One of the key events I was in Japan for, was the Sportec exhibition.  The Sportainment Leisure team, comprising of Mark, Jack and Mikiko, were coming to Japan for their twice-a-year meeting with Konami, to co-incide with it.  Brett wasn’t wasting his money coming – Konami continue to take, take, take, but never pay, but the knowledge they want comes from Brett.  So he took a stand and said they can pay to have him come.  He was very busy back in Melbourne anyway, with events that were unfolding at Tullamarine, so it worked out best all round.

Datascore had previously produced a glossy brochure for our product.  In the weeks leading up yo Sportec, Kaoru translated it to Japanese for us.  She wrote the replacement text on her computer, and we sent it to the publishers to put into the document.  It didn’t come out too well – formatting was shocking.  So I downloaded a trial version of Corel, and was able to tidy it up. Kaoru was also able to revise the wording in places.  We took the document to Kinkos and had it printed on glossy paper, so we had something to give people.  I can’t read the text at all, but it’s a very professional looking document, and was a good experience for Kaoru.

Kaoru and I went to Shinagawa Prince on Sunday 18th November, where we met Mikiko, so we could do some work on Japanese translations in Datascore.  Mikiko reviewed the brochure, and we ended up spending more time chatting than working.  But we got through a bit, before Mikiko had to go to another meeting at 7.00.  Kaoru and I went to Tokyo tower, which we hadn’t been to before.  We had a fantastic view of the Shinagawa area from the top.

Monday, Mikiko and I continued work on translations, and Kaoru left for work.  Jack and Mark arrived, but were tired so had a nap, before the 3 of them went to a meeting at Konami.  I didn’t bother wasting my time at it – I had a lot of Fitgenes work to do.  So I spent the afternoon on that, and caught up with the team for dinner, which was at Gonpacchi.  After dinner, Jack, Mark and I went for a massage.  It was great to lay down and relax, and it was a fairly hard massage.  I felt nice and loose afterwards, but next time, it’s not the sort of thing I want to do after a big meal and a few drinks.

Tuesday, the guys had more meetings at Konami, and I spent the day working in the hotel.  Late afternoon, Jack and I had a chat to discuss the Fixi license agreement.  Then it was back to Gonpacchi for dinner.  Dai-san joined us for dinner tonight, to give the guys a chance to catch up om what he has been up to.

After dinner, Mikiko, Mark, Jack and I went to Billboard – a stage in Roppongi area, and saw The Manhattans – a US band, which had nice, chill out music.  It was a very enjoyable night out.  Walking around Roppongi afterwards, Jack decided he needed a new suitcase.  So we went in to a “cheap” but good quality store.  I ended up buying a new one at the same time. It was about $250 but the same thing in Australia would cost a lot more.

Wednesday morning, Kaoru came to the hotel and we had breakfast together.  I packed up (by pure luck, my old suitcase fit in my new one, so I only had the one bag to carry out) and checked out of the room, leaving my bag at reception.  We then met up with the others, and caught the train to Sportec.

Sportec was held at “Big Site” – which was in a different area of Tokyo to where I had been before.  The exhibition centre was gigantic, and had several different exhibitions in it.  We met Dai-san there and he arranged our passes.  We had to give business cards to get in, so Kaoru got one from Mikiko and just gave them that.

Because Kaoru didn’t have long, before she had to leave for work, she and I looked around on our own.  Saved us getting stopped while Mark talked to some exhibitors.  Inside I had a few hats on.  I was a stadium owner to one exhibitor, developer to another, business owner at a 3rd… And Kaoru was my translator at all of them.  So I managed to get a bit of information while I was there.

I caught up with the guys after saying goodbye to Kaoru, and we walked around a bit more.  Mark and I had a go of an amazing game they had there.  Made up of 4 cameras and 4 projectors, it was basically air hockey, but you played it with your whole body.  Moving your arms and feet moved your “blocker”.  Then we had a game of “breakout”, or “arkenoid” (depending on your era).  It was quite enjoyable, and while not a serious sport, it certainly had us moving.

I was going to leave the guys after we had lunch, as I had a 2 hour train trip home, and had to pick my suitcase up on the way.  But by the time Mark and I had finished discussing some aspects of the Fixi agreement, I decided to stay for their meeting with Wellbe (Dai-san, Ishihara-san and Otto-san).  After that we went in to the Sportec Private (invitation only) party with a few guys from a council stadium that Wellbe wanted us to talk to, so had a few beers in there and watched some Japanese cheerleaders try to work the crowd up, not having any idea what they were saying.

The council guys had to leave – not sure what was going on there as we never really ended up talking to them.  So we went for dinner and met up with some other people.  This is where things turned interesting – some of them were involved in genetic research.  I was asked to give a demo of Fitgenes, which I had been talking to Mark and Jack about.  The guys there were very excited, especially when they saw reference to at least one Gene that looked familiar. They were interested in knowing more, but as I hadn’t spoken to the Fitgenes guys about this, I didn’t want to go too far.  However with some preparation before my next trip, there could be an interesting marry here.

Eventually we left, and caught a taxi back to the hotel.  I said goodbye to the guys, picked up my suitcase(s) and caught the train home.  I arrived at Fujisawa station about 11.30, and Kaoru was waiting for me there.  So we went home via Mister Donut for ¥100 donuts.  It had been a long and enjoyable few days.  We didn’t know if there was anything positive from Datascore’s perspective, but possibly a new door has opened.

