Japan Trip & Bar Heel Pad Upgrades!

Feeling fresh and motivated after a wonderful business and family trip to Japan, here are some highlights that I wanted to share with you!

The aim was to settle into our new production facility, in order to ensure unrivaled excellence, ample inventory, and continued pioneering of new products for Asher Athletic.

Denver > Tokyo > Nagoya

After a 13 hour flights from Denver to Narita, travel on the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya was necessary.

Up until about 5 years ago, I used to live in Nagoya, which is also when Asher Athletic products first began selling here in the store. The view of the ever-picturesque and perfectly shaped Mount Fuji never gets old. 

The Shinkansen trip is just shy of two hours from Tokyo Station to Nagoya Station.

 

The building with this nighttime view is Nagoya Station, which is the world's largest single-building train station. I always enjoy time around this part of the city!

Work Begins

Inspecting the factory and meeting some of the hard workers that make products come to life!

Changing factories is a difficult task! Time and attention to detail were needed to revisit the heel pads and how they are made. In the end, we achieved higher quality construction methods and improved tolerances for a better product.

Here I am in-between a moment of checking on a requested update.

A business lunch

Lunch break! This is a dish called Miso-katsu, also served with a local noodle called Kishimen. 

Back to work with progress made from the morning.

A glorious time to bask in ongoing triumphs achieved with the crew! Of course, there is a lot more than these Velcro covers that went into this product revisit, including less material waste, a more comfortable and fitted inner sole, improved durability, and more. 

Time for a break!

Another great lunch at my favorite chain restaurant in Japan, Coco Ichiban, which specializes in curry. This time I surprised myself and ordered this particular combination for the first time with level 4 spice and 300g of rice. The tuna salad with boiled egg for a bit of less guilt –– Apparently was quite hungry! 10/10 recommend. "Itadakimasu!"

 

Last Day's Work

Here we are going through last details of the Forster Bar Heel Pad construction process. Essentially, check points and tolerances were determined for product quality and consistency. 

Forster Bar Heel Pads sitting out after passing inspection and quality control! Toyota even makes some goods here for their cars, so it is a very good place.

It was very satisfying working through the necessary details that will ultimately improve the gymnast's experience when training with these heel pads. 

I am impressed by the factory's organization and every day working methods. Everything is ready to come home to fulfill orders!

Nature & Some Time Away

The Japanese countryside is beautiful and inspiring. Here are some of the Japanese Alps in the background with a field of rice ready to be harvested. This picture was taken in Nagano Prefecture... And some fresh wasabi ice cream.

This lush green is very different than my home in Colorado.

 Time To Return Home

All good things must come to and end, and time in Japan is always well spent. It is difficult to not want to plan the next trip before returning home!

In any case, I am ready to be home because I have a renewed motivation for bringing the best quality and purposeful products to gymnasts and gyms as the years roll on. It is a privilege to work with intelligent and able-people who share a similar passion for design, problem solving, and integrity.

Thank you for reading this post, and thank you for being my customer! Let me know if you have any product questions, or business inquiries regarding retail sales. 

Let's finish the remaining months of the year with positivity and hope for the future!