I recently had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong on my very first business trip. 

Although I had never visited Hong Kong before—not even as a tourist—and wasn't very familiar with the city, things changed after I joined Itabashi Trading three years ago and began handling export operations for the Hong Kong market. Since then, there hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about Hong Kong (well, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration!). So when I finally had the chance to visit, I found myself feeling much more nervous than I expected before departure.

 

After a four-hour flight from Haneda Airport, I arrived in Hong Kong... under cloudy skies. During my three-day stay, the weather remained overcast and very humid. Ironically, the air conditioning inside restaurants and shops was so powerful that it often felt chilly indoors.

The photo was taken from the ferry heading to Hong Kong Island. The impressive skyline filled with towering skyscrapers was exactly how I had always imagined Hong Kong. I was so excited that I couldn't resist taking photo after photo.

 

The next picture shows Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping districts. Interestingly, the three stores in the photo are all cookie shops. I couldn't help wondering why there were so many cookie stores right next to each other. Every time I thought, "I'll buy from this one," I noticed another shop next door... and then another! It was surprisingly difficult to choose. In the end, I bought my cookies from the middle shop because they offered plenty of samples and sold some unique flavors made with Chinese seasonings such as XO sauce. Although I admired their creativity, the savory flavors weren't really to my taste, so I eventually settled on a classic plain cookie.

 

On this trip, I also served as an interpreter for our team. It gave me the opportunity to experience the atmosphere and sense of responsibility involved in meeting with our customers—something that is difficult to appreciate when working only in the office. Another highlight was visiting our customers' stores and seeing the products exported by Itabashi Trading displayed on their shelves. It was a rewarding experience that made me realize the importance of my work even more. It also strengthened my determination to continue delivering high-quality products safely, reliably, and without interruption to our customers.

【Contact us】

Itabashi Trading Co., Ltd

Food Department　

TEL :+81-3-3248-1016（Workday 10:00～17:00）　

FAX :+81-3-3248-1008

Email: shokuhin@itabashi-trading.com