bound for Hachioji
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Today we waited out the (morning) rain and went to Shibuya. There, we had a nice lunch at a place called "Good Smell". I had some kind of tripe dish, the kids had Japanese fusion stuff. We were on the 12th floor of my office building, which is brand new and pretty glitzy. We then headed to the 17th floor, and I retrieved some temporary pass cards for the elevators from an electronic kiosk. Then we headed up to the 44th floor to the "cafe" run by my company for visitors to the firm.
There are no visitors during Covid Times.
So we took a few pics and admired the view though it was a rainy day. Then I took the kids down to the 42nd floor, where I work. I showed them a desk that I tend to use (which has the ability to raise to a standing configuration) and the many, many whiteboards that make up I would say the majority of the walls. There are even low whiteboards usable only to children, for some reason. Or maybe a seated adult sitting on the floor. I don't know. I showed them some of the 'focus time' seating, which are almost completely enclosed seats with writing surfaces on arms like in an airplane (but good; e.g. they can tilt). Ken left his umbrella at one of these. I then showed off some of the technology that's no common in meeting rooms, including teleconferencing equipment, indirect lighting, sofas, and so on. We left. I went back for Ken's umbrella. Then we left again.
We then got on trains and buses and found ourselves at the Junior and Senior High Schools of Kogakuin Technology & Engineering University. Which, I have to say, has some interesting things to say on their website; any friend of the Deming Cycle (plan do act check) is a friend (institution) of mine! This is our next/last chance for Ken to have some English instruction in this city. It costs just about one arm and one leg, but here we are. It looks like a great campus, and it's interesting that the schools are on the same campus as the University. Ken said, "It feels more my speed than Hiroo Gakuin". Part of this is the quiet, leafy nature of the far-flung exurb in which the school is situated.
I described to my CTO the seeming madness of choosing where you'll live based on where a twelve-year-old goes to school, and he said that it's that way for everybody. This is, of course, the first time we've moved when we had school aged children. We're currently looking at a place called Chofu, which would leave Ken with a ~50 minute commute and me with the same. It's mid-way between Shibuya, where I work, and Hachioji, which is literally in the foothills of Mt. Fuji.