It was just happened without knowing where i was going and who exactly I was going with. I was just told from my friend that there was a good deal of snowboarding ski trip pass. I accepted and it turned out that 11 people joined the group. And it was a lot of fun. Village, snow, mountain and hot spring. But also the nightmare - the night bus though, at least for me.
Having spent 3 days in korea(most time in Seoul), I find that there are considerable japanophiles here. Although Japan occupied korea several decades before, it turns out not much korean hate japanese. So many Japanese stuff here, japanese resturants, Japanese signs everywhere, japanese TV channel, ... I even got a warm help from three korean girls while I was trying to find a hotel in gumi. They thought I was japanese once.
I'm thinking of this for a long time and finally decided to share this video which is made by me. Whilst I review this video, I always feel that it just like all these things are happened yesterday. I have not seen the most of the people in this video for a quite a long time and I know I may never meet some of them again in my life. So I just share this video, and hopefully they could see it as a good recipe of bad mood. I hope you may also lift the corner of your mouth while you’re watching this video, my dear friends.
Bad luck but also could say good luck. The bad thing is that I have to go to see a dentist in Japan. As you can image that it would be terrible for a foreigner who does not speak Japanese at all to go to see a dentist in Japan. People here rarely speak English, which is totally different against I image before I came to Tokyo. While the fortunate thing is that I found a Chinese speaking dentist via James. He is very kind and the dentist is even my kind than him.
With pretty much mixed up of combination of feelings in Tokyo and lots of training class and work during the daytime, almost 5 weeks no writing blogging. Finally I got some motivation to add something here. I will try to write things in a reverse order since me landing on Narita airport. My elementary school teacher taught me that is called cut back. Ok, let me go head.Now just came back from dinner with my current manager and colleagues. Although I felt somewhat uncomfortable because of alcohol, I have a very good time in my deep heart. We went to a Japanese restaurant and have a good plentiful Japanese food. We talked much and I learned a lot because what we are talking with is senior people, haha. The interesting thing is that Jose (currently my boss’s boss :) is learning Chinese. So most of our talk is in Chinese and simultaneously translate it into English again for him. Here I would like to say a little more about my manager Jessica. She is so nice not because of everyone told me whilst I mentioned her, but the feeling when you talking and hanging with her and this feeling makes me very comfortable, of which I would like to build.
It’s a very occasional opportunity to attend the interesting travel with James’ team.
Here I would also like to introduce a very humor person James who is Chinese and has already living in Japan for many years. He just joined Morgan Stanley for a few months.
He is our guide because of his fluent Japanese.
Izu Located South-West of Tokyo and right South of Mount Fuji, Noted for its beautiful coastal scenery and hotspring resorts, it is popular with Tokyoites on weekends and national holidays. We take the shinkansen from Tokyo (Shinagawa) to Mishima and rent a Toyota to start our izu trip.
© Zhu Xinquan. The car we rent
One unfortunate thing is the road inside the mountain is too winding and I suffered a lot head sickness when Andy and James drove the car.
© Zhu Xinquan Look at these terrible roads in the mountain
Finally I recovered and saw the sea and have a hotspring in Atami. But I still think that one day is too short for Izu trip. We just hurry away from one place to another and have no enough time to go around in very place.2~3 days maybe a good trip time.
© Zhu Xinquan James' team and me
© Zhu Xinquan The izu sea
© Zhu Xinquan
After spent a couple of days in Tokyo, I find many interesting thins here:
The whole city is very clean.
People don’t talk much in the public places such as in the subways.
People don’t eat things in the way to company. As my first several days in Tokyo due to the late for work in the morning, I ate some bread on the train on the way to work. Many people around me looked me very strangely. After many days I realize the problem.
All the people related serving industry is very very polite to customers. For example, the waiters and sales people in the super market.
People have a custom to keep the order of everything. You cannot see anyone jump the queue.
You can see pigeons everywhere even in the downtown. If a pigeon is on the middle of the road, people always stop the car just like there is a person.
Life quality is higher than Shanghai and also many things are more expensive than Shanghai.
© Zhu Xinquan. The place where I live in Tokyo
© Zhu Xinquan. Goods are more expensive than Shanghai
Morgan Stanley’s Tokyo office is in the Ebisu Garden Place. It’s a quite very good place, no crowd people just like city within the city. It consist a large array of restaurans and shops and some western style buildings. And the free lift to the top of the Garden Place Tower offers one of the better scenic views of Tokyo. It is connected with the JR Yamanote Line Ebisu station by the well marked "Yebisu Skywalk" on which I walk everyday.
© Zhu Xinquan. Morgan Stanley's Tokyo office in Ebisu Garden Place
© Zhu Xinquan. Morgan Stanley Logo and me
To be continued...
By waiting for 13 days, I finally got the Japan visa. It's the first time for me to go abroad, of course, first time to Japan. I will stay at Tokyo for about 3 months and take the training class hold by the Tokyo branch of my company.In the old days, when there is trip for me on the next day, I will be too excited to get sleep at night. I still can remember these excited nights in the university. This time I was so peaceful and slept pretty well last time. I don't know why. Anyway, it's good for me to bring with a great deal of energy to my first Japan trip. （update the picture I've taken)