BIG MEMORY!!
TIU Graduation trip: HAWAII
The month before I became a working adult, I went to Hawaii with three friends!
On the first day, while the three of us were sunbathing in Waikiki, someone came over our heads and said, "You must be Matsuo-san! I was surprised to hear a Japanese word in a foreign country." I was so surprised that I got up and she said she saw me in the cafeteria at the ICC. When I asked her where she was staying, she was the party of three. she told me she was staying at the Ala Moana Hotel, which had just opened just in recently. The reason I ended up sharing the rest of the day with the three girls was because my best friend who was going with me made a quick decision and did it!!
One day we decided to take a bus to the University of Hawaii to buy shirts to change into, and to share food and drink.
I heard that abroad, books of obscene nature are sold uncensored. 、、、、 and the three boys' plan to act together with them disappeared for the purpose of man’s interesting but we gave up!!
They get to know other students in the same hotel and gather in someone's room for a lively chat. Some go to the pool downstairs. Some drinking in their rooms, and some trying to split into several groups. The woman the shipbuilding giant, whose chairman was secretary of the Keidanren, she passed away at the age of 50. We were very sad.
偶然ハワイで出逢ったICC生とハワイ大学にて
卒業式後に学びの場ICC校庭にて
恩師国弘正雄先生、ライシャワー元駐日大使夫妻と
米国の友人と
On April 1, 1982, I joined Ichikawa Wool Weaving Co. (now Ichikawa Corporation) and was entrusted with domestic sales for the first seven years, which meant building human relations and deepening product knowledge as a working member of society. I was assigned to domestic sales in Fuji City and Fujinomiya area in Shizuoka Prefecture for seven years.
Where is the Mecca of Japan's paper manufacturing industry such as Ohji paper etc. I also made his golf debut at a famous golf course at the foot of Mt.FUJI.
Before I was assigned to the Overseas Sales Department, I was lucky enough to pass an exam to study in the U.S. and was able to enjoy the U.S. while receiving a daily stipend. I was able to enjoy my time in the U.S. first in Monterey, CA, then in Houston, TX, and finally in Atlanta, GA where Ichikawa's business office is located. I spent meaningful days learning English conversation skills (English is one of the tools of communication) that I had learned as a student, and I was able to spend time with the expectation of doing business in the real world.
After returning to Japan, I was assigned to the Overseas Sales Department and finally began my life as an international businessman, which I had dreamed of since I was a student.
ヒューストン校校長と
卒業式後の謝恩会にて
I was assigned to the Overseas Sales Department of Ichikawa Corporation, and the first country I was assigned to the Philippines. When I arrived at Manila International Airport with my predecessor and we were walking from the runway to the airport building after getting off the ramp, my predecessor pointed out to me in a casual manner that President Aquino was assassinated in that area, My fellow. He was a graduate of the University of San Francisco, so it was not unusual for him to point out the assassination of President Aquino. It happened six months ago. I was a bit nervous about the prospect of working in an overseas sales department, but I was also filled with a lot of anxiety and a little hope for the future.
On the first day, we stayed at the five-star Century Park Sheraton Hotel. On the second day, I was scheduled to leave Manila airport at 3:30 a.m. to take a jet to Davao on Mindanao Island. However, the heavy rain did not stop by dawn, so they decided to go to Cebu Island to see what would happen. However, even if we went to Cebu for transit, the runway at Bislig Airport, our final destination, was difficult to land because of poor drainage when it rained. The local agent told us that it was just like the outdoor volleyball court we used to play on when I was in junior high school, and when it rained, the entire surface would be flooded and unusable. What kind of place are we going to now? Unbelievable. After waiting for a few hours, the agent came to the conclusion that we would take a jet to Davao and then a jeepney to Bislig, our destination, northward in Mindanao.
Overseas trade department: Business experience in FINLAND
In the Nordic region, Finland left the deepest impression on me. I would take a sauna with my clients and talk about the culture while sweating. I was somewhat surprised that the word "Ahness" (mono no aware) coined by my mentor Masao Kunihiro was accepted. I thought that if I tried to convey my feelings with a scene, it would be understood. In autumn, the leaves on the trees, which had been green until then, turn yellow, then red, and finally fall off. This is a common sight in late autumn. The moment the leaves fall from the trees, one feels a sense of Ahness. I have heard that Finns are of Asian descent, but I wonder if they have something in common with our Japanese sensibilities in general.
One of our customers in Finland went to California, CA, for six months to study paper making technology at a paper company and came back to Finland. When I asked him about his impression of California, he told me that the scenery was bright and beautiful, and that it was different from the long, dark, cold winters in Finland. He looks like a Westerner, but he speaks quite darkly!
In the workplace, as in any country, we are nervous about facts, logic, and how to persuade and convince others.
I am now aware that I will be able to make full use of DEBATE even after I enter the workforce because I was able to include all the above in my study.
Entertainment with customers in FINLAND
By the way, entertaining guests in Finland starts around 6:00 p.m. when they enter the sauna and talk with each other. After a while, they munch on beer, potatoes, frankfurters, and other refreshments while discussing the day's events. Then we put on our formal attire and move to a restaurant. We are poured a shot of Koshken Korba(ウォッカ), a 40- to 50-degree vodka, and everyone looks at each other eye to eye! (Cheers!) as we all looked at each other eye to eye to show our friendship. We started with appetizers, salads, potatoes, and the main course, reindeer meat (dry and not very tasty), etc. Drinks were beer, whiskey, and brandy, followed by Irish cream, and so on until 12 am. Everyone starts looking at their watches, thinking this is the end of it, but half of the 10 people leave, but the rest sit back and relax.
Someone suggests we go to the disco in the back over there. We all move to the back and toast again with beer, and then everyone disappears into thin air. As we sipped our drinks at the counter, one of the customers brought a young lady with her and asked us to buy her a beer, too. When I responded generously, she was in a good mood and disappeared back into the disco. It seemed as if the party would go on forever, but around 2:00 a.m., I realized that everyone had to be at work from 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Finally, after the entertainment was over, I returned to my hotel room and made a phone call to Tokyo. The time difference from Tokyo is 7 hours. The manager was graduated with from TIU, who is 7 years my senior, answers the phone and when I tell him that the reception is over, he half laughs and says thank you for your hard work yesterday. It was already tomorrow since we started entertainment with customers. The senior manager, who was well aware of the toughness of Finnish business entertainment, told me to get a good night's sleep. The first week, there are three sets of such entertainment with finish customers. It was rather tough.
In neighboring Sweden, people always accompany their wives to the restaurant and play nice, and after the familiar course of toasts, steaks, etc., they easily go home with their wives. The Finnish way of entertaining was similar to what the Japanese used to do in the past, where they would go to great lengths to make you realize that you were related to them.
When I asked a recent Finnish representative, he told me that the way it was in Matsuo-san's time is no longer the way it was. I felt the passage of time, as if the situation in Japan is the same as that in Japan these days.
I visited Hawaii 40 years later at the age of 63 with my family. We stayed at the Hyatt in front of Waikiki and had dinner with my family on the top floor of the Ala Moana Hotel. Enjoyed it to the fullest at a restaurant that I could not go to very much when I was a student.
The sunset in Hawaii was amazing, and Diamond Head remained as brave as ever. Only memories were passing by. It was just like movie story we stayed with my friends!!
Ahness ！！
