Udon Soba

Here is the view of Pioneer Kawasaki Plant I took during my way to hotel. Kinda nice view, but morning is nicer. Here in Kawasaki, they are using very high technology, but in MPT (Malaysia Pioneer Tech.) the technology was hampeh. At least at Cubic (my previous company) they are using 'touch-and-go' system to scan-in and entering some section or room. But here in MPT, scan-in and out using bar code system.

Today I ate some fish with rice for my lunch. Before this I took udon and soba. Udon wa Soba is the name of Japanese noodle. Udon is a little bit thick while Soba a little bit thin. Japanese don't use any manual cashier to calculate the meal. All of plate or bowl or even a glass have a chip which already been stored with a value. At Pioneer cafeteria, we just put the tray at the machine, then automatically the screen will calculate the amount we ate, and we pay using card which we have to top-up earlier (prepaid system). But when I think back, Japanese are very honest people. No matter how advance the technologies are, if honesty does not exist, everything will be difficult. I think if they implement the same system in MPT, maybe many of the workers will 'makan free' for their lunch.

Food here are expensive. Imagine RM3 for a can of coca-cola. A meal will cost around RM15, while in MPT I spend only RM1.50 (nasik free kat MPT), 10% of the amount I spend here. But if I to calculate every single cent, then I wil become thinner and thinner. So, first rule, do not convert Japanese yen to RM. 1 coin of 500Y is equivalent to RM15. Imagine you are carrying a coin worth RM15. In Malaysia, most people just simple throw away all the coins cost the biggest amount is 50c.

Hotel room here is not as big as Malaysian hotel. Not even close to cheap hotel in Malaysia, but the facilities are great. There is a network cable to connect to the internet, sink and a kitchen (as in the picture) all in a small space of room. But amazingly, it is very comfortable here. I can cook, eat and enjoy the internet (even sometimes the connection intermittent, and sometimes download rate can reached 90kBps). Television all in Japanese and I can't even understand a single word except for the very basic one. However, so far I enjoy my trip here. It won't cause any trouble for me even if they asked me to continue this training for another year. People here are very warm and kind, and I bet you too will enjoy living in a country like this.