Morning
Afternoon
Night life
Day number 3 in Tokyo was the last full day of company visits. And the companies that were on the program were not the least: Teijin and Tokyo Gas. We started in the morning at Teijin where we were welcomed at their headquarters.
For the first time on this trip we were not only welcomed by Asians, because this time there was also a Dutchman who has been living in Japan for 3 years and works for Teijin. After the usual presentations about what Teijin does (which is quite a lot, but they mainly focus on high performance fibers) we were split into two groups.
The first group went to their exhibition space and the second group had a networking moment with the Teijin employees who were present. We were welcomed in the exhibition space by very friendly Japanese ladies who then enthusiastically showed us around all the products that use Teijin materials. These included cars, airplanes, but also a kind of Segway (which was tried by several people, which almost resulted in broken ankles), medical applications such as anti-snoring devices and air conditioning jackets. Those air conditioning jackets in particular are a really nice invention and certainly not an unnecessary luxury here. Moreover, firefighter suits and formula E suits were shown, having high heat resistant fibers. Other fibers, like carbon fibers, had multiple applications in building materials and gas bottles. The product, of which the employees of Teijin were most enthusiastic about, would probably be the “Randoseru”. This is a primary school backpack, and the word is derived from the old Dutch word “Ransel”.
During the networking, the focus was mainly on the cultural differences between working in Japan and the Netherlands and of course an expert was present who could answer all our questions. When meetings had to be done with Teijin Aramid in the for us more familiar Arnhem, the work days of the employees in Tokyo would be extended. This was a nice fact that we now realized. Then it was time for another typical Japanese lunch, after which we moved on to the next company. The employees waved after us just as enthusiastic as the Disney Sea employees.
Tokyo Gas is, as the name suggests, the main supplier of gas throughout Tokyo. However, this means that they also face the necessary problems with regard to becoming CO2 neutral. That is why during our visit several presentations explained how they tackle this problem and the solution they now seem to be going for is so-called e-methane. This is a green way of making methane instead of pumping it out of the ground. However, there are still some snags, such as the high price and the shortage of green hydrogen required for this reaction. During this visit, it was also noticeable that not every Japanese person can speak English equally well, as at one point someone from Shell, who was also with us, started to act as a kind of interpreter. Nevertheless, there have been some interesting discussions.
After these two visits everyone had free time, so everyone headed in different directions. People went back to the hostel, to a whiskey tasting and to an arcade hall. However, I (Jochem) went to do something different with a small group. We first went to the world famous Shibuya crossing, which is a bit similar to Times Square, and then had dinner at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. After this we went into the Don Quijote, a kind of mega Action of 7 floors with all kinds of things that you really don’t need (we were actually mainly there to shelter from the rain that was pouring down). We also suddenly saw an Ikea and since it was still raining we went in there, but almost the entire Ikea was being renovated, so we ended up getting an ice cream that only cost 30 cents. We then ended the day in the Shinjuku district. Shinjuku consists of a few very large streets with the typical very flashy advertisements between all the buildings and also with a Godzilla peeking over a building. However, if you walk 2 streets further, you will arrive in Shinjuku Gai.
Shinjuku Gai is a neighborhood with very small streets full of cute little bars. Each door is a new bar, with room for no more than 7 people. We eventually ended up at a bar where the owner (Ken) loves Pokémon very much, which was evident from all the cute Pokémon toys that could be found throughout the bar. After a while a couple of Italians joined us who were also on a tour through Asia, and we had a nice chat with them. After which we went back to the hostel to watch the remainder of the Olympic Games of that day
Written by: Jochem van Ierssel & Pascal van Wijk
