Big Mac in Tokyo: The Cultural Experience of McDonald's Japan

If you ask me, McDonald's Japan is....

2005-11-02T22:18:00.000+01:00

...Totally different than what I imagined, but then again, a lot of my ideas about McDonald's Japan comes from the lack of time to experience and learn more from Japanese culture.It really takes more than two weeks to get to know the culture and learn to understand the reason it is the way it is.
I know that my conclusions are ethnocentric, that the mindset in which I observed things were from a Westerner's point of view, but... that makes me realize how McDonald's image has been customized to cater the Japanese market. From its menu to the mediums used to create a brand image, McDonald's Japan marketing plan is much different than what non-Japanese expect it to be. The marketing strategies used are more conventional to the Japanese market rather than what McDonald's Corporation "normally" does. McHotties & McDuds? Shrimp Burgers and Free Smiles on the menu? Advertising through the mail and flyers as opposed to heavily relying on other mediums such as poster ads and television? A stong feel of belong for employees in McDonald's work environment? These are example of how much McDonald's Japan has integrated all marketing aspects in order to build a stable market in Japan.
However, McDonald's Japan is stuck in two worlds. It lacks an identity: it is not entirely American nor entirely Japanese. McDonald's as a corporation seems out of place in the fast-paced environment that exists in Japan, and each day it is challenged to keep up with the changing trends of the Japanese market. The more McDonald's image glocalizes, the more it looses ties to its American roots. Sure, with a global food chain like this one it is necessary to customize its product, service, and image in order to be accepting in such a tough market like Japan. McDonald's Japan definitely is a different experience than other McDonald's around the world. Ultimately, what will remain of McDonald's would just be its recognizeable symbol: the shining yellow light of McDonald's golden arches.

Show me the McJoy!

2005-11-01T20:49:00.000+01:00

"McJoy is an in-store information and entertainment magazine published by McDonald's restaurants of Japan" created by Pac Rim Marketing Group. Following the interest of Hawaii as a travel destination, the McJoy featured articles about Hawaii in its issues. In the summer of 2004, McDonald's used the McJoy to announce a travel sweepstakes with destination to Japan. McDonald's joined a renowned a commercial website dedicated to Hawaii travel information (www.Hawaii-arukikata.com) to hold an online sweepstakes. This not only motivated Japanese tourists to visit Hawaii, but the organizations involved (McDonald's, PacRim Marketing, Hawaii-arukikata.com, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts along with several other Hawaii-based firms) also benefited from this integrated marketing effort. This also helped McDonald's Japan in boosting consumer confidence to come out and buy its products during the time of the SARS scare.
And talking more about McJoy, did you know you can apply for a McDonald's credit card in Japan? You can chose from different credit options (Visa, JCB, or MasterCard). What are the incentives to hold a McDonald's McJoy Club Card? You get discount off the already low meal prices. Can you imagine that? Getting a burger, fries, and a drink for less than a dollar's worth? That really gives new meaning to the US's Dollar Menu.
Each card uses co-branding with other companies such as Toys'R'Us, Aeon Credit Service, and Disney Tokyo. The perks from using the card are different depending on what card you get. For example, if you are a holder of a McJoy JCB Card, you are also holder of the "official card" of Disney Tokyo and you can participate in "Oki Doki" point program to redeem gift certificates. Using the McJoy MasterCard you can benefit from a 5% discount every Friday at Toys'R'Us.
It is all a cool way to spend your money, huh? No matter which card you have, you get rewarded for eating at McDonald's!

Show me the Ads

2005-11-01T18:42:00.000+01:00

I quickly learned to understand that Japanese cities were fast-paced and cluttered. Every where you walked there were people aplenty. Colorful lights flashed before you as you crossed the street to an upbeat electronic tune. I felt like I was traveling in Japanese cartoonland.
But in the midst of all the walking and sightseeing I never saw an ad or billboard advertising McDonald's. I only came to notice the familiar yellow "M" with its bright red background indicating we were approaching a McDonald's restaurant.

The more I come to think about it, there were not that many billboard advertisements at all.

