- Different Travel Preferences, Introduction
- Different Travel Preferences, Part I (Pam Pastor)
- Different Travel Preferences, Part II (Pam Pastor, cont.)
- Different Travel Preferences, Part III (D. Brinkmann)
- Different Travel Preferences, Part IV (Tim Arai)
...continuation of our interview of Takuya (Tim) Arai, Director of International Product Development for an ECM (Enterprise Content Managament company.
For the past year, Tim has been traveling almost exclusively to Japan once a month, for an average of two weeks. When in Japan, he usually stays within the general Tokyo and Kawasaki area, with occasional visits to Chiba.
Preferred Airport Lounge: "I haven't really used lounges too much until fairly recently. However, of the few that I have used, I really liked the Northwest's World Clubs lounge in Narita. It's very big, spacious, and open. Located right above NW's gates, it's quite convenient as well. The drink machines are fully stocked including an automatic beer pouring machine and the lounge in general is very clean."
Pros of Traveling for Work: "I don't mind traveling for work. As work has become just another part of my life, it's an adjustment I am willing to make to a degree. As any business traveller knows, even in the world where conference calls and video conferencing and such are become more and more commonplace, there is nothing that can truly replace a face to face conversation.
There are other pros as well. After all, I am given the opportunity to go to Japan and experience life on the other side of the world. Learning how to do business and seeing what day to day life is like is an opportunity that one rarely gets to experiece. That and, from a purely personal standpoint, as my parents live in Japan, I get to see them more than I did when they were living in the US only 3 hours away from me."
Cons of Traveling for Work: "...well, being a single male in his early (very early) 30's, my social life has taken a major hit. Not just from not being in the country either. Traveling this often back and forth from Japan, jet lag can be pretty bad at times so, even in the country, I can be too tired to really do anything. I try to keep in touch with friends and family via e-mail and blogging but with the 13 to 14 hour time differences, real time conversations can be difficult.
From a business point of view, it is all too easy, especially after 2
weeks, to get burnt out fast. Due to the time differences, you find
yourself getting up early in the morning to deal with e-mail from the office, go to work all day, and then come back to the room only to have to deal with more e-mails from the home office as their day is just starting. Finding the time to simply shut the laptop off and go to bed can be difficult at times."
NEXT: Tim's Bad Experience
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