Beginning

Well, better start this off. Judging from the comments there are people anxious to see what is going on in Nagoya.

So, what is this blog about? It will most likely be your run of the mill "expat writing about what he is up to"-blog. Maybe it will give some insights into how Japan works and what Nagoya is like, maybe not. Maybe the updates will be short and frequent, maybe they won't. Stay tuned to find out. What you won't get too much of is inside info on the Japanese car industry. Expect the occasional comment on Japanese business practice and project management though.

I've been here for almost six weeks now. It's taken that long to actually get settled in. Now, with an apartment in place and most off the paperwork taken care of it is time to actually start living. The temporary apartment I was set up in was comfortable, hotel life for six weeks. Sounds sweet, but it soon gets to be like being stuck in limbo.

Can't really comment on Nagoya yet, since I've mainly seen my office and other cities so far. But it seems to have everything a city should have. Living 15 minutes by foot from the city center means two things. First - Lots of stuff to do at very convenient distances. Second - no malls or grocery stores close by. The last one has been a major pain trying to set up an apartment without having a car to transport stuff. Big advantages, small problems. Could not live in a better place. Less than half price to anything comparable in the big city to the east also. Sweet.

Some of my friends in Tokyo seem to spend most of their time at baseball games. Lucky bastards. I haven't had the time do indulge in my newly found interest for the game yet, and now it seems that work might come in the way of the epic Dragons-Hanshin game in August. Also need to find a driving range ASAP.

Was working a trade fair in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. The main difference from a Swedish fair was the girls.
Did they have uniforms that revealed quite a lot of skin - Yes
Did they know anything about the products they were promoting - No
Was there any reason for them being there - No
Did them being there make my work-days more pleasant - Yes
And by the way, this was a trade fair for machine tools. Not cars, not cosmetics, nothing even close to consumer goods but rather for the type of products that one maybe is least likely to associate with lightly dressed girls. If it is a good strategy or not I don't know. I do know that I got quite a few e-mails promoting industrial humidifiers and storage systems after the fair, things I have neither a personal nor a business interest in.

Perhaps not only in Japan , kids - but still.