{"id":4711,"date":"2017-07-12T15:43:33","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T05:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/?p=4711"},"modified":"2017-07-12T15:43:33","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T05:43:33","slug":"welcome-to-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/07\/12\/welcome-to-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Konnichiwa from Tokyo!<\/strong> It\u2019s great to be here. My name is Izzie, and I\u2019m one of six QUT students currently in Japan interning with one of the world\u2019s most historical trading companies \u2013 Mitsui & Co. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company likes to joke that they trade in everything from ramen to steel; and it\u2019s completely true. In terms of Western corporations, we simply have nothing like it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 < < check out our office!<\/p>\n

Part of our internship has included a lot of intercultural talks and discussions \u2013 what were our expectations of Japan? What were our preconceived thoughts about Japanese businesspeople?<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the answers from all six of us (and the other six students we\u2019re travelling with from Deakin University in Melbourne) were fairly similar. We all expected Japan to be clean, neat, and orderly \u2013 with the Japanese being very polite and respectful.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s an interesting dichotomy at play here (watch out \u2013 I\u2019m about to go full Marketing student nerd on you). In a place that is so organised in layout, where people are almost overwhelmingly considerate, the overall aspect and design of inner city aesthetics are\u00a0crazy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take, for example, Shibuya crossing. An iconic part of Tokyo, the crossing sees hundreds of thousands pass through its streets every single day. On our first visit one night after work, we all scrambled up on some benches at the crossing and simply \u2018people watched\u2019 for about 20 minutes. For a place that\u2019s so systematic, it\u2019s intriguing to see the tidy streets flood with a beautiful mess of people, all headed for completely different destinations, deeds, and dreams.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Another example is the advertising here. Blasted over speakerphones and displayed on electronic screens, ads are bright, colourful, and incredibly animated. The overall look and feel here takes a swift departure from Western realism and enters the Japanese realm of caricature (anime, or manga, anyone?) It\u2019s not uncommon to see characters from Nintendo\u2019s \u2018Animal Crossing\u2019 plastered on train advertisements, or Ghibli\u2019s \u2018Totoro\u2019 used in a street poster. At first, it can be a lot to take in \u2013 but it\u2019s incredibly interesting to reflect on when thinking about the perceived Japanese tidiness and collective introversion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019m trying to welcome it all with open arms. So far, Tokyo is unlike anything I\u2019ve ever experienced \u2013 so I\u2019ll be sure to keep you posted on any other musings or experiences. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Konnichiwa from Tokyo! It\u2019s great to be here. My name is Izzie, and I\u2019m one of six QUT students currently in Japan interning with one of the world\u2019s most historical trading companies \u2013 Mitsui & Co. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company likes to joke that they trade in everything from ramen to steel; and it\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[326],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-japan"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWelcome to Japan - QUT Gone Global<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/07\/12\/welcome-to-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to Japan - QUT Gone Global\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Konnichiwa from Tokyo! 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