Testimonial |
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"Oishii" deserts and pink pocket size electronic gadgetsby George J. Lee Ph.D. candidate  George Lee, left, with other current and former MIT Japan interns, at a "gyoza" party in Tokyo (07/2004) I first became interested in Japan due to its fascinating culture, blending East and West, old and new. When I found out about the MIT Japan program and heard about the wonderful experiences of past interns, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to experience life in this unique and amazing country. I wanted to find an internship at a company where I would have a chance to work on cutting-edge research and encounter new ideas, so I was delighted when the MIT Japan program arranged an internship for me at NTT DoCoMo's Network Research Labs. Since my research interest is in wireless and mobile networks, this was a perfect match for me. My first day of work, they gave me my own keitai (that's Japanese for mobile phone). I spent hours playing with different functions, games, and other applications installed on it like the millions of Japanese who spend hours on the train every day completely immersed in their keitai... it's so exciting knowing the research going on at my company has such a big impact on people's lives! The work environment here is fantastic. My coworkers are willing to help with almost anything, from picking me up at the train station and taking me to my dorm my first night in Japan, to helping me make travel arrangements for a vacation. We have lots of social events at my company, too, such as a pool tournament, an outing to see a Noh show, a summer festival with live music performed by DoCoMo employees, and of course, plenty of nomikai (parties)! My working hours are reasonable, I have some freedom in choosing research projects, and most of the people here have fairly good English skills so I can communicate even when my Japanese fails me. One thing I love about Japan is the food. You can get an amazing variety of excellent sushi here at reasonable prices. Other kinds of delicious japanese food include tempura, various types of noodles including ramen, soba, and udon, kaiseki ryoori (a traditional meal with lots of small dishes), yakiniku, and a million other things you've never heard of. You can find all sorts of foreign cuisine as well. Some may not agree with me, but I think Japanized pizza and pasta is delicious (spaghetti with enoki, shiitake, and other Japanese mushrooms, topped with seaweed... oishii!). Oh and the desserts... I just wish they came in larger portions! Japanese people love things that are small and cute. One of the most popular yogurt drinks here is Yakult, which comes in tiny 100 mL bottles. I've had tequila shots bigger than that. And don't expect to find gallon jugs of milk here. The contrast between the cute, brightly-colored little home theater systems they sell in Akihabara and the massive, sleek, and mostly black stereo components you find in the U.S. (but also made in Japan!) is an another example. If you decide to come to Japan, be prepared to carry around lots of cash, since hardly anyone accepts credit cards. Fortunately, the crime rate is low and you can get change everywhere. I remember when I first rode a taxi and all I had were 10,000 yen bills. To my surprise, the taxi driver happily made change for me. No "Driver only carries $10 in change" signs in Japan! You can get change on buses and the train ticket machines accept even 10,000 yen bills. There is so much to see and do in Tokyo: restaurants to explore, more clubs and bars to check out, countless museums to visit, and it seems like there's a festival or a fireworks show almost every day somewhere in the area. And there are plenty of shrines, temples, parks, beaches, mountains, onsen, ryokan, and more just a short distance from the city. I've only been in Japan for one month now, but I feel like whether you are here for a week, a month, or a year, you'll never run out of stuff to do. So start practicing that Japanese! Would you like to forward a comment about this column to the author? Send e-mail to: gjl@mit.edu About the Author
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