もうすぐHalloween！
準備をして楽しみにしていたのに・・・出張だと今頃気づいた
今宵は、一人さみしくロウソクに灯りをともすか・・・
準備をして楽しみにしていたのに・・・出張だと今頃気づいた
Wow! I am shocked to notice that I have not contributed to our blog for 9 full days. 
That shouldn't happen, regardless of how many business trips I must take away from home. I will do my best in the future to make sure I maintain our blog more faithfully. 
It has been an interesting 9 days, however. I had a chance to visit Miyagi again. I love Tohoku!! The color of green is so deep.
Lots of inaka. 
Very comfortable. But, I suspect it would be too cold for me to live there. The last time I went to Miyagi was in January. There was snow everywhere. My fingers were so cold that I wasn't even able to open my computer bag at Sendai airport by myself. I had to ask the security guy to open it for me and take out my computer. Very embarrassing. But not strange, I guess, for someone from SouthernCalifornia.
Tomorrow I must commute down to Kyoto. Then on Sunday I go to Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki, for five days. But Saturday is free, so I hope to help out around the house. And maybe get some writing done, too.
Robert
That shouldn't happen, regardless of how many business trips I must take away from home. I will do my best in the future to make sure I maintain our blog more faithfully. It has been an interesting 9 days, however. I had a chance to visit Miyagi again. I love Tohoku!! The color of green is so deep.
Lots of inaka. Very comfortable. But, I suspect it would be too cold for me to live there. The last time I went to Miyagi was in January. There was snow everywhere. My fingers were so cold that I wasn't even able to open my computer bag at Sendai airport by myself. I had to ask the security guy to open it for me and take out my computer. Very embarrassing. But not strange, I guess, for someone from SouthernCalifornia.Tomorrow I must commute down to Kyoto. Then on Sunday I go to Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki, for five days. But Saturday is free, so I hope to help out around the house. And maybe get some writing done, too.
Robert
Over the 3-day holiday weekend, Hiro Maeda, Yokogawa Aya, and I conducted a TOEIC 900 seminar in Ochanomizu. It was attended by around 30 people, all of whom already have very high TOEIC scores. People came from as far away as Akita, Hyogo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, with about half of the participants coming from outside the Kanto area.
It made me realize again how important it will be in the future for people to continue to improve their English, even after achieving their initial target score of 730 or even 860. I've made this comment many times, but for Japan to really compete globally and for Japanese people to really display their true business skills, a strong control of sophisticated English will be necessary. That means a TOEIC score over 900.
Thus, I was very pleased to see such an excellent turnout of highly motivated participants this past weekend.
Robert
It made me realize again how important it will be in the future for people to continue to improve their English, even after achieving their initial target score of 730 or even 860. I've made this comment many times, but for Japan to really compete globally and for Japanese people to really display their true business skills, a strong control of sophisticated English will be necessary. That means a TOEIC score over 900.
Thus, I was very pleased to see such an excellent turnout of highly motivated participants this past weekend.
Robert
先日、
我が家でヒロ前田氏とロバートは食事をしながら、次回のアルクセミナーについての話し合いを行った。（ご興味のある方は
http://www.alc.co.jp/event/13/1012/をご覧下さい）
ヒロ先生との楽しいお話はあっと！
言う間に終わってしまい、とても残念
帰り際にヒロ先生からプレゼントを戴いた。ロバートはそのプレゼントを見て大喜び！！
ヒロ先生は、こんな私とでもきちんとお話をして下さる素敵な方で、お話を聞いていても大変参考になる上、面白く違う角度から物を捉える方の一人だと改めて感じた。
ヒロ先生！またお時間を作って来て下さいね～
Robert
我が家でヒロ前田氏とロバートは食事をしながら、次回のアルクセミナーについての話し合いを行った。（ご興味のある方はhttp://www.alc.co.jp/event/13/1012/をご覧下さい）テーブルには
資料と
本と料理
・・・
資料と本と料理・・・ヒロ先生との楽しいお話はあっと！
言う間に終わってしまい、とても残念帰り際にヒロ先生からプレゼントを戴いた。ロバートはそのプレゼントを見て大喜び！！
ヒロ先生は、こんな私とでもきちんとお話をして下さる素敵な方で、お話を聞いていても大変参考になる上、面白く違う角度から物を捉える方の一人だと改めて感じた。
ヒロ先生！またお時間を作って来て下さいね～
Robert
Yesterday I had a chance to work with a Japanese company called Plan Do See. This company operates hotels and restaurants, as well as providing consulting services for service-industry related organizations. I was very impressed by the participants in our seminar. There were 14 people: 7 Japanese and 7 non-Japanese (from China, Senegal, Korea, and the USA). It was my first time to work with this client. The oldest member was probably in his early 30's.
