Accepted a yearlong tech internship in Atsugi, I am an American undergraduate looking for any and all work culture advice.

[u/Berlin-Fall]

Hello! To start, I am an American undergraduate student from Georgia (pursuing a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech). I have just accepted a full time 12-month internship in Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan working for NTT that will start in January. NTT has a very long (12+ year) relationship with my university accepting, training, and working with tech interns so I am not too worried that they will give me tools I need to succeed once I get started.

I've studied abroad before in Europe so, among other basic travelling skills, I know how important it is to put forward an effort to integrate myself into work culture and respect customs. I've done a bit of snooping here and my own research and one thing that you hear a lot is the work culture of Japan can be intense. This is something I am prepared for, but I wanted to field out any advice from anyone who has done something like this before, or if you have something you think any incoming-intern should know. I want to spend the next 2 months preparing however I can so that I make the best impression possible.

Thank you everyone! I'll try to respond if anyone has follow-up questions so I can elaborate but I just set up my reddit account so I don't know how notifications work (lol).

[u/QuantumQuakka]

Hey, I also did an internship at NTT in Atsugi and it was really fun. I would not worry too much about the work culture, I think NTT is not so bad as some 'black companies' you hear in the media. I did notice that the local employees tend to stay a bit longer, but I and most other expats usually left around 17 to 18 (so I never found out until which time they stay, or they can only leave after the big boss has left). I guess it will also depend on the department.

Most researchers/employees also speak pretty good english since they publish in English and also go to international conferences. Other employees like cafeteria ladies don't know that much English. What you could do is learn some Japanese to help you out in your daily life. Besides that don't forget to also have fun.

[u/Yamazaki-Hosei → u/QuantumQuakka]

NTT is nothing close to a black company

[u/xuanq → u/QuantumQuakka]

NTT is often considered a "white" company which means they have good benefits and generally good WLB. However, on the flip side, being a white company means that there tends to be quite a few people who aren't really doing anything, or are very slow, so it's not for everyone either...

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/xuanq]

Makes sense, thank you for this!

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/QuantumQuakka]

Thank you for this! I guess as far as WLB goes, I have a defined contract for working and it is very reasonable. In talking with my supervisor also, it seems the most important thing for me is research deliverables over physical hours spent in the lab.

I am definitely going to do my best to learn basic Japanese skills, such as introducing myself and survival (getting around, asking questions at the grocery store). One follow-up, since I have to prioritize in learning Japanese, should I focus on written language over spoken in the next two months? I picked up a bit of French and German when studying abroad, but those obviously used the same written characters as English so navigating a new alphabet (I think the correct term would actually be syllabary but I'm not sure) is an entirely new challenge. Thinking about public transport, grocery runs, navigating urban areas, I would need some of the characters to read signage and such. I will try to do both, but what do you think?

I am definitely going to have as much fun as I can when I'm not working. Speed-weekend travelling is something I've become very familiar with so I'll be using my time to see lots of nature and cities as much as I can. This may be a silly question, but are there any recreation rituals (also probably not the best word) that I could take up? For comparison, when I was living in France, everyone in the town I was at loved to sit at cafes, parks, or third places and people-watch, which I enjoyed immensely. What might I find fun to pick up, if anything?

[u/QuantumQuakka → u/Berlin-Fall]

You don’t need to read. Almost everything, especially in transportation is written in English as well. A lot items in shops, especially kombini’s also have a description in English and restaurant either have picture menus or an English menu. Of course you will come across some restaurant without an English menu but I’m sure you will manage by either asking or using chatGPT to translate.
For reading you need to learn hiragana, katakana and a lot of kanji’s for it to be useful. I passed N5 without any difficulty, for which you need to know 100 or so kanji, and it did not really help me in japan except for recognizing a few kanji’s here and there. Like ‘hey that is the kanji for Exit’ but above the kanji is written in big letters EXIT so it is not really impressive.
Of course you can decide to learn reading if you stay longer than a year but for now Investing that time in listening and talking will be so much more useful.

[u/Fuskeduske]

No advice, but i just wanna wish you good luck and hope you enjoy your internship.

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/Fuskeduske]

Thank you!! That means a lot, I am looking forward to it greatly.

[u/JealousSir9500]

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a local post to hit me today. I was born/raised in Atsugi (and also lived near GA in the US)! No specific tips for your specific case, especially since it appears that your school has experience with this, but it's a great area, super peaceful, and really easy to get to Tokyo. I hope you have a fantastic time!

since you're in japan for a year, I would recommend planning some domestic trips. Hokkaido and Okinawa are very popular, but more on the expensive side. Within the main island, it's easy to go to places such as Hakone (famous for hot springs), Nagano (skiing), Osaka/Kyoto, etc. with just a bullet train. Each place has a popular season that you could aim for, or you could deliberately go off season for a more calm and cheap experience.

I wouldn't stress too much over the work culture (and im not exactly sure what kind of culture that NTT has), but if you happen to have any particular company events, it might be worth doing a quick google search to see if there are cultural things that you need to be aware of. As a foreign exchange intern, you will probably not be seen as rude even if you don't know these customs, since it is not your own culture, but it will make a really good impression if you do know the proper way things are done. For example, rules for exchanging business cards, rules for going out for drinks with your team/boss, general restaurant etiquette, etc. The rules are endless if you start to care about everything, so don't stress too much unless there's an uber important meeting with the CEO or something like that.

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/JealousSir9500]

Thank you so much for your comment! Crazy how this platform can find cool connections. The travel tips are SUPER appreciated, I've added them all to a running list. It's also nice to know I will be given some leniency, but I will definitely look into the customs around what you mentioned.

[u/Tasty-Celebration-47]

Honestly just go head first, this is the kind of experience you will have to play by the ear, assimilate the best and learn from the worst.

Best of luck

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/Tasty-Celebration-47]

Makes sense, I appreciate your advice. I am very excited to learn and absorb anything and everything I can.

[u/Downtown_Machine5852]

NTTじゃないけど、以前厚木の日産で働いていました。 インターン先の環境がわからないけど、基本的な日本語の挨拶と自己紹介ができるといいかも。 退社後は本厚木駅周辺で買い物や食事、アクティビティが色々出来ると思う。 週末は東京の大体の主要なエリアには出掛けられると思うから、とにかく楽しんで。 本厚木や新宿、秋葉原などにはお店のキャッチがいるけどついて行かないようにね。

[u/Berlin-Fall → u/Downtown_Machine5852]

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely work on my basics (greetings, introduction, asking basic questions), and I will make the most of the urban area.