Why it is hard to do Business with the Japanese

To say it is difficult to do business with the Japanese is putting the situation very lightly. Despite what you may think, doing business with the Japanese is like trying to get a lion and a rabbit to have turkey dinner together. The Japanese are the hardest people to work with by far. Some of you may be thinking, `But they are so nice and understanding all the time. They must be real easy to work with.` Truth be told, they are not so nice and rarely understanding. They are nice on the surface and only say they understand the situation. Before you so off on a tangent, please allow me to explain.

There is a common believed myth floating around that the Japanese work together for the greater good of all employees and the company. This is the biggest lie I have ever heard about Japanese society. In a Japanese run company everyone is out to get each other. There is almost no trust, while at the same time, lies and rumors fly around like flies at a slaughter house. It is a cold cut-throat environment which causes many people to develop some serious mental illness; just ask any former Geos J-staff about developing a serious mental illness.

The Japanese tend to micro-manage everything to the point of killing off any room for on the fly decision making and flexibility. They follow `policy` and `procedural` regardless of what the situation may demand. In many cases, I have witnessed Japanese follow protocol even when it is clearly obvious a little outside the box thinking is necessary. More surprising is when someone does bend the rules a little to get something done, their fellow co-workers attack them like sharks. They will try to get each other fired over the smallest misstep. They will go after their boss and anyone else who shows any crack in the armor.

On the corporate level the Japanese are real stone cold bastards. They attempt to make everything personal. In house fighting is common and often resulting in business wars which are the thing of legend. If you get caught in the crossfire there is a good change you are going down. If you get in the way of a power struggle the Japanese will send you to the gallows real quick. They do not care who you are or how much experience you have; if they want what you got they will go to extreme ends to get it. When they realize you have power from within the company it burns them up inside. There will be those in a Japanese company who will always seek to take out the person above them. So sadly, in order to maintain your power and influence you have to play politics with them very carefully.

Overall, I must say the Japanese do keep things interesting. Yet, at the end of the day, all the cold blooded business wars they get caught up in usually results in lost profits and constant pressure and stress. I think if they would just get laid more they might chill out a little.

Ice Coffee In Japan: Beat the Summer Heat and Get Jacked at the Same Time

I had never heard of the idea of Ice Coffee until I came to Japan. To me coffee was always black, bitter, and hot(just like a gal I fooled around with a little a few years ago). It was the stuff that got me going in the morning and when I felt low on go juice. Until life brought me to Japan, I was of the opinion that coffee was the devil`s crack. Well, I have come to understand that coffee can be more than just a quick jolt of energy to keep you sharp. It can also be a great way to beat the unforgiving heat of summer.

Now days, I have been known to have a tall class of ice coffee for the sake of cooling off rather than just for getting myself sharp for whatever activity I choose to engage in. It is actually pretty good. Usually, I have been known to indulge in a class of ice coffee to relax and cool off my over heated body. Hell, there are few things better than having a nice ice coffee while enjoying a walkabout in Tokyo.

It really adds to a day of wondering around Tokyo during the summer. It does not take much to start feeling like a wet rat running away from an angry dog on the streets of Tokyo; Shibuya is most likely the place to feel this way considering it does have a slight rat problem.

There is only one problem with enjoying ice coffee; you may end up enjoying it too much. While it does really hit the spot on a hot summer day; if you drink too much you end up getting way too jacked-up. This happened to me once while working recently. I had four classes before work and was almost bouncing off the walls. Lucky enough, I was not teaching that day or else lower level students would have never been able to understand anything I was saying.

Of course nothing beats a cold beer on a hot day in Tokyo; but ice coffee comes pretty damn close.

So, do you enjoy ice coffee? How much to you drink on a real hot day in Tokyo?

Beware of Greasers on Bicycles

Well, it seems that there is a problem with greasers on bicycles here in Adachi-ku,Tokyo. The problem has apparently gotten so bad that a sign is needed to warm people of crashes between speed demon greasers on bicycles. LOL

The sign has actually been up for a while. It is located across a bridge down form my apartment. The look of a greaser is uncanny. The two careless riders are wearing white T-shirts, blues jeans, and have their hair all greased up. It is kind of funny actually. The idea of greasers riding bicycles is odd enough. I have never seen greasers riding bicycles in Japan or elsewhere. I wonder what the person making the sign was thinking.

