zealuk

The old days of course! And how the younger generation are a bunch of workshy snowflakes.

Depends really. My main job at Sengan-en most people arrive about 7:30 to 8:00 and clean up the grounds and the office. Then we have a morning meeting at 8:40, followed by a section meeting at 8:50 before starting work. I do a lot of work at my desk on websites, ticketing, digital marketing. I also go out and arrange and oversee video shoots, do media relations, meet tourism stakeholders. I also go on a lot of business trips to different regions of Japan to advise on their tourism content. I have lunch at my desk usually - often a bento my wife made for me. Don’t really take a lunch break. Work till about 7pm and head home or go training after that. When we are super busy working till 9pm or later is normal. Managers like me don’t get paid overtime by the way.

All Japanese at work. Unless I’m dealing with overseas agents or media.

At home it’s a mix of both. Most meals are Japanese but breakfast is western. We also do Sunday roasts and English stuff from time to time. I speak English at home, wife and kids a mix of Japanese and English.

Kind of got a better idea of what it’s like to be an immigrant in a western country through this experience. Also less tolerance for people not willing to learn the culture and language of the country they choose to live in. Making the effort is totally necessary.

Yeah Japan is trying to sort out people working too much at the moment. Getting better than it was, but some people just don’t go home!!

I work in tourism so there are a few foreigners around and we mainly deal with foreign visitors, but I have to do a lot of work with national and local government, and a number of private companies.

Can be tough being a foreigner, especially making your level of experience known and being respected fully for what you do. Communication issues always come up regardless of how good your Japanese is. Probably the most challenging part is the balance of maintaining your identity as a foreigner and fitting in in the Japanese work environment (my company is 150 Japanese people, a Taiwanese lady, and me).