富士山! 始めまして!

During the break between the two sections of Japanese class, we all hung out in the hallway near the window as always to enjoy the view from the fourth floor of our building, when Hannah notices this shape hidden in the distant haze of the city.

"Look, it's Mt. Fuji!"

Yup, when the haze and clouds clear up enough, you can see Mt. Fuji (Fuji-san in Japanese) from the window at Meikai. It's a rare occurrence, but I am thankful that I always bring my camera for just an occasion, even if it's not my Nikon with the telephoto lens.

Fuji-san can be seen near the center of the picture just barely through the haze here. So maybe not that great a view, but still awesome to see!

After Japanese class, we had lunch in the food court at the mall near the train station as usual and then took the hour long train ride to Shinagawa for our economy class's Kokuyo field study trip. Kokuyo is a very big company in Japan known most for its innovative office/school supplies and stationary as well as office furniture. They invented a stapler that doesn't use staples! Basically, it cuts the paper and folds it into itself. Kinda hard to explain, so check out the picture. I kinda want one. >_> And they also made rings for a binder that snap open with a simple squeeze between your thumb and finger, so you're not straining your fingers inside tiny rings to try to pry them open. So convenient! I know, not that exciting, but I was still impressed.

I am also impressed that this company was founded in 1905, and still going strong here. We were given a brief slide presentation of the company's history and accomplishments and presented with a complimentary spiral-bound sketchbook and double-stick tape roller. What I really wanted was their famous award-winning eraser. Such a cool-looking eraser!

Oh well. I was not allowed to take pictures in every room, so there aren't many to see here. And despite how uneventful it seemed, I still enjoyed the tour and learned about how a Japanese business runs compared to an American business.

A very shiny building.

Always good to have a tag preventing you from getting arrested for trespassing.

A glass case holding some of the original designs that Kokuyo made during its infant years. The large piece to the right is actually an accounting book.

A 100 year old notebook.

Trying out Kokuyo's fancy office chairs. It was like sitting on clouds...clouds that cost two to three thousand dollars. o_O From left to right: Henry, June in the back, Jordan.

LoLo, Garrett, and June again

A model of one of their office layouts.

They also designed the ramen museum.

Nothing displayed here but this wall poster, but check it out. They designed Sony's office too. Love the integration of the Playstation controller buttons.

A sample of a kid's playroom.

We were trying to figure out what this thing was for the teeth.

This mural behind it gave us instructions.

Gotta test the product. Left to right: Henry, Garrett, and Shawn.

Design for government office waiting room. Kind of a glorified DMV, except one I probably wouldn't hate waiting in.

Testing out wheelchair accessibility in one of the display rooms.

Hospital design. So pink!

Other side of the hospital.

I really liked the shape of these desks.

Outdoor courtyard on the roof.

So relaxing!

Fractal art? Love it.

Role-playing in one of the manager office designs. LoLo and Henry face Boss Garrett's wrath.

LoLo reassuring Henry that it'll be ok.

More comfy chairs! Left to right: Janel, Henry, Shawn

Garrett listens to the tour guide while LoLo checks the price tag of his chair. What's so special about it? It's Yoda's chair. Yup. This chair model was used in Episode 3 for Yoda to sit on. Awesome.

Standing in front of the building. Yeah, we have a tiny class. Left to right, back row first, not including the model at the end (no, really, she's a model who came with us and will be teaching us about Japan's fashion industry later on) Henry, Shawn, Garrett, Jordan, June. Front row, LoLo, Janel, and me.

And that ends a long day, clear of clouds, rain, and typhoons. 2 weeks til Kanazawa! So excited!