I started out working for an Architecture firm in downtown Osaka. I stayed there for 3 months during which time I found out the firm was run by the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) and quite a strange outfit. I went to work for another firm in Kobe where I stayed until leaving. I had to fake my return to America between jobs as the Yakuza people were tracking me. I flew home, answered the phone when they called to confirm I actually left the country, and then flew back to Japan. Yikes!

My best memories were from Nara and Kyoto - exploring the imperial buildings and gardens. I learned Japanese while I was there and could answer the phone convincingly after 6 months (people actually didn't realize I wasn't Japanese on the phone which was a bit of a problem.) Once I learned the language and understood the culture better, it was very disillusioning. Back then (this is in 1991, and I've heard there's been alot of change since then) people would never tell you what they really meant - they would always talk in a circle around their answer. They would say yes when meaning no, etc. They would gain their esteem from the group they belonged to rather than their own accomplishments, so discussions were like talking office politics. At the first firm, the staff would spend more than 50% of their day schmoozing with their superiors to advance politically, then finally start working in the afternoon and ending up working late and still not finish what a normal person could do during a normal day. Advancement had no relation to ability - it was strictly politics. Sigh.