On the very first day, it was a no-time-to-lose business, I had to meet Masa, one of the founders/VPs, at 0900am at the nearest train station, Osaki, one of the stations along the famous Yamanote Line. It was my first meeting with him face to face, since the entire hiring process was through Skype, Emails, and Line. He personally welcomed me and showed me to the office where I met all my future coworkers, got my desk and my laptop.

The usual tasks would include working on different projects, analyzing warehouse processes for a major automotive client, drawing processes on iGrafx, a BPMN and simulation software, using ol’good BPMN methods, and sharing with my colleagues to find solutions.

Few weeks, came the hot and humid July. I usually woke at 0730am, got ready, jumped in a ‘hell’ train (well some of you already know, this isn’t Japan if the trains ain’t crowded), and arrived at work 0945am there about. I pressed the door, and made sure everyone in the room heard my “Ohayoogozaimasu”! I found this ‘declaration’ of my arrival convenient, as it is not only a way to notify everyone that I’m here, but also a way to say “What’s up”.

The mornings passed by quickly, as there were not many hours before lunch, which was usually Bento or one of the numerous restaurants around (I remember one especially because of the Chahan aka chinese fried rice).

The afternoon however, was longer, allowing more time for group work. These group works were precious, especially for me, since my proficiency in Japanese was limited. I was then able to ask Jenell or Masa for explanations or some review of my work. It was critical for me to reach an almost perfect work since I was given actual responsibilities to deliver them to the client. This was also something I appreciated in ISOL because the work I was tasked with are about actual operations on clients’ sites and warehouses, which were very good materials for me to study.