WHAT IS WRONG WITH JAPAN?

 Our trip to Sapporo has been a mitigated disaster.  Apparently, the weather destroyed the fall colors.  It was snowing when we arrived on Hokkaido and has continued to do so today.  So much so, that we will only walk a short distance near the Fairfield by Marriott for food.  Actually, it was worth the trip up to this island.

Time magazine this week featured on the cover Tadashi Yanai, founder and leader of Uniqlo.  What is wrong with Japan?  Here is his take:

• But first, his life.
• Was born in Ube, Yamaguchi, a former coal town.
• Father had a tailor shop, and Tadashi was outstanding enough to go to and graduate from Waseda University.  He does say he hardly studied because there was a student walkout in Japan to protest against the government, and instead spent time traveling to the U.S. and U.K. where he got most of his ideas fo rchange.  Did graduate in Economics and Political Science.
• At the age of 34 opened his first Uniqlo store in Hiroshima.
• 
  In 2003, when he was 54, wrote One Win Nine Losses, his autobiography.  
• There is no English translation.
• He says that business is simply a series of trials and errors.  Be prepared to fail NINE times for every ten times you decide to to try something new.
• Read this review.

• 
  He is the Richest Man in Japan, being worth $35.4 billion.
• His Uniqlo empire started as Unique Clothing Warehouse in 1984, and is now on the books at $73 billion,
• So far, Uniqlo has largely been a failure in the U.S.  So he now plans to triple Uniqlo's existing 72 North American outlets by 2027.

• 
  So what does he say is wrong with Japan?
• There is currently a rosy outlook radiating across the country, where the stock market has hit a three decade high.  But this means Japan has taken 30 years to reach what it was 30 years ago.  The country is in a rut.
• Yanai says to his compatriots:  WAKE UP!  Japan is not an advanced nation at all, because we have been in a dormant state for 30 years.
• Our economy is on the precipice because of an unhealthy obsession with manufacturing, workers conditioned to corporate bloat, and a budget financed by soaring debt.

• In December, Japan's Cabinet approved a record $858 billion general-account budget for 2023, despite expecting only $493 billion in tax revenues, with plans to issue $250 billion in new government bonds over this period.
• Japan's public debt is 264% of their GDP, the highest in the world, while nominal wages from 1990 to 2019 only rose 4%, compared with 145% in the USA.

• In Beijing and Shanghai, people are getting two and three times the compensation of equivalent positions in Japan.
• 
  So in March he hiked the wages of his 8400 employes in Japan by up to 40%, and says that is still too low.
• He calls on his government to take similar proactive mesures by raising interest rates, cut out handouts and so on to wake up a sleepwalking country.
• Feels that Japanese businesses are managed as if they are looking in the rearview mirror.
• Says Japan has to tap into the rest of the world, not unlike the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
• The initial public offering for his company went for 14,900 yen in 1994.  As you can see he 5 feet 3 inches tall.

• Many said Uniqlo arrived when Roger Federer signed on in 2018 for a $30 million.year deal that tripled his take from Nike.
• There is an impressive R&D part of Uniqlo that develops new products called Innovation Factory in Tokyo, with manufacturing occurring in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
• When he first ran the company, everyone quit because of his attitude, except for one.  While he has attempted to pass on the leadership to others, the first attempt failed, and he returned.  His philosophy is to fail rather than fade.  So someone else is leading, but he serves as a kind of chairman of the board.  At 73, he has not yet quite retired.

I have tended to go to a Uniqlo store when I am in Japan.  Much of my underwear comes from there.  The heavy (but squashable to the size of a softball) overcoat we both are wearing on this trip to Hokkaido, are comfortable, light, yet functional.

I last left you when we were at the Westin Sendai.  Our final Executive Club experience.

We woke up to see this colorful view.

Final breakfast in Sendai.

Then off on the Shinkansen to Hokkaido.

That was the best view we got, and could well show the most Fall colors for a while.  Arrived at the Shin-Hokkaido-Hokuto-Station, and it was lightly snowing.  But the snow cannot be seen in this photo.  It was very cold as we waited for this train.  The connection time was only 17 minutes, so we just went straight to the regular JR train track.  

A modest train meal.

Went to the travel desk to inquire about where to go for Fall colors.  With anguish the lady said there was none.  There is nothing in the internet that says this.  What a disappointment.  But got a map of the city.

We caught a taxi to the Fairfield by Marriott.  The people here are not really friendly, the taxi driver scolded us as best he could because we could not communicate.  Everything we passed on to him was in English, which he could not read.  Wanted the phone number of the hotel, which we did not have.  After quite a hassle, and we were just about leaving for a new cab, he mumbled something that sounded like Marriott, so that's where we went.  Fortunately enough, we got there.

At the hotel, the check-in people were also not so understanding, and you would think that because the hotel is owned by Marriott they would at least speak English.  Nope.  There was another hassle about two people and other matters.  Well, we finally made it into our room and saw across the street a possible mall.  So we went.

It was lightly snowing, and it was a mall.  Walked around and saw bears.

Went down two floors to Fugetsu, a soba restaurant.  Had difficulty ordering anything.

That small plate?  We did not order it, but was so charged.

The noodles were great, and very al dente.

Woke up and saw that it was still lightly snowing, which meant that we were not going to do much today.

Went down to a truly fabulous breakfast buffet.  It was so neat and dainty, with considerable variety.  I again had two courses.

Tomorrow, what we did today, if anything.  We leave tomorrow for Tokyo.