The rest of the week...

So I haven't written for a few days due to a combination of busy days and extreme laziness. Here is what I have been up to the past few days:

On Wednesday we had to be in the office very early. Very early means 8:45 in case you were wondering. We had lectures from the marketing division and safety division that took up most of the day. Both lectures were pretty much what you would expect for marketing and keeping rail transportation safe. The airlines are their biggest competition, and they pride themselves in a flawless safety record since their launch. For lunch we ate at Denny's again, but this time I ordered a more Japanese meal.

Thursday was an adventure to Nagoya, a large city about 1.5 hours away from Tokyo on the train. This was our first trip as regular passengers on the bullet train. Compared to an airplane there was a lot more leg room and the seats reclined further. We were excited to try out the wireless internet on board (I wanted to listen to the Brewers' game), but we found out that you had to be a subscriber to Japanese cell phone service in order to get a password.

Once in Nagoya, we took a 40 minute bus ride to JR's Technical Research Institute. This is another James Bond-esque facility where they improve on and create new materials and trains. Apparently JR had a lot to do with the invention of the photo catalytic air purifier, and now use them in the smoking cars on their trains. It was a cool facility, but we were not able to take any pictures while we were there.

On Friday we had another brief lecture from the marketing department, where we learned about the IC cards used in Japan. IC cards are basically pre-paid cards that you can reload with money in any of the train stations. The cool part about them is that you only need to hover them over the entrance gate, and your account will automatically be debited. Every train company has their own version, and many are compatible. This means that if you own one, you never need to stop and buy a train ticket or adjust a fare. Some Japanese cell phones are equipped with them now, eliminating the need for a physical card. You can even use them on many vending machines and in stores!

We spent the rest of the day traveling around Tokyo testing out our IC cards. We were able to take JR trains, the subway, private rail, the monorail, and a bus with the same card. Pretty amazing cooperation between so many companies. During our excursion we got to see a lot more of the city, as well as Toyota's giant showroom. After work the marketing guys took us to dinner at a alleyway restaurant where many people gather after work. They did the ordering for the table, which turned out to be pretty interesting. We had chicken cartilage, chicken skin, chicken hearts, and chicken liver...pretty much everything except the meat of the chicken. It really wasn't as bad as I expected, and went well with a cold beer. I watched a movie and turned in early that night.

This morning we left the apartment building at 6am, and took a short trek to the Tsukiji fish market, one of the largest in the world. The market was absolutely insane, with trucks, fish, and people running all over the place. There were hundreds of fish, muscles, and even a few turtles for sale. The first picture is giant tuna, and the second is a mix of different fish (and octopus) on display.




After the fish market we went to have breakfast at the train station. We were going to eat fresh sushi at the market, but there was a huge line in front of every restaurant in the area. We then took a walk through a park and over to the Imperial Palace grounds. The palace is only open 2 days every year so we could only take pictures from the outside. The grounds were very impressive, with lawns that looked like they could have been at a world class golf course.




I am currently taking the rest of the afternoon easy in the apartment. Maybe I will make some rice and curry for dinner. After dinner I want to go to one of the bars or restaurants with a cool view of Tokyo. Next week we are doing our first overnight trip, where we are heading to Osaka by train and then flying back in order to compare the two competing modes of transportation. We also have a lecture from the Operations Division and get to check out the new Maglev train!