Just got back to the hotel after an amazing night out in Tokyo. I spent most of the day working out of the Microsoft office, and was given a taste of pure Japanese work ethic. Allow me to elaborate. Many of the staff at the Microsoft Japan office: Get to work at 8am Leave work at 11pm Boot up the laptop upon getting home Only see their children (awake, at least) on weekends Reluctantly take their 3 days of vacation a year when given no other option The proof is in the pictures, check out this snapshot of the Microsoft Japan office at 7:00pm on a Friday night. Remarkable! When I think of how much progress the Japanese culture has made in various industries (such as automotive for example), I now see that they arrived their only through hard work and determination. They seem to be the hardest working people I’ve ever seen… After finally being able to get Yoichiro-san out of the office, we went over to a Japanese restaurant for all sorts of local delights. The ordering process alone took several minutes, conducted completely in Japanese so know it’s going to be good! And as you’d expect, I ran into a spot of trouble when I tried to pick up the bill. Hmmm, I guess it’s as good a time as any to start learning Japanese. And for those that are wondering… yes, Yoichiro-san went back to the office after dinner (around 10:30pm). I wonder what time our counterparts back in the States will be leaving the office today?