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Monthly Archives: May 2009

Tuesday, May 19 – Tsukiji

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UMaine’s MBA students began Tuesday, May 19 with a 5:30 AM visit to the Tsukiji Market, the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.  The trip to Tsukiji required a 4:45AM start in order to be present at the famous tuna auction.  The morning ended with a fabulous sushi breakfast.

Monday, May 18 – Company Meetings

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We began three days of intensive visits to business firms in Tokyo today with a meeting with Mr. Stephen Doi, Managing Partner of global law firm Squire Sanders.  The firm has 32 offices in 15 countries.  Mr. Doi provided a candid view of some critical legal and business issues faced by foreign firms seeking to do business in Japan.

Our next appointment was at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
A visit with Katsumi Fujii, President of Avaya-Japan, addressed issues of product adaptation and quality as well as customer service standards in the Japanese market.  Fujii-san was joined by Takeshi Kase (Director, Marketing) and Atsushi Hirano (Manager, Solutions Marketing) to present Avaya’s strategy and challenges in the Japan IP telecommunications industry sector.

Touring Tokyo – May 17

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The weather cleared and we began our day of touring Tokyo with a 3 mile walk to the Imperial Palace and Hibiya Park district through Nihombashi; many interesting stops in route.  What

 would a trip to Tokyo be without a video game experience?
The first group photo was taken at the Imperial Palace.

Our next stop was the Asakusa district where many thousands of Japanese gathered for the annual Meiji Shrine Spring festival.  Called the “hottest” festival in Japan, it includes a compendium of traditional cultural events, performances and food.  It is said that “time has stopped” here in Asakusa since the Edo Period and our students enjoyed a
an afternoon of entertainment, shopping and eating.
The day concluded with a visit to the Odaiba district via a boat tour of Tokyo Harbor.  Odaiba is a huge amusement zone where student’s enjoyed shopping (the 100 Yen shops was a ig hit!), delicious food and various entertainment on Tokyo Bay.  Keiko’s family members joined the students for much of the day.

Tomorrow we begin three days of company visits.

May 17 – Tokyo

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A rainy day in Tokyo but the weather promises to improve.  My 2 mile run through the Kayabacho district was wet but super fun …. I had a mind picture of doing the Tokyo 2010 Marathon.  Great to be in a big city environment again.

We will be holding a meeting this morning to organize for the day’s touring activities.  On the schedule is Hibiya Park, Ginza and the the Imperial Palace area, Asakusa (where a major festival is being held), and the Odaiba district.  More later …

Tokyo Sci-Fi!

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I want to amend my earlier post about an “uneventful” journey.  On our arrival at Narita Airport in Japan we were greeted by a medical inspection team due to the current Swine Flu scare.  The Japanese our very concerned and take the threat seriously.  It was a minor inconvenience and added a touch of excitement for our students!