Flashback: Japan 2005 (Part 1: Ichinomiya)

Had I started blogging back then, I would have blogged about it. It was my first trip overseas since I first started working in 1996 (the Bintulu recruitment trip didn’t count as overseas trip).

A few weeks after I got my Masters Degree, I had the opportunity to go for a business trip to Japan. We were introducing a new line of products, LCD projection TV aka Grand Wega (GW). I was involved with the project, so they sent me to one of our sister companies in Japan to study about the products.

After nearly 10 years working, I was really looking forward to this trip. I would be going with a young engineer friend of mine...let’s call him Mr Bean...hehe. It was also his first trip overseas.

So, on the afternoon of 28th September 2005, after returning back the rented graduation robe and mortar, my family sent me off at KLIA. While waiting to check in at the Singapore Airlines counter, I came up with this crazy idea. We were supposed to come home on Saturday the 1st October 2005, but I coaxed Mr Bean into staying one more extra day in Ichinomiya. He said.... “Whatever you do, I’ll just tag along”.... (We’d be in big trouble when we reported back to work....but we didn’t know that then). We went up to the counter and asked for a change to our flight schedule....the clerk changed it without a fuss..... Now we’d have an extra day to go sight-seeing.....

After bidding farewell...hugs and kisses.... to my family (Mr Bean came alone by the ERL), we board the aero-train to the International Terminal. We boarded the flight and guess what..... They put us into the Raffles Class....an equivalent to a Business Class in other airlines. How convenient.....

Our first destination was Changi International Airport.... We had a few hours to kill there while waiting for the connecting flight to Nagoya Airport. Changi Airport Duty Free Zone was like a shopping mall.... (In fact I think it IS a shopping mall)..... People were everywhere...shopping, window shopping...or just hanging out at the cafés and restaurant....or the open internet booths. We had a dinner of BK burgers and hurried up to the boarding gate. It was almost midnight when the SIA flight left for Nagoya. We watched movies....slept...watch movies....slept.... just to kill the 7 hours that flight took.

We arrived in Nagoya new airport...an artificial Island.... at about 7 o’clock in the morning.... It’s 7am in Nagoya, but it’s still 6am in Malaysia.... My body clock thought I was still in Malaysia.... and it told my stomach it’s time for waste disposal. So, I went to the “john” and did my business.... it’s there that I remembered that they don’t use water to “clean up”..... They use papers.... oh man!!! And I forgot to bring in a bottle.... So..... go figure..... and my butts would be unwashed until I checked in at the hotel....that evening.


Meitetsu Line - Connecting Nagoya Airport to other cities/town in Aichi Prefecture

With an “uneasy” feeling in my butts, we boarded a train at the airport.... We reached the Ichinomiya station in less than an hour. Mr Y, our Japanese manager was already waiting. He came a few days earlier, probably to set things up for us. He brought us straight to the hotel to check in....but he said “just leave your bags here.... we’re going straight to the factory.....”. I wanted to tell him that I had to get my butts cleaned first....but I didn’t think he would understand..... so, off we went straight to work.

At work, we met a few of our friends who were already in the factory (for the same reason) since a few weeks ago. Most of them would be going back this week. Together with us were a few engineers from our sister company in Thailand....they were also there for the GW.

Early in the evening, Mr Y took us back to the hotel (Green Hotel...I think). The hotel room is small (maybe about 7ft x 10ft) but fully-equipped. It could fit a very comfortable double bed, a dressing table-cum-TV-rack, a small pantry..... and a really, really small bathroom/toilet with a bath tub. The bath tub was so small that I couldn’t fit into it. That will be my home for two nights.

I spent the best part of the evening just sitting around in my room, watching Japanese shows on the TV..... Then we went out to sample the Japanese life outside. We met with some of our colleagues at the train station that also serve as a shopping mall. Most of them were going back the day after. The small town fell silent after dark....not much activities....


View of Ichinomiya from my hotel room in the early morning

I woke up early in the morning.....and after a light breakfast in my room (instant soup and 3-in-1 Milo I guess)....I went down to meet Mr Bean. It’s still a couple of hours before Mr Y arrived. So, we decided to try the Japanese breakfast. Steam rice, fresh veggie and broiled fish..... not bad at all..... Apparently, the hotel was run by a Japanese family (a middle-aged couple)..... the husband was the hotel manager and the wife was the restaurant manager. From time to time, the husband will leave his station at the front desk to help his wife in the kitchen....

Mr Y came on time......and off we went to work.....

At lunch, we joined our fellow Malaysia.... since they stayed in Ichinomiya for almost a month, they brought some dried food (serunding and salted fish mostly) from home. So, the lunch wasn’t so bad..... and Mr Y was paying for everything. Thanks a lot, sir.


With my buddy "Mr Bean"


With another close friend "Bro Z"

That evening, what were left of our colleagues came to the hotel and we went for a walk around the town.....It was almost Autumn and the weather was very pleasant.... As I said, there’s nothing in the town after dark....most shops closed at about 730pm...except for the shopping malls and the 24-hour convenient store (Sun Kus... if I’m not mistaken).... We parted companies....and promised that our destination tomorrow would be Nagoya.....

We checked out of the hotel and checked in at another (remember that we “illegally” extended our stay.....Mr Y had, reluctantly, found another hotel for us). We left the luggage with the front desk and proceeded to our friends’ hotel....about 10 minutes walk from our new hotel.

To be continued (Part 2: Nagoya)