream of, they usually commute for at least one hour).

We also learned about the company, and its objective in Germany and Japan and ist projects all around the globe. I am really excited about working globally.

This week we had more time for self study. I mainly used the time to look up everything I should have learned about accounting by now. And also read about it in Japanese, so I would get used to the Japanese terms and way of working. I also practiced some Excel and learned about project management.

As a last dinner we went to a German restaurant near Frankfurt on Thursday and I had a Schnitzel with Pommes. From Tuesday onward we will only eat Japanese dishes, so a little bit of German food as a goodbye was very nice.