A night in Shibuya

This week, I went to Shibuya with my friends. Shibuya is one of the Tokyo's most colourful and busy districs and birthplace to many of Japan's fasion and entertainment trends. Most of the areas here are large department and fasion stores.

At night, Shibuya turns into one of the major nightlift stages where young people gather here for alcohols and dances.

Almost every streets is crowded with people.

Upon arrival, we went to a pub for some beers.

Even the pub is sandwiched with people.

These are my friends from Ireland. (From right)Damien, Seamus and Kendrick.

Then, we went to Pure Shibuya club for a nomihodai. Nomihodai is usually practised when there are new comers in a company. It is a all-you-can-drink event, purposely to get the new comers drunk. It is also another way for the Japanese to reject tasks or to close deals. They talk when they are drunk. Amazingly, they can remember what you say even when they are drunk.

At around 4am, I couldn't drink anymore and I left that place. I found many falled heroes on the streets. Unable to control myself, I snapped the photos of the fallen heroes.

The 1st-runner up goes to....

Ladies and gentlemen, The Champion of the Day!

This style is way too dangerous for the upcoming vehicles. No choice, someone has to do something.

There, isn't it safer now. The Champion of the Day.

We left Shibuya at around 10am and this is the morning of Shibuya.


Good morning Shibuya~! Goodbye~!

My Training

Wake up at 6.15am, I prepare myself and leave the dormitory at 7am. Walk for about 20 minutes, I reach Ookuraya Station where I have to take the transit to Tamagawa (190 yen, 18 minutes). From there, I walk to HQ (old buiding) and wait for morning exercise. 8.25am, music will be played and everyone will move their body. At 8.30am, I am briefed with the company history, background, concept, vision, mission, etc etc etc. 9.15am, go to training centre (10 minutes walk) and start language class there until 3.35pm. After that Ihave to do my homework there until 5.10pm. Then, fong kung lor.

This is my classroom. There are 5 people including me. Two from Ireland, one from Czech Republic and one from Canada(not IAP member). The other 3 IAP members are in the advanced course.

There is an hourglass in the toilet. I bet you know what it is for. To limit the time spend in the toilet(I think). So far, I have successfully finish my business within the time limit...once!

The reason I'm here

Many people asked me what am I doing here. So, this is the answer. I am undergoing a program called International Associate Program(IAP). This program started in 1989 when the Japanese built several factories in Ireland. Initially, this program is called Overseas Graduate Program. The objective is to allow the Irish trainees to get the chance to experience Japanese way of working and adapt it in Alps Ireland and to promote internal internationalization. In year 2005, this program has expanded to other countries and is called IAP. Currently there are 7 countries joining this program.

• France
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• Czech Republic
• United States
  
• and this year, Malaysia

Until 2006, there are total of 76 members who have joined this program. 12 ended the training by going back to their country. 25 members are employed here. And the rest did not finish the program. The current record holder is from Germany where the member came for 3 days only and went back to his country.

One of the frequently asked question how long am I bonded after my 2 years training? The answer is, I am not bonded after my 2 years training here.

There is a small article about this program at the end of this page
http://www.alps.com/e/csr/individual/indi_work.html

My Neighbourhood

Nippa is a quiet place. The streets here are just like what we see in Doraemon comic. Narrow streets. Only the main roads are wide. Compact houses. There are two train stations nearby. One is around 5 minutes walk and the other is around 20 minutes walk. The one I need to get on to go to my company is the 20 minutes walk one. Actually nothing much to talk about here. I believes pictures can tell more than words.

There are quite a lot of convenient stores and supermarket around here. The most frequently visited is AEON. It's around 10 minutes of walk from the dorm. This is where I get my stuffs and meals.

My Room

This is my room. I stay in the ground floor. 103, good number desu ne? It's a single room with private refrigerator and television. There is a big football field beyond the window. The room is big enough to occupy erm....4 people? Anyone who wants to visit me, this is where you can save some penny on the accomodation.

My Dormitory

For the next 5 weeks, I'll be staying here. This is Alps Logistic Dormitory. It is located in Nippa-cho, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken. Most of the tenants here are foreigners. Two from Ireland, two from Czech Republic, four from USA and I'm from Malaysia. There are around eleven Japanese staying with us.

I was welcomed by the dorm supervisor, Saeki-san. He is a pure Japanese and he speaks only Japanese. Another thing is, he likes to talk. Everytime he sees anyone, he will keep talking and talking and talking. I don't really understand what he mean but I just nod and hai hai, so desu ne.

The lounge where we can access to the internet. I tried to download some TVB series here and the fastest speed I can get is...around 800kbps. ^_^

This is the bathroom. Like what Sau Heung said before. Rubbing each other's back. After shower, everyone gets into the pool of hot water and start chatting. Which I usually in there alone. The Japanese work too hard. They usually come back after 10pm. As for the foreigners, some prefer to bathe in the morning but not after work.

This is the kitchen. So far, there is only one person who is actually utilizing this facility. The rest only use the table and television. Lol.

My 1st Day in Japan

After 7 hours of flight, I reached Narita Airport, stepping my foot as an 'alien' into Japan for the 1st time. As instructed, I had to go to Yokohama City Air Terminal (YCAT) by myself to meet up Alps personnel. Narita Airport is not very big compare to KLIA.

The aero train platform. There is little we can do at the satelite building.

There is something strange with the toilet. The left is for gents and right for ladies. There is another room in between. For hybrid being? Not so sure but I do regret for not trying it out.

These are the plant and animal quarantine area; and luggage collection area. I waited for almost 15 minutes for my luggage there and then only found out that I was at the wrong belt. Not very sure with the sign boards there.

The arrival hall

Outside of the airport is also a non-smoking zone. However, smokers can satisfy their thirst in this room.

Welcome to Japan~!