Because I cannot read Japanese, Western words (and English words for that matter) were the first things to catch my attention anywhere I went. Maybe the usage of words as opposed to images are used in ads on the streets, but it's hard to surmise that seeing that I don't know the language.
Because I was constantly attentive to anything related to McDonald's, a lot of times I would turn twice at anything bright red. Needless to say, I came to the conclusion that the Japanese like the use of the color red. I find it somewhat ironic that for the Japanese culture the color of the sun is red. This contrasts with other cultures' idea that the sun is yellow. The McDonald's logo has the best of both worlds: it is as if the sun sets on a red sky in McDonald's.

I noticed that advertisements in Japan tended to be handed to people on the streets. For stores or restaurants, for example, employees would stand outside the business handing out coupon-sized ads to anyone who walked by. Some handed out free packs of tissues with ads inside. (I think that by handing out something useful to people rather than just giving them a printed ad on a small piece of paper is more effective and less costly than other mediums. You have better chances of more people noticing the printed ad in tissue packets since they will carry it around with them and chances are they will not throw away the tissues very soon.)

The McDonald's at Chukyo University in Nagoya had a female employee handing out coupon/flyers.

When we were in Kyoto, I asked Susan's friend what type of advertising McDonald's mostly relied on. She said McDonald's mostly sent out flyers in the mail. They did not air many television ads, there were no billboards around...and I agree with what she said. I never saw billboards or poster ads anywhere that advertised McDonalds. I can understand why it would not be effective to have billboard/poster ads because everything in the city seems to cluttered. Because of the many lights, words, and signs, Japanese people have reason to become indifferent to ads on the street. It would take a lot for an ad to jump the threshold in order to be noticed. The only McDonald's commercial that I saw on TV was a 10-second commericial advertising the Shrimp Burger. It was broadcasted on evening television, when family-oriented television shows were being aired. The commercial was very brief and simple. It used the "I'm Lovin' It" campaign theme song, flashed the images of the burger on a lime green background, and ended with the campaign slogan. There were hardly any words to read nor words being said. I got the impression that instead of advertising the Shrimp Burger, the purpose of the ad was to reinforce McDonald's brand image.

2005-11-01T10:53:00.000+01:00

Impression of Food & Culture
As I travel around Japan, I couldn't help thinking about Asuka and Chris's comments about Japanese cuisine and culture. I was noticing first hand how important food preparation and presentation is in the Japanese culture. You cannot imagine how perfectly our Japanese meals were set each time we had group dinners. At the Japanse restaurants we went to on our own they were meticoulous about the presentation of food. Even the Bento meals (which happened to be everywhere you went) looked appetizing. If it weren't for the fact that the majority of the dishes had fish, I'd go crazy trying everything on the menus simply because they all looked very delicious. I learned my lesson when I went by appearance rather than ingredients and got noodles with fish when I thought it was noodles with chicken.
I liked the fact that almost every place had a display window of the food available at that location. It gives customers an idea of what they find appetizing. After all, you don't crave food until you see it, right? McDonald's didn't stay behind in catching up to this idea. One of the McDonald's restauration located underground at a subway station in Kyoto had a display of the Fish McDippers, pancakes, and ice cream. (Of course, the McDippers looked good to me because I assumed they were chicken nuggets, but no...They were definitely fish nuggets.) The 100 yen price tag sent out the message, "Good food for an affordable price."Hey, if you are hungry and on the go, and you see a display of Fish McDippers, McDonald's is the perfect option to satisfy your need.

2005-10-31T20:26:00.000+01:00

Smiles for Free
Because I did not expect it to be on the menu, I failed to read in the English menu that McDonald's offers smiles on its menus...for free. It is actually on the menu, it is true! This is absolutely the cutest thing that McDonald's Japan could do. I like!