The positive, assertive behavior of the participants reflect the corporate culture of Plan Do See, I imagine. In many ways, this reminded me of the corporate culture of our new parent company, Link and Motivation. Both companies seem to hire young, forward-thinking, assertive people. In that sense, they are very different from many of the people who work for more traditional Japanese firms.
Does this signal a shift in Japanese business style? For sure, these types of organizations, like Link and Motivation or Plan Do See, have been remarkably successful and have grown rapidly during their brief histories (PDS is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, L&M was founded in 2000). However, it might be that they have been successful because they are targeting niche markets. Moreover, both are headed by a talented, charismatic leader who is very top-down in the way he runs his organization. This style may not translate well to larger organizations, particularly traditional Japanese firms.
In any case, it will be interesting to watch the progress of companies like PDS and L&M. Without a doubt, Japan needs more businesspeople who have both the language skills and the global mindset to compete in today's global, diverse business environment.
Robert
The positive, assertive behavior of the participants reflect the corporate culture of Plan Do See, I imagine. In many ways, this reminded me of the corporate culture of our new parent company, Link and Motivation. Both companies seem to hire young, forward-thinking, assertive people. In that sense, they are very different from many of the people who work for more traditional Japanese firms.
Does this signal a shift in Japanese business style? For sure, these types of organizations, like Link and Motivation or Plan Do See, have been remarkably successful and have grown rapidly during their brief histories (PDS is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, L&M was founded in 2000). However, it might be that they have been successful because they are targeting niche markets. Moreover, both are headed by a talented, charismatic leader who is very top-down in the way he runs his organization. This style may not translate well to larger organizations, particularly traditional Japanese firms.
In any case, it will be interesting to watch the progress of companies like PDS and L&M. Without a doubt, Japan needs more businesspeople who have both the language skills and the global mindset to compete in today's global, diverse business environment.
Robert
As I wrote on FB, coming back to Japan this time is a real adventure. Because I have to board so many airplanes, I have the opportunity to experience the business class lounges in many airports. It has been an experience. 
First of all, I didn't realize that when you fly on a domestic flight inside the USA, you are not automatically entitled to use the business class lounge.
You have to either be a member of the Sky Club (which costs around $400 per year!!) or you need to purchase a "day pass" for $50. Unbelievable!
However, if you are flying on an international flight, then the use of the Sky Club is free. Here's my evaluation of thebusiness lounges I've used on this trip.
Detroit
The airport itself is quite nice. Delta has its own terminal and it is clean and utilitarian. But the lounge is nothing special. Almost no food. And very crowded. Almost every seat was taken.
Frankfurt
Not bad. There's fruit, bread, yogurt, cheese, lunch meats, etc.
Bangkok
The best. Lots of hot food. Very tasty. Comfortable chairs.
It sure is good that we could fly business class. I think I would go crazy if I had to take 5 flights in succession using economy.
Oh, well. Only three more flights and I'll be back home.
Because I have to board so many airplanes, I have the opportunity to experience the business class lounges in many airports. It has been an experience. First of all, I didn't realize that when you fly on a domestic flight inside the USA, you are not automatically entitled to use the business class lounge.
You have to either be a member of the Sky Club (which costs around $400 per year!!) or you need to purchase a "day pass" for $50. Unbelievable! However, if you are flying on an international flight, then the use of the Sky Club is free. Here's my evaluation of thebusiness lounges I've used on this trip.
Detroit
The airport itself is quite nice. Delta has its own terminal and it is clean and utilitarian. But the lounge is nothing special. Almost no food. And very crowded. Almost every seat was taken.
Frankfurt
Not bad. There's fruit, bread, yogurt, cheese, lunch meats, etc.
Bangkok
The best. Lots of hot food. Very tasty. Comfortable chairs.
It sure is good that we could fly business class. I think I would go crazy if I had to take 5 flights in succession using economy.
Oh, well. Only three more flights and I'll be back home.