Sunday, April 21, 2013

Orientation (3/28/13)


Hey oh y’all,

So orientation. Again. This time with 30 people instead of just 12. But it’s kind of the same stuff.

But first the all important shrine blessing to a good start!

We went to Heian Jingu (Jinja associated with imperial family) for a purification ritual. I admit. I had and still have no idea what went on. There was bowing and paper waving and clapping and the priest chanting. But I do remember that Heian Jingu was built as a way to honor Kyoto’s history as the capital city by enshrining the emperor who moved the capital to Kyoto. See, I’m paying attention.

Then we walked to Nanzenji, where we climbed up the main gate to get a nice view of the area.

Then for the boring paperwork stuff.
Not that it’s unimportant. It’s not. I remember being nervous in the few days before the program – you have to meet and memorize people’s names, figure out how to get from point a to point b and back, remember all the Japanese that went out your head, and not be rude in a culture that you can very easily be rude in – it’s stressful. Having a local staff tell you what you should and should not do makes things a little easier. You kind of do take for granted a lot of things living at home. Though I think this shared vulnerability allows you to more easily make friends you never thought you would so in some ways it’s nice.

I also got to see off some of the winter quarter group leaving after their spring break trips – I’ll miss y’all! Have a safe trip back to Stanford!

And on things you take for granted – cell phones – or at least the ability to tell someone where you are if you are waiting.

For the winter quarter, Stanford provided us with phones so all we needed to do was pay to activate them, but for spring quarter, everyone has to buy their own phone and plan. Of course, everyone figured they’d more or less do the same thing we are (prepaid cards on a monthly plan) since it’s the cheapest option…except every store we went to stopped selling the prepaid model plans. Since you don’t need to “sign up” for a long plan and just borrow the phone, apparently criminals have been using the models…though for what I’m not sure. So we ended up spending the afternoon walking around Kyoto looking for phone stores. Eventually our Director made a special call to basically mail order everyone phones. Isn't it great how people make connections  and communicate?

But that night I was able to regroup with my ALC coordinators and some participants! Yay!

DC

Monday, April 15, 2013

Let's Start Round 2! (3/27/13)


Hey oh y’all,

So I’m slowly but surely catching up – it’s about time to start our 2nd quarter here!

Thank you all for bearing with me! And thank you for continuing to support me too!

So first return home for a quick break – and to explain to my host family what I was doing and where I disappeared off to (they lol’d when I explained I was planning my side trips around AKB locations without actually going to see them – Akihabara, Tokyo; Namba, Osaka; Sakae, Nagoya; and up next is Hakata, Fukuoka home of HKT48).

Then back to the Co-op Inn to meet the new group.

Except the new group all ended up flying in late that night. Oh well. Got to hang out in the city with Garrett.

We ate ramen and karaage, walked around the sketchy parts of town (it’s like a block of bars…Kyoto is a city of expensive history…Shinjuku is is not), and then watched Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (one of the greatest anime series ever written).

Tomorrow starts orientation. Not much on my end, but I’ve got to be here to ensure everyone that you can in fact survive in Japan lol (even if you almost go out of your way to be a useless gaijin like me).

-DC

Spring Break - Toyota Tour (3/26/13)


Hey oh y’all,

So Sumi and I just finished our trip to Nabana no Sato – I’m sure she can tell you all about it.

Last night we watched a weird/funny Japanese variety show (no – Japanese TV shows are not always weird, but they are almost invariably funny). The show was called Bikkuri Kamera (Surprise/Candid Camera). Basically they put people into odd situations to “see how they will react.” Scenarios include setting trap doors for people who are bilingual to see which language they scream in, trying to get a person to “punk/scare” his/her boss, telling a crowd to flat out ignore a stand-up comedian (this one was kind of mean), and of course send a large stampede of people against a the guy is walking down the street. But there was also a section for – how to shock and surprise a comedian who makes his living doing “WILD” things – using wasabi for toothpaste, walking through a car wash…they ended up settling on making him take a bath, then pretending the hot springs had actually hit oil and exploding the oil. I actually enjoyed it a lot – though I’m not sure the psychological significance of doing surprising things only to find out that they do in fact surprise people.

I hope I'm not infringing on copyright here...
Loosely translated - Being scrubbed! What are you doing?!

Ok – on to more important business.

So after Mie-ken (Mie Prefecture – state equivalent), we took a side trip to Aichi-ken and the Toyota Factory and Museum. You get to tour their museum located next to headquarters and go take a quick tour of one of their factories – they have information in both English and Japanese, which is very nice. Plus admission and the tour are free (advanced reservation required).




