Japan

Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka

We landed in Tokyo jet-lagged and convinced we could push through. After a quick dinner and a short nap, I talked my husband into a 1am trip to 7-Eleven. And yes, the snacks live up to the hype.

The next morning, we had a slow breakfast and spent the rest of the day wandering. We kept stumbling into neighborhoods and shops we hadn't meant to find, and stayed longer in each than we planned.

In Golden Gai, we found a Japanese barbecue bar that fit no more than six people. It became our favorite stop of the trip.

A few days in, the school portion of the trip began. Over the next week we'd visit seven companies and walk through some of the country's most visited places.

Asakusa

Imperial Palace East Garden

Tokyo Tower

Every company we visited taught me something I've carried back to my work. Here's our team.

BOCO is rethinking hearing health through bone conduction audio. Meeting their team, you could tell how much they cared about the people they were engineering for.

SAMCO is a semiconductor company that grew from a Kyoto garage into a respected name in a demanding industry. Their founder and CEO spoke about the value of continued learning.

Vector is a PR agency that emphasizes the importance of data. They spent time during our visit talking about relationships and the importance of understanding culture in the work we do.

We also visited Kikkoman, where the soy sauce is made the same way it has been for generations and takes time to fully develop. We’re still talking about the soy sauce ice cream.

Some of the trip's lasting moments happened in the unplanned ones. We had dinner one night at a classmate's friend's home, where she had prepared the meal herself.