Renowned for its love affair with western culture, the Japanese capital still expects business partners to pay it court in time-honoured style. Jonathan Hart reports
Leave perceptions and poor manners behind on a visit to outwardly faceless but curiously challenging Tokyo – arguably more entrenched in the surprising, puzzling and polite than any of the world's great capitals.
Leave behind, for example, any thoughts of speedily completing your business and heading for home. Chances are, you'll need to extend your trip here or scheme in another visit or two before sealing any deal.
Tokyo is where the fast and furious of 21st century global trading is offset by an in-bred mistrust of the casual interloper, demanding the traditional slow-burn of acquaintance, along with protracted and often pedantic negotiation, despite the city being perched precariously atop an earthquake zone.
Even armed with a briefcase of dual-language meishi (business cards), plus the equally essential local agent to translate, getting to first business base can be an achievement itself in this baseball-, fashion- and gadget-crazy hi-tech town, openly welcoming of the bizarre and adoptive of US and western influences, yet still steeped in the lores of old Udo.
Despite Tokyo being the gateway to Japan's much-vaunted economic reforms and trading deregulation, business life here remains geared to a strictly hierarchical nature. It's a question of reaching the inner sanctums of the ultimate decision makers, snakes and ladders style, and putting up with the ceaseless mutterings, consultative times out, much knitted brows and sucking of teeth when you finally get there. Don't be fooled by the western suits, teeming sidewalks and rather drab skyline of shoulder-to-shoulder office blocks braced against the quakes.
Doing business successfully among the Metro area’s 27 million hyper but self-controlled souls demands patience and avoiding direct confrontation, being infinitely polite and respecting local customs and etiquette.
In short, bowing to the inevitable and not trying to cut corners or sidestep formalities.
This can mean entertaining or being entertained by your counterparts at length in eye-wateringly expensive restaurants or karaoke bars; a laborious jumping through of social hoops when both you and they would probably prefer to be relaxing over a beer and inexpensive bowl of noodles. The prize for minding your manners and frequently removing your shoes a la local mode is, of course, a foothold in one of the world's largest economies, with inestimable spending power and a skilled workforce that both delights in the new and savours the old.
Like its banks of vending machines selling virtually everything from a pin to a tank, Tokyo is the personification of bland exterior and fascinating interior, with little to aesthetically please the eye on the outside but much to intrigue, entertain and educate on the inside.
At once cultured and creative, fashionable but freakish, refined yet rebellious, this is a city that balances the traditional with the avant garde, along with a common pursuit of world class quality. Just remember the price of entry.
Fast facts
Currency: yen (US$1=¥114 /€1-¥144
Tipping: as service is generally included in the bill, it is not customary to tip waiters or hotel staff; taxi drivers do not expect a tip
Time: GMT +9 (+8 late-March to late October)
Electricity: 100 volts (flat two-pin American-style plugs)
Public holidays 2006: July 17; September 18, 23; October 9; November 3, 23; December 23, 31. 2007: January 1, 2, 3, 8; February 11; March 20; April 29; May 3, 5
Climate: temperate, with dry mild to cold winters, warm and humid summers, with pleasant conditions during the spring and autumn. Main rainfall is between March and October. Wise to carry an umbrella
Airport: Narita (NRT) 60km (38miles) north east of central Tokyo. Narita Express takes 55 minutes (2,940 yen/US$26). Limousine bus services to major hotels, Tokyo railway stations and the greater Tokyo area (3,000 yen/80 minutes), and to Tokyo City Air Terminal at Hakozaki (2,900 yen/55 minutes). Metered cabs charge 17,000-20,000 yen (US$149-$175) to central Tokyo
Hotels: ANA, Comfort, Excel Tokyu, Hilton, Holiday Inn Tobu, International Garden,
Marriott, Mercure, Nikko, Nikko Winds, Radisson, Sky Court, U-City
Business hours: 09.00-17.00 Monday to Friday
International dialling code: 81
In emergency: 110 (police), 119 (fire/ambulance)
Business do’s and don’ts
Do make appointments and take a good supply of dual language business cards
Do dress smartly – appearances are important
Do take gifts, which are an integral part of business life
Do be patient – negotiations should never be hurried
Do be prepared for high prices – Tokyo remains one of the world's most expensive cities
Don’t be confrontational – it will almost certainly cost you business
Don’t be surprised if you are expected to participate in a karaoke session or finish up in a nightclub or strip joint with your hosts
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