About an hour from Nagoya, Toyota City was a pretty cool place. And yes, Toyota basically owns its own city. They said that they have 10 factories all within 30 minutes drive of each other and their main headquarters. And they have access to basically their own parts suppliers who are mostly located within 1.5 hours drive. And of course most of their workers live in the “city limits.” You want organization? Toyota has organization.

Honk honk! Outta my way!

Basically Toyota-shi/Toyota City is an example of Toyota efficiency and the Toyota Production System (TPS) – a worldwide standard in factory management, quality control, and improvement. As you can learn if you visit the factory and museum, Toyota prides itself on being a leader in production. Toyota basically tries to make as many new, high-quality products as efficiently possible. This means cutting production times as much as possible and being able to easily adapt procedures to make them more efficient. Thus, having plants and suppliers close to the main headquarters would help.

Toyota has three prime complementing philosophies –the “just-in-time” management theory, “jidouka,” and “kaizen.”

Just-in-time means, as the Toyota guide explained, “producing what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount that is needed” – tips include maintaining a small, diverse, organized inventory that is easily replaceable (and easily accounted for using a computerized inventory check); having a clear “recipe sheet” for workers to follow; pre-sorting parts into 1-car bundles (“set parts supply”); and creating a good work environment (ex. Bright lights).

Jidouka means “harmony between man and machine” or human automation. Sakichi Toyoda got his start by inventing an automatic loom that both sped up work and allowed the weaver to be able to more easily fix mistakes in the linen. From a moving shuttle to the conveyer belt system, Toyota has relied on automated processes for efficient work. For the first 2 stages of a car (metal work and painting), almost 90% of the work is automated. But Toyota also recognizes the importance of people – almost all of the installation and product testing requires human interaction. Jidouka also includes the concept that “quality must be built in by each process.” People are trained to be both builders and inspectors. The idea is that problems cannot be passed on. If a problem is noted and is not solved before the “time limit” – the worker calls for the line to be stopped so that the supervisor can confer and solve the problem. Toyota uses a simple wire and board system to alert team leaders of problems in a particular area and quickly restart the process once the problem is solved.

Lastly “kaizen” – which is loosely self-improvement. All members of the team should be looking for ways to improve the product, improve the production, or improve the team. Often the best suggestions come from the front-line team members. For example, several work tools and training devices were invented by factory workers – such as a tool that can quickly pick up single screws or a chair that can swing into a car body. However, this requires a work culture and an environment that allows workers to voice their suggestions regularly and comfortably.

These three concepts are often standards by which companies test themselves to improve design and management. Although Toyota did take a quality/trust hit with the US pedal issue in 2009, the fact that they remain a leader in world car sales and a business standard for factory production stands as a testament to their efficiency and quality (or good marketing/business strategy but hey that’s kind of one in the same).



I definitely learned a lot from the tour: like kids may like cars and trucks, but it is businessmen in suits that like car factories (there were lots of kids dozing off but a lot of businessmen actively taking notes). But, seriously, if you can spare a day trip out to visit the Toyota complex, I encourage you to do so. I’m sure you’ve run into Toyota products at some point in your life so it’s cool to learn about those products and the business strategies behind them.


Sumi's learning about the steps to build a car.


And – as a bonus – you can eat in Nagoya on your way home, famous for unique noodles, katsu, and eel (and also look for the home of SKE48 – Sakae, Nagoya’s branch AKB group…didn’t get to see them though)!

Hello Nagoya!

And so concludes our spring break adventure – see you next quarter!


DC

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Spring Break - Nabana No Sato! (3/25/13)


Hi everybody,

Today we took a side trip down to Nabana no Sato in Mie Prefecture! It’s near a place called Nagashima in Nagoya. It’s basically a huge flower garden with lots of pretty sakura trees and tulip fields and greenhouses. There’s also a pretty lake and a cool UFO-type viewing tower.

But the best part is the Winter Illumination. They cover the park in Christmas lights and at night light them up. They also build a tunnel of lights! So pretty and romantic! There’s also a big light show on the nearby hill – basically think World of Color w/o the Disney characters.

Thanks to Pearly-nee for telling us about this wonderful place!

It was kinda cold and very packed – there were lots of families and couples who came. I think the entire light area was so busy, and we could hardly move. And although we saw the tunnel clearly, we were so far away from the light show that we couldn't see it well.
We were surprised it was so packed since this place was kind of out of the way – 40min train from Nagoya, the closest big city (Nagoya is about 1 hour away from Kyoto by Shinkansen).

That said – I do recommend going (to see the light show you have to go between January and March)! It’s so pretty! Just be prepared for crowds and cold.

But really – you can’t beat the tunnel or the night-lights on the sakura trees!

Until then, please enjoy these pictures!






















-Sumi