kuranosuke

emd; japan would be great. sashimi, sushi, sake, and good company. great idea.

emd

OK then. Let's try. Logistics and planning and buckaroos are the only barriers.

KimJapan, are you in?

Florence, when are you in Japan next time?

Anyone else? I know mrwunrfl is there in mid-May. I thought of going back then myself for the great Nagoya fares but now I may have new work (translate = self employed income) then.

But I'm game- as you know I LOVE the planning part.

emd

lcuy, any trips to JP planned?

KimJapan

I'm in.

mrwunrfl

Sounds good to me. Maybe we could persuade Scarlett to come and visit her son.

kuranosuke

getting exciting. how about kappo, mealea, my fellow natto partner here in hi, divediva, and all others.

even orgy.

maybe get bill to sing hail to the redskins at a karaoke bar.

important thing is to plan so that we get maximum participation for this soiree from all interested participants.

emd

yes, kappa, mealea, framboise who makes all the phone calls for everyone in Japan, anyone else, the more the merrier.

Should we start a new thread on this possibility?

On the "when" part- it is already spring, summer is not a good time in most of Japan, but what about fall colors?


Where? Tokyo w/Mealea? Kanazawa w/Kim? Somewhere close to an airport so people can get in and out and continue their travels- Kyoto/Osaka for Kansai or near Nagoya if they still have cheap fares (fat chance)?

emd

how about planning it around a great onsen somewhere?

emd

We seem to have maybe lost some momentum on this. I am not a cheerleader; I just thought maybe we could swing it if there was interest. So if anyone else wants to run w/trying to get interest w/this, let's keep it alive and get a fresh post going on it, and see if the potential is there.

Bon voyage- my son and I are practicing our minor skills at Japanese and starting to pack up the toiletries and misc. stuff tonight...

mrwunrfl

are you taking some packets of instant coffee?
do you have a proper holder for your meishi?

emd

both the westin ebisu and westin miyako have drip coffee makers in the rooms; also both are on the club levels so I will have coffee available there in the club lounges in a.m. also

how did you know I am a big coffee drinker, just a good guess? ok, I admit- i watch the pot drip until the first cup is done every morning, before i do anything that resembles breathing.

what is meishi?

mrwunrfl

Good. Sounds like you have the coffee situation squared away. meishi is a business card or personal card

emd

Oh, I hadn't thought of that at all. Will I need it? For what situations? I have business cards for my consulting business, but when would I hand those to people, in what situations? Certainly I won't be trying to drum up business- will I need them in more personal situations or just to announce myself in some way? This is not something I have thought about at all for the trip, so please enlighten me.

mrwunrfl

You might find some uses for it, e.g. if someone asks what you do. The Japanese have a whole etiquette thing about meishi and how to use them.

emd

ok, but what is the etiquitte?? I thought I had the bowing sort of figured out, and the gift giving- I am taking D.C. gifts to some people there.
But this is new. Please tell me- what is the etiquitte for the meishi?

emd

I meant "etiquette"-- I won't be able to sleep til I find out about this, so please, what is it.

mrwunrfl

If you were on a business trip then it would be very important. Since you are not on business, I think you (and I) are better off not using them. You can't go wrong if you don't use it but if you use it you can do it wrong.

emd

But do you use them on your personal trips? Will it convey some stature since I own my own company?

I found:
http://www.netcentral.co.uk/satcure/meishi.htm

mrwunrfl

I did on my first two trips but not the last two. Used it a couple of times to some modest effect.

emd

whew, ok then. I will take some and the protocol and see if it works out to use it or not. I am sort of looking forward to just being a traveling woman, and a travel buddy to my son.

Actually, I did have a Japanese company client once, so who knows.