`Those damn greasers better stop riding their bicycles like crazy people. Someone is gonna get hurt for sure. I know; lets make a sign warning them to be careful. That will show them!`

In fact, I have never seen anyone crash into each other at that little intersection. There are some factories down the road so not many people would be riding their bicycles in that direction in the first place. The intersecting road leads off into a little section of town with a few small shops and restaurants. During the day a lot of school kids can be been riding their bicycles in the area; due to a jr/senior high school nearby. In the morning a lot of salarymen, housewives, and factory workers can be been riding their bicycles to work and otherwise. Yet, I still have not seen anyone, greaser or otherwise, crash into each other.

So, why put a damn sign up in the first place? I guess this is yet another fine example of the extreme Japanese risk avoidance thing in full effect. I have noticed that the Japanese will make laws and issue warnings, `Just in case.` They tend to think about every possible thing that could go wrong and create laws and policies to avoid anyone saying, `But you never said anything.` I must admit, it gets on my damn nerves sometimes. Doing business with them can be just as hellish. You basically have to beg them to agree to anything. Even if what you say makes perfect sense, they will come up with some reason to say no. It can take hours to get them to agree on a policy change.

Anyway, us greasers will make sure if we ever actually ride a stupid fucking bicycle we will be extra careful not to crash into each other.

A Southern Ghost that Just Will Not Die

My life has been a unique experience so far. I started out as a poor punk kid growing up in the coal fields of West Virginia. Now, I find myself married, living in Tokyo, and working in middle management as an English instructor. My father(R.I.P.) was born to German immigrants. My mother was born of Native American/Dutch blood. Their blood lines gave a face that some love and others want to smash into the dirt. I had a complex relationship with my father; which still hunts me to this day. My relationship with my mother is conflicted at best. I grew up dirt poor and rebellious as hell. I have experienced shit that many people in Tokyo could never stomach. Although, somehow here I stand trying to make a life for myself in the unforgiving land of the raising sun.

During the course of my life I have noticed one constant; there have always been a fair amount of people who activity attempt to assist in my failure. Sadly, the list of people who have supported my efforts to be a success is rather short. Recently, I have been pondering as to why there have always been more people who want to fuck me over than desire to uplift me. I have thought that maybe this is human nature. Once someone is down others are quick to put on their jackboots and start stomping. Well, then you start life with your face already in the dirt you tend to see more jackboots than smiles. Well, dammit I refuse to give up!

I realize that I am at a very important time in my life. In about another six months I will be 30 years old. I must do everything in my power to raise above the masses. There is a lot of competition around me. There are several people, which I know of, who are out to take my job and bring about my ruin. There are others will refuse to listen to sound advice I give them. Instead, they keep on doing the same shit which will get them fired and make me look bad. In sort, I have been too soft on people.

So, I have decided to be much more harder on people. I have tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I can see clearly now that most people do not want to be given the benefit of doubt. People are either going work with me or against me. It seems there is little room for gray area. At this point, I must care more about number one. Until more people understand that I really am not playing around; my treatment of those I am responsible for will become much more harsh if they choose to give me too much resistance. I have warmed others that a weeding out process is coming down the pipeline. If they are too dense to understand what that means then may god have mercy on their sorry souls.

I have to care about running things more smoothly and building my career. I may have greaser tendencies, yet I am a grown adult as well. I cannot allow the constant to get in my way anymore.

So ends my rant about fucked up people who will do anything to see my down fall.

Warning: This City Protected by Giant Robot!

It is well known that the Japanese have a `thing` for robots. The nation of Japan is the world leader in robot technology. It seems that the recent unstable relationships between several Asian nations have spurred Japan into creating a protector for Tokyo. Taking inspiration directly form a popular manga/cartoon, we now have our very own Gundam. Now, Tokyo may be considered the most badass city protected by its very own giant ass kicking robot! I would like to see the faces on the North Korean military commanders when they try to attack Tokyo and are greeted by a giant pissed off robot! I would love to be a fly on the wall during a Chinese military meeting. Just think of the debate that would go down deciding what to do about the `Tokyo robot situation.`

