Thursday, May 25, 2006

First day in Tokyo

First a confession ... STILL no photos. :-( I'm really, really, really hoping to get a group photo of the students at Mt. Fuji tomorrow!

Speaking of which ... today was beautiful and sunny, and I'm hoping it will hold for our trip to Mt. Fuji tomorrow. Regardless, it was a great day to try out the Tokyo subway system for our trip to Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the morning, and to Rikkyo University in the afternoon. Both visits turned out very nicely. At PWC, we were met by Mr. Joe Divito, a PWC global partner currently assigned to the Tokyo office, and a THREE time graduate of Duquesne (undergrad, MBA, and law school). Duquesne is everywhere!

At PWC we learned a lot about business in Japan. We also heard about Mr. Divito's experience as an American living in Tokyo, and about the experiences of Mr. Divito's Japanese colleagues, who lived in the USA for 6 months and 20 years, respectively. Very interesting.

After most of us ate "Bento box" lunches near PWC, we again boarded the subway for Rikkyo University in the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo, about 30 minutes away. The Rikkyo visit was incredible. There were about 30 Rikkyo students and 4 or 5 faculty waiting for us when we arrived, so the room was filled. After some brief introductions and comments from the respective professors, including yours truly, the Duquesne and Rikkyo students then worked together on their joint presentations comparing US and Japanese business practices, university life in the US and Japan, and career options in the two countries. It actually worked! Later, we were treated to food and drink at a reception, and we provided some small gifts -- Duquesne School of Business t-shirts -- to all of the Rikkyo students.

And tonight, as I write this, the Duquesne and Rikkyo students are all out on the town together. :-) It couldn't have worked out any better!

Our trip is rapidly drawing to a close. Tomorrow (Friday) is our day-trip to Mt. Fuji. On Saturday the students from the two universities will tour the city in small groups. Sunday is our 'free day' -- the only complete free day of the entire trip. On Sunday evening at 9PM, we will have our 'farewell' dinner at a restaurant called "Gonpachi". We were there last year. It looks like a Japanese ninja house. The Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi hosted George Bush for dinner there a few years ago. It should be a great way to finish up the trip!

Still more to come ... Stay tuned!

posted by Dr. William Spangler @ 8:07 PM