FOOD

Now, I am a man of my words, and so I have literally just finished eating a horse, a raw horse in fact! Raw meat is something that I and my fellow interns have become accustomed to over here in Tokyo, actually you should probably assume the meat is raw, or at least check it is definitely cooked if blood and veins is not your kind of thing. I learned this the hard way when we were taken out for dinner by Dr Stephen Baker from Scottish Development International and I was forced to eat a king prawn. I will leave the detail for when I return since there is a chance that you may be eating your lunch when reading this. (Brains and spinal cords - yuk!)

WORK

Work is going well and I feel that I have settled into the Logistics Engineering department quite nicely. I have recently been working on a mini project where I use something called DMAIC, a tool used in industry to find the root cause of a problem and rectify it in order to save both DHL and its client's money (If anyone is familiar with Six Sigma then I am sure you have come across this before). It feels great to be working on a real life project! The nature of my job requires me to travel in Tokyo and the surrounding area in order to see the work in action at the various DHL distribution centers which is great fun! Next week I am going on the Bullet Train up north for a site visit! They are working me hard though - The last couple of days I have been getting up at 6am and getting home from work at 7:45pm in order to participate in a DMAIC training program. Very useful and interesting, however, the heat does make it challenging to keep my eyes open the entire time! After a progress meeting next week with my boss I should have a clearer picture of what my main project will be based on - I'm just so pleased I have taken such an interest in logistics and supply chain management since I have come here!

TOKYO SIGHTS

The other day we took a walk to the Imperial Palace gardens located right in the heart of Tokyo. I took some cracking pictures of the luscious estate with skyscrapers and Tokyo Tower as a backdrop. We have plans to return there with bento boxes (Japanese lunch boxes), a football, a couple of beers (it is legal to drink in the street in Japan) and all of the friends we have made during our stay in the near future! Every Sunday if you get up early enough the first 500 visitors get bicycles for the entire day for free, we have to try that!

At the weekend there we went to a district called Harajuku - you may have heard of it. Famous for its young and eccentric crowds it did not fail to live up to its reputation. I got my picture taken with a host of oddly dressed folk walking around the streets, dancing in the park and we even saw real life "Harajuku Girls" - definitely worth plugging into your favourite internet search engine.

Like I said in a previous blog, we try our best to get out and explore Tokyo after work every day in order to make the most of our time here. There is absolutely no sign of us running out of things to do - Tokyo is made up of a collection of lots of smaller towns, each one with an entirely different vibe and character and so wandering through the streets can be great fun on its own.

THE NEWS

If you have read my previous blog you will have heard I was experiencing a bit of difficulty finding a pair of trainers in this city that would actually fit on my big feet. Thanks to one of my friends from Tokyo I have been able to locate such a pair and am now running on a tri-weekly basis.

After been taken out on a number of occasions for dinner by our work colleagues since my last blog, we have been invited to one of the DHL Director's house at the weekend. (Must remember to bring some perfectly wrapped gifts - HINT to all future interns going to Japan - make sure to pay your University shop, the Scottish Tourist Board & Glasgow Media Board a visit and ask nicely for some freebees, they have most definitely come in handy!)

Last night I ate the sand gland from a chicken's throat, and Stingray wing tastes better than beef jerky. Fact.

The date is set for going to our Global Scot's second home and climbing Mt. Fuji! On the night of the 7^th August we will begin our eight hour assent, hopefully reaching the summit just in time to watch the sun rise! Having only brought shorts and t-shirts with me I hope we can borrow some DHL winter gear for the expedition - It could get to as low as 2˚C at the crater!

That is all from me for another week here in the most exciting city in the world, I literally have no idea what the next one will bring. Really glad to hear everyone else is having an ace time.

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