`Should we nuke it?`

`No. Nukes don`t scare Japanese anymore.`

`Well...maybe we could create a female robot to seduce it`

`The Japanese do love strange sex.`

`Yes! We could get Japanese robot to have sex with Chinese robot. We sell tickets and make big profit!`



While N.K. and Red China try to figure out what the hell Tokyo is up to, those of us lucky enough to live in Tokyo get to enjoy viewing something truly wondrous. To my knowledge, no other nation has created a giant robot model. While I was looking the damn thing, I could not help but think of the future of technology. How far are we from actually seeing such a robot used for military purposes? Would it even be useful during a live military battle? It would need a type of armor I am sure has not been invented yet. Current armor would surely not be enough to provide enough protection from constant missile fire. There is also the problem with speed. It would have to able to make very flexible movements fairly quickly. Unless it can make almost human like reactions to movements, it would pretty much useless in battle.

Life in a Godless Nation Pt. 1 Sex is not Dirty

For all intended purposes Japan is pretty much a godless nation. Some people may give me shit for making such a statement, but the fact cannot be overlooked that most Japanese people have no real faith in a higher power. They seem to only believe in themselves. Some people may say that Japan does indeed have a deep religious backbone. It is true that Japan has many Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines, yet for the most part, it appears Japanese consider such things only for big events or useful when someone dies. At lest one person, who appears to be Japanese, has attempted to explain Japan`s religious nature. Taking from my experience of not only living in Japan but forming relationships with Japanese people over the course of my life; I have formed my own opinion regarding the mostly godless nation of Japan.

The biggest thing I have noticed about Japan is the tendency of Japanese to indulge their inner desires. I have ran across just about every kind of sex service one could think of in Tokyo. Such things are shunned in the more religious west. The Japanese seem to have no problem paying for a gal to fondle for a bit. In Japan it seems to be viewed as just `blowing off a little steam.` In my home nation `blowing off a lttle steam` by spending some time at a sex club or girl parlor is still taboo; although we do have such places. In the states society tries to encourage us to resist our inner desires, while in Japan, society views the sex business as natural and even necessary. I think this casual attitude towards sex is a reflection of a lack of religious moral authority.

It is a common theme in many religions to instruct their followers to resist casual ideas concerning sex. Religions seem to take pride in spreading the idea that `sex is a dirty devilish act.` The followers of Christ push this attitude towards sex the hardest. Hell, even masturbation is painted in a bad light by most religions. Yet, in Japan the rule seems to be `whatever gets you off.` What passes for normal sexual behavior in Japan would shock the rest of the world. Spend a few evenings on the hunt in Shibuya and there is a good chance you will have some interesting experiences.

The only thing is while Japanese have very open cultural feelings towards sex, they have problems producing enough babies out of all those sexual encounters.

Shiso Pepsi: Has Pepsi Finally Scored a Hit?

I have been waiting for several weeks for the new pepsi drink to hit the shelves. Unlike in the states, Pepsi gets creative with their drink flavors here in Japan. This year pepsi has decided to combine Shiso together with their classic pepsi blend. In the past, a lot of folks have despised pepsi`s ventures in cola experimentation. Even this year`s offering is getting some heat.

As for me, I actually kind of like Shiso pepsi. Hell, when I am hanging on the streets of Tokyo I usually go for two kinds of drinks; beer or soda. Well, it is not always the best decision to grab a beer. They say in Tokyo, `Remember T&P(time and place).` So, when I cannot have a beer I go for a soda. When the new pepsi showed up at my local quick stop I had to give it a go.

Well, how does my no good southern taste buds take to Shiso Pepsi? I actually found Shiso pepsi to be pretty good. My taste buds must be as adventurous as my general nature. It reminds me of an odd Mountain Dew kind of taste. It has a sweetness to it yet the after taste is surprising. The first time I drank it I ended up having a second round. Although, after a few days of Shiso pepsi being my soda of choice I am starting to have trouble getting through an entire bottle.

I guess Shiso pepsi is another temporary cheap trill to get the summer started off on a lighter note. I will end up having at least a few more bottles of the stuff before it is pulled from the shelves.

By the way, it is a good drink to have with Ramen. Drink it with your next bowl of Raman and leave a comment telling me what you think. Also, please feel free to offer your overall opinion about this odd offering from Pepsi.