The first day I made an early start from the hotel and went to visit Konishiki-zeki at his Sumo wrestler garage. Next I traveled to Yamato, Japan. It was quite a drive from Tokyo but the taxi driver had a GPS receiver and display. Got us right to the door. At Yamato, I met with our internet research team from the IBM Tokyo Research facility to preview technologies for our virtual online laboratory, called alphaWorks . alphaWorks is a place where IBM posts developing research technologies available for free download on the Internet. One of the technologies, developed in Yamato, currently on alphaWorks is the Aglets Workbench (live link). It is a visual environment for building network-based applications using mobile agents to search for, access, and manage coporate data and other information. Take a look and let us know what you think.
While in Tokyo, I stayed at the Hotel Okura. One of the most interesting aspects of this hotel is the ability to register for your favorite pillow, whether you like them fluffy, flat or plump. Once you have made a selection, the hotel keeps a record of your pillow for future visits. Now this is a service I could get used too! The Okura also has a magnificent Chinese restaurant that I love to return to when I am in town.
And then it was on to Singapore for Internet World, where I delivered the keynote speech to open the trade show. After the keynote we held a press briefing, where we outlined the basics of the IBM e-business strategy . Those of you who attend Spring, can hear me speak on Thursday, March 13 at 1:15 pm in Los Angeles.
My colleagues and I had dinner at the Java Restaurant in Boat Quay, particularly appropritate since IBM’s program director of Java marketing was with me on this trip. I am particularly fond of Malaysian food.
It was another honor to have lunch with the Share Guide Association of Singapore and discuss how the Internet may impact their businesses. It was great as always to hear what different business are doing with the internet.
During the evening, I was able to sneak a little free time to see the beautiful city. My colleagues and I headed for China town, where we went shopping in a multi-story department store that specialized in items from China, called Chin Wa. We had a great time wandering around the shopping stalls, looking at the local merchandise and had a great Chinese dinner.
The city was just getting ready for the Chinese New Year, and decorations were all over the city. The weather was nice and warm. Overall it was a great trip!

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