Mighty Hok Chronicles

Japan Reflections

The Daily

When I think about my time in Japan, a big part involved my daily work routine. I got a job at an industrial robotics company and worked in a factory setting. Here’s a log of a typical day-in-the-life.

6:30am

My alarm went off at 6:30am, but I often snoozed until 7am. After preparing breakfast, I’d linger until about 8:15 before heading for work. I lived by a canal so there was never any traffic outside, mostly children walking to school in their matching bucket hats and Randoseru backpacks. I’d arrive at Toyosu station on the Yurakucho line at about 8:25 and brace for a big rush of people getting out. Their backs were often pressed right against the train doors, eager to leave. Sometimes I saw colleagues on the train but the Japanese norm is not to chatter. I only had to ride one stop to Tatsumi station.

I lived in the building to the right

8:45am

The office was in an industrial area. My least favourite part of getting there was having to cross a highway underpass because the lights were so slow. Unless you sprinted, you could never make it across both sets of lights. There was a Konbini (convenience store) where people would often grab breakfast before work. There was only one elevator to the 4th floor development office so a line would often form and everyone would pack in like tidy sardines. I usually arrived in time for the Front End Systems team standup at 8:45am.

I worked in the building with the yellow stripe

The office color was a bright shade of tangerine. After standup, I’d often work at my desk with the other front end engineers and designers. Sometimes I’d join meetings but there usually weren’t too many. Although I often wished that I could work from home, I liked the social aspect.

One of the orange offices

12:00pm

At around noon, I’d usually head up to the 5th floor for lunch with the other designers. We’d sit with different people but we always ate together. One of the company's benefits was free lunch and I always looked forward to that. The chef took a lot of pride in serving a wide range of food on large platters everyday. It was nice not to have to think about packing lunch. Everyone always lined up to wash their hands and for once the women's bathroom had no lineup while the men’s line up went down the hallway.

The typical buffet style lunch. The chef is in the window!

There would be a newcomers presentation every first or middle of the month. New employees would introduce themselves and share their hobbies. It seemed like a Japanese norm to take hobbies very seriously. Most people pursued some kind of sport, travelled, or played video games. After all the presentations, a “transformation” ceremony took place where team leads presented each person with a company jacket to signify that you were officially part of the team.

Presentation

1:00pm

One of the two robot cells I spent time at

As a designer, I was responsible for designing the interfaces that people use to set up and operate the robots. To do that, I tried to understand the system and also learned to do the setup myself. When things didn’t work, I needed support from our developers who helped debug errors.

Developers debugging at the cell with me

I enjoyed working closely with the other designers to figure out how to improve the complicated setup flow. We faced many challenges together that often required a lot of organization just to get clarity. We shared in the frustrations and triumphs. I’m really proud of the progress we made as a team and it was satisfying to see the things we designed be translated directly into a product we could use.

Me, Mei, and Sylvia

5:45pm

Ariake arena

Once at home, I would sit down for a little bit. I’d do my WaniKani (Japanese learning app) reviews.

The small living room

7:00pm

Friday night poke bowl

The Weekend

The weekend was less structured. Most of the time we would explore something new on Saturday and then stay in our neighbourhood on Sundays. Sometimes we took weekend trips. Living here allowed me to notice similarities and differences between Japanese culture and my own. These are some random observations:

• When running, even in the middle of summer, it is common to see people wearing UV protected long sleeves and face coverings to protect themselves against the sun.
• High-end pet strollers are as common as baby strollers.
• Pet owners often need to carry their dogs outside because many buildings don't let them walk on the carpets.
• Informal crowds gather for local events on the streets. I saw a game of bingo once.
• There are rules against politicians paying for TV ads during elections, so it is common to see them with microphones campaigning on vans that drive around.
• When grocery shopping, there is always a little wet sponge contraption thing to make it easier for people to open plastic bags.