First Time

2005-10-20T17:23:00.000+02:00

More Meat, More Taste
I am surprised that it took me 4 days after arriving in Japan to crave a McDonalds bugers. We had two hours free before meeting up with Chukyo University students: we meant to visit Osu Kannon, but ended up in the outskirts of Nagoya. Since we were lost and hungry, we ate at the first McDonald's in sight. (I think it it's ironic because Stephanie while visiting the university students that we could eat at the McDonald's located on campus. We didn't want to have to worry about accidently ordering seafood at a Japanese restaurant, which sounds like an oxymoron, I know...I really do not enjoy the taste of fish...)

The burger on promotion (it was "in" for the season) was the Tamago Egg Double Mac set (with the option to add cheese or not.) So..would I go all out and order the burger of the season? I should have, I know..but it just did not appeal to me...The burger on promotion was a basically a double cheeseburger with a fried egg in between. The picture on the menu made the burger look juicy and plump...However, fried egg on a bun is not my idea of a delicious cheeseburger.

Ordering American-style food in Japanese was a cultural shock. The menu on the billboard depicted the different meal options, but everything was written in Japanese. If a Quarter Pounder in the States is the same as a Cheeseburger Royale in France, then what would it be called in Japanese? I didn't know if I should attempt ordering in English, made-up Japanese, or by pointing at pictures and signs. The Japanese employee at the counter just smiled at me and handed me a placemat menu. She noticed the blank look on my face, and realized that the menu was still in Japanese. She just giggled again, and flipped the menu over for me. We both started laughing after I gestured a sigh of relief.
For some reason, it seemed to me that the menu did not have much of a variety. Of course, I could chose from McDonald's classic Big Mac of Double Cheeseburger. There was a fish sandwich, chicken sandwich, a shrimp burger and a couple more burgers that differed in ingredients and sauces. I was afraid that the sauces would be fish-based, so I chose to stay away from trying anything new.
I ordered the standard Double Cheeseburger meal. But get this...my meal didn't come with fries. It came with a small Garden Salad with Oriental dressing. (For sides, you have a choice of fries, small salad, or a small portion of chicken nuggets. I thought that option was brilliant. It made me feel less guilty about eating carbohydrates, yet I could compensate by eating a healthy salad instead of the fries. The idea of choosing out of three sides is just genious!)
Asuka was right when she said that the portions and drinks were small, cuz..they were small. My burger had a decent size. I did not expect to get a huge salad either, so I was okay with it. But the drink was tiny. The cup was a regular small, but the quantity they gave you was almost as small as a a kid's drink back in the States. Because I was being health conscious, I did not mind intaking a smaller amount of soda, but I did notice that the quantity did not quinch my thurst.
I was really disappointed to see that McDonald's Japan did not offer caramel sundaes. They had the fried apple pies, sold ice cream in small container, had three types of milkshake flavors...but no caramel sundae. It was really disappointing for me. And I thought ice cream sundaes would be considered as one of McDonald's standard menu product in markets around the world....
I was a big fan of the meat. After eating so much McDonald's in so many places, I have learned to differentiate the taste between the burger meat used in countries like the US, Honduras, and Switzerland. The meat used in the States is greasier. In Honduras, the meat is drier. In Switzerland, you can taste the higher quality of Swiss beef. I am proud to say that I can also distinguish the taste of McD's Japan meat. The flavour of the burger patty was the best I have ever had for McDonald standards. The meat was jucier and saltier, which gave the patty a better flavor and making it by far the best McDonald's patty I have ever tasted. Importing Aussie beef sure beats the taste of shipping American meat, plus the extra salt and spices...*Mmmmm*...It is a delicious difference that I (as a latin who is used to flavorful foods) absolutely enjoy!
(Yes, I realize I have had one to many Big Macs in order to discriminate McDonald's beef patties from country to country. What can I say? I like to travel & I like burgers!)

2005-10-16T14:55:00.000+02:00

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: Spotting the Golden Arches in Tokyo
After 17 long hours of travel, we finally made it to our ryokan hotel (located near the Asakusa Kannon temple) early in the evening. My friends and I went out to explore our surroundings less than 10 minutes after settling in. I was anxious to get the feel of a true Japanese temple market.
We walked around in the shopping alleys surrounding the temple. There were many souvenir shops, food and pastry stands along the outside of the temple grounds. The food looked so good. My mouth got watery just by the smell of it all.
Then suddenly, two golden arches caught my attention. It lay high above the heads of the crowd in the distance. This was my first sighting of a McDonald's restaurant in Japan.

