I loved Japan. They have a really great work ethic. The one thing that is most important to Japanese people is that they are self-sufficient and they take a salary home to support their family. As long as someone is earning money doing a job, the government will support them with anything that they can’t afford, like healthcare or repairs to the house. Everyone is so helpful and honest and love to share their hospitality.
It helped my work a great deal in two main ways: (1) I learned a new approach to the science because their company does things differently to a company in the UK and I got to see their manufacturing (which no-one in the UK has ever let me see before!). So I learned a great deal about science and got to try things out on their really fancy computers. (2) I got to meet people! The Japanese find face-to-face meetings really important. They often told me that they don’t speak English, but they do, they’re just being modest!! I got to meet people who have published some of the work that I read every day, or that I reference in my own work, so they are quite famous in my area – that was really cool. So networking, making contacts for the future, meeting people face-to-face, was really important.
I also visit Japan – the experiment I work on is located there – and I love the place. Japanese people are extremely friendly and hospitable: the first time I went, I arrived in Kyoto with a booking at a hotel that I knew was near the station, but didn’t know exactly where. A passing Japanese lady asked me if I needed help, and I showed her the hotel booking. She didn’t know where the hotel was, but…
– she took me into the station and had a conversation with the information desk, in Japanese;
– having learned that the hotel was near the post office, she took me to the post office, had another conversation there with someone handing out advertising leaflets, and worked out exactly where the hotel was
– took me to where I could see the hotel, asked me if I’d be OK, said goodbye, and returned to catch her train.
I don’t think people in the UK would work that hard for a random foreigner!
Going to Japan is essential for my research: I need to attend meetings of our collaboration there, and also sometimes take my turn in actually operating the experiment. The people of the small town we’re based in are also very helpful: they organise Japanese lessons for people who go there long-term, and put on events like tea ceremonies and flower-arranging demonstrations during our meetings.
Japan is also incredibly beautiful. If it weren’t a horrible 12-hour flight away, I’d go much more often!
Comments
Susan commented on :
I also visit Japan – the experiment I work on is located there – and I love the place. Japanese people are extremely friendly and hospitable: the first time I went, I arrived in Kyoto with a booking at a hotel that I knew was near the station, but didn’t know exactly where. A passing Japanese lady asked me if I needed help, and I showed her the hotel booking. She didn’t know where the hotel was, but…
– she took me into the station and had a conversation with the information desk, in Japanese;
– having learned that the hotel was near the post office, she took me to the post office, had another conversation there with someone handing out advertising leaflets, and worked out exactly where the hotel was
– took me to where I could see the hotel, asked me if I’d be OK, said goodbye, and returned to catch her train.
I don’t think people in the UK would work that hard for a random foreigner!
Going to Japan is essential for my research: I need to attend meetings of our collaboration there, and also sometimes take my turn in actually operating the experiment. The people of the small town we’re based in are also very helpful: they organise Japanese lessons for people who go there long-term, and put on events like tea ceremonies and flower-arranging demonstrations during our meetings.
Japan is also incredibly beautiful. If it weren’t a horrible 12-hour flight away, I’d go much more often!
the arch bishop of banter commented on :
If you had to chose where would you do your work in japan or in Britain
the potatofoogle commented on :
japan is cool weird but cool