I took one thursday off (which Kaoru has off work anyway) and we went to Hakone.  We left home about 8.00, so it was a pretty early start to the day.  It was about an hour by train, towards Mount Fuji.  We got a 2 day ticket which let us catch the cable car (tram), ropeway (cable car), boat and buses.  So we got a map and planned the day.

The weather was nice, albeit a bit on the chilly side.  I was starting to regret not packing a beanie or scarf!  Especially when we were on the water.  We had a nice stroll through Cedar Avenue, which was the old road between Edo (what we now call Tokyo) and Kyoto – from the days long before cars.  The Cedar trees provided shelter from the sun in summer, and the snow in winter.

As we caught the ropeway up the mountain, there was a strong smell of sulphur, and we could see steam coming out of the side of the mountain.  From the stop halfway, we walked to a closer viewing area, where the smell was quite strong, and we were given an opportunity to buy an egg that was cooked in the hot spring water.  Each egg is supposed to increase your life by 7 years (I think).  We passed on that – something about eating a black egg didn’t work for me.

It was quite late by the time we got home, and we were both very tired.  We slept on the train a bit (as you do, in Japan), and I also did a bit of Hiragana studying.  We opted for home delivery pizza for dinner.

Japan October, November and December, 2012
This was a busy trip from a work perspective – unfortunatelly not from a Datascore growth in Japan, but froma Fitgenes Project Management.  So there is not a lot to write.  The majority of my days folowed the same theme:
– Wake up
– Have breakfast
– Have a shower
– Work
– Have lunch break with Kaoru
– Work (Kaoru would go to work @1.30)
– Kaoru gets home (sometimes I would meet her at the station)
– We eat dinner (Kaoru would prepare during the day so this would be not long after she got home – usually about 8.30 though.  Sometimes I would take her out for dinner)
– Work (Kaoru would relaxin the bath)
– Go to bed

There were a few variations.  I had a couple of Japanese lessons, but it became apparent to me that they were a waste of time without the books to prepare for the lessons with (I had progressed from Introductory to Beginner, but nobody ever told me to get extra materials).  We bought the book one day, and I have made a start on it, but not enough to warrant another lesson.  When I get back home…

We went to Ryu and Naoku’s for dinner one Saturday.  As always, they introduced me to another amazing meal – Takoyaki.  I don’t know how to best describe them, but Kaoru and I have looked on line for a Takoyaki kit in Australia!  They have had their baby – this was the first time I had seen Naoku not pregnant.  It was also 12 months since Kaoru and I first met.  So we brought a bottle of champagne with us – the first drink Naoku had tasted in about 15 months.  So she was glowing after a mouthful, and Kaoru isn’t a big drinker, so Ryu and I had to drink most of it, as well as a few beers.

Their daughter was staring at me quite a lot.  I was the first Westerner she had seen and she seemed fascinated.  Maybe it was the nose…

They made a big effort to speak a lot of English.  Often if Kaoru asks them a question she will revert to Japanese, but most of the conversation was in English, which was good to know what they are talking about.

We had a customary dinner with Occhi-san.  He is in training for the world cup in November next year, so is on a diet, meaning no beer!  He has been studying English a lot lately, so enjoyed the practice.  A couple of his mates that came along were actually English teachers in Japan, so we thought Kaoru can have a night off translating.  They may know some theory, but have no idea how to talk or listen!  They may have been better if I wrote instead of talked, but they teach English by speaking Japanese?!?!?!  Go figure.  As always, it was an enjoyable night and we had a great dinner.  I even ordered one of the rounds of food!  I had to find one that was written in Hiragana, and had a picture so I knew what it was.

We went to “our” restaurant a few times while I was there.  They look after us every time we go there, and it is strange not to leave a tip for the extra service.  The first time we went, there was a different head waiter, who we hadn’t seen before.  He started to take us to one table, and then the chef recognized us (me).  He told the waiter to take us to a different (better) table instead.  Given it had been over 5 months since we had been there, it was great to get that extra personal attention.

The next few times we went, the usual waitress and head chef were there, and as friendly as ever.  On our last night, when we told them I was going back to Australia next week, the “master” (head chef / owner) came to the door and saw us out.  They knocked 10%off the bill once, and the next time gave us a ¥1000 ($12) voucher.  When we used that, they gave us another one!  So we haven’t been to many restaurants in Fujisawa – why would you when you get service like that?

I tried to be more interactive on weekends.  There was still a lot on, so I worked on some of them.  We would take time out for a walk though, and had a couple of visits to Mosburger.  We met up with Kaoru’s parents on Saturday 3rd November, for lunch.  We had tempura, and it was the first tempura restaurant I had been to.  Kaoru’s Dad knew the owner and hadn’t seen him for about 20 years.  He spoke quite a bit of English and was quite funny – certainly helped ease the situation.  Not that there was tension, but as we couldn’t communicate directly (it was all through Kaoru), it was difficult at times.

On Saturday 17th, we went to Kamakoura Shrine.  If you read back 12 months, that is the first place Kaoru took me to, but this time we were there because her neice was celebrating “7-5-3” day (best way to translate it).  Basically it’s a day that children aged 7, 5 and 3 come dressed up in their Kimono’s and pray.  A lot of the women dress up too, so it is a very colourful event.  Photos to come later.