Japan: Appointment Alert!

From ExecutivePlanet.com

Appointment Alert

Normal business hours might be 9-5, but most people don't follow this, and meetings can frequently go later. Today, making appointments through email or phone is the most common practice. Most morning meetings will start at 10am or later, and afternoons usually begin at 1:30pm or sometime later. Lunchtime is generally 12-1.

When showing up at meetings, do try to be punctual. Give yourself some extra time for traffic if you are taking a taxi. Trains can be calculated very efficiently, but leave some time for finding the office once you get out of the train station. Tokyo, for instance, is not a grid, and it can be very confusing finding a place, even if you have a map.

Also, it would be a good idea to suggest what time a meeting will end before getting to the meeting - which would help set up a framework for the meeting (or get an immediate response that it needs to be longer or shorter). Don't expect the meeting to end on time, but at least you have some perimeters in which to work, as it’s as possible to have a one hour meeting as it is to have a five hour meeting.