Yesterday I flew back from a 10 day business trip to Japan. It was a huge success, with great results. However the end of the trip was brutal. After two long days of training at our distributor, their senior manager took us out for dinner. A small sushi place, walking distance from their office, and Tokyo station. The food was excellent, fresh, and delightful. As a long time traveler to Japan, I...
As a long week(plus) of travel comes to a close, it is often a time of reflection for me. Apart from counting down the number of nights remaining, planning the trek to the airport, and hoping I have enough clean clothes, I take a few moments to make sure that I write down my learnings. Depending on the trip, and its purpose, the definition of success can be different. As I rarely travel for Trade...
Since Saturday night was really late (for this old dog) Sunday started late. Spent the morning lounging, getting some work done, and diving into a really good H Beam Piper novel. About 1:30, my partner in crime and I headed out. His goals were: Chiyoda Park – where this group of Japanese “Greasers” (as in the movie Grease) dance and perform. See Hachiko – a statue tribute...
“With a purposeful grimace, and a terrible sound; He pulls the spitting high tension wires down…” Been a while since I wrote, but it is Saturday morning here in Tokyo, 23rd floor of the Hilton Tokyo, and I am reflecting on a week of work travel. I am here for a trade show (JASIS), and to train our Japanese distributors on our new product. A busy week, with a weekend to punctuate...
Monday I head to Japan for work. First a conference where our new product is being highlighted, and then some sales training. It will be my first trip to Japan since 2008, the longest I have gone since the mid 1990s without visiting (for reference, I once traveled there 3 times in one month). Will be based in Tokyo, with a few days in Chiba prefecture, and then back to the office near Tokyo...
The joys of travel. Hotel rooms, uncomfortable beds, pillows that are too much or too little support, ice machine runs that you hear, and doors slamming in the halls. However, Hotels are often the site of passionate lovemaking. I am used to hearing the hookers in Asian hotels with their clients. But those are strictly business deals. Bang, and they are done/gone. Last night though, my neighbors...
I have long enjoyed riding the train. There is something soothing about the sound of the wheels on the track. The stops, people getting on and off. What is their purpose for traveling? Why did they choose the train? My first experience with Caltrain was when I was fairly young, probably 8 or 9. I had a step brother who lived in San Francisco, and I would visit occasionally on the weekend, so my...
My recent trip to Boston reminded me of the cattle car experience that is domestic travel (the last bastion, international travel is quickly degrading into this experience as well). I already posted on the delight of an asshat trying to take my under seat space with his friction’ laptop jammed in there, and my followup was going to be the amazement of abuse the overhead bins that is the...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of flying back from Boston at an ungodly hour. Worse yet, it was on an airline that I have zilch status on. So, I was stuck in a middle seat in Steerage class. Just looking to stretch my legs as much as possible and catch a few winks on the 6+ hour flight, I was appalled to find that the inconsiderate asshole in the seat in front of me, felt compelled to cram his...
In this day and age, pretty much every hotel has free wifi. Woo hoo. However, there is a nasty nasty trend. Shitty free wireless that sucks just enough to make you want to pay for the faster service. Yes, the standard wifi is free, but it is so often bandwidth capped, and metered, so that surfing the web is painful. There are long resets and time outs, that will drive you bonkers. And your...