Departing Mt. Fuji we headed to the Shizoka prefecture, heart of the Japan green tea growing and processing industry. While most attention is focused on Japan’s automotive and electronic industries, the production of tea is a major component of its agricultural sector.

Courtesy of Sachiko Narasawa, we toured her family’s tea farm accompanied by Takayuki Suzuki, owner of the farm, and Uemura Satoshi, manager of the processing facility. It was a facsenating learning experience, ending with a visit to a tea room at the Kakegawa Castle.

Our final weekend in Tokyo began with a trip to the picturesque Mt. Fuji. The bus trip allowed for a welcome rest from the miles of subway and walking we did during a very busy week of appointments and activities.

Members of the Fujikawa family (Keiko’s mom and dad, her sister, husband and daughter, and a brother) joined the students for the experience.

Friday afternoon and evening offered free time for touring and visiting various Tokyo “must see” sites.

The itinerary included a visit to the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the Aksaksua district (a view of “old” Tokyo) and a trip to the Odaiba district for a glimpse of the “new” Tokyo. The photo view of the Tokyo tower and the “Statue of Liberty” are from Odaiba.

After a return to the hotel for a welcome rest, the final Friday Tokyo business visit was a late morning appointment with executives of American Express.

Arranged through the professional assistance of Ayako Ikehara, we were treated to an executive level presentation of the AMEX business strategy in the Japan market by Gregory Stoops, Marketing Manager for International Consumer and Small Business Services. Greg was supported by a team of three colleagues from his marketing team.

Greg offered a detailed and insightful review of the Japanese consumer and specifically focused on the attitude and behavior relative to the credit card and financial services industry, presenting significant data and studies to support the marketing approaches American Express has deployed to be successful in a very competitive market. Of particular interest were the number of adaptations required to address the needs, wants and demands of the Japanese market. His comments also highlighted the generational issues, challenges and opportunities with Japan’s aging population and changing behaviors.

As a marketing professor, I was thrilled with the depth and scope of the presentations and the student’s questions and response. Wow!

A special feature of the presentation was a view of the future that tied together with yesterday’s DoCoMo visit. The marketing future is the mobile experience! In fact, Greg indicated that they take their visiting New York headquarters executives on the very same tour our students experienced.

Day 4 began at 4:30AM with a visit to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest such operation in the world.

Generally a major tourist attraction, the famed tuna auction has been cancelled and access to the market area restricted due to the March 11 events. Fully aware of the possible limited ability to experience the facility, everyone was up and ready for the visit.

The highlight of the morning was a sushi breakfast at local shop right in the market. Except for Keiko and myself, no one had ever experienced the wide array of freshly caught fish and other seafood in the preparation of sushi … and in one case, a student had sushi for the very first time.

Personally, a featured offering of oysters was a very special treat.

The experience is worth getting up at 4:30AM!