Thereafter, for the rest of the trip, I spotted McDonald's almost over other block when we were around temple markets or a shopping district. But nonetheless, I hardly saw a location that was somewhere other than a busy street. But then again, I spent most of my time in cities. There are two exceptions to my observation: 1) in Kyoto, where on our bus ride to the Rock Garden I spotted a McDonald's establishment with a drive-thru. (This McDonald's had replaced the bright red with a red-marron, just like Asuka had mentioned in her interview. I never found the 5-story McDonald's she told me about, although I did go into a McDonald's that was decorated modernly like the one in Milan); and 2) on the train ride back to Tokyo from Hiroshima I noticed a golden arch in the distance.

The restaurants always had people coming and going. It was full of young teens in there school uniforms and men in business attire. Finding these two types of groups in the same room deserves notice because it created a mixed atmosphere. You have the young ones who are talkative amongst each other (and I mean talkative, not loud)..and then you have the quiet business people. Gosh, Japanese are really reserved when it comes to having their own time. I totally felt out of place when my friends and I would be "loud & talkative" in public places. At restaurants, on the streets, in the subways. By the looks people gave us, I really felt the clash of cultures.

2005-10-12T14:58:00.000+02:00

What's the beef on your McDonald's?
With so many cultures being represented in our travel group, I thought it would be cool to hear everyone's expectations about McDonald's Japan. Even if you don't like McDonald's, it would still be interesting to know what you have to say.
What does McDonald's represent to you? What do you think your experience at McDonald's Japan will be like?

2005-10-10T23:10:00.000+02:00

Culture & Lifestyle & Culture
Shabu shabu...Chris has suggested me to go eat at these types of restaurants. These are "fast-food buffet style" restaurants where you pay an hourly rate for the food you eat. Not quite the traditional buffet restaurant that I am used to, but hey...if its an inexpensive way of eating well, then it is definitely an option. I am actually intrigued by idea of an "hourly" buffet
There was also another interesting thing that Chris said. "The Japanese, when they cook..its an art..."
Just this line made me reflect how important culture is for the Japanese. Does culture itself define the Japanese lifestyle or is it their lifestyle that defines the Japanese culture? The question may sound dumb and redundant, but think about it...what other culture can you think of where even the simplest everyday activity is carried out in harmony with its cultural values? If cooking is an "art" carried out daily in every Japanese home, then how on earth did the Japanese allow for westerners to replace the artistic component in their cuisine?
What were the weaknesses that allowed fast-food chain industry like McDonald's into the Japanese market?
When I think of McDonald's, I think the items that I like to order (the Big Mac, the Double Cheeseburger, the Caramel Sundae, their signature french fries)...Then I find myself thinking of its price. Finally, I think of my past experiences of eating at McDonald's. Needless to say, my experiences have been good and bad. If you make a poll about how Americans view McDonald's and if the quality of their food is uniform across the nation, I would predict the results would not be very positive. Let's face it, you get what you pay for, right? The American lifestyle is so accepting of low quality food because it is a cheaper option. That is why fast-food places like McDonald's have been so successful in the past.

So, if Japanese conserve their taste in regards to cultural foods, does this mean that I should expect McDonald's in Japan to be an elaborate portrayal of "Western cuisine"? How do they sell items containing fish to heavy consumers of seafood such as the Japanese market? How do you appeal to the local market without loosing corporate identity?

Does McDonald's represent the American culture in Japan or is it just another American name adjusted to the local market?

2005-09-29T16:05:00.000+02:00

Comparing Both McWorlds: Interview with a Native

I interviewed Asuka Ashida, a fellow classmate who is from Kyoto, Japan, here at Franklin College. This interview made me realize that McDonald's business activity in Japan is influenced more by the cultural environment. Asuka's comments made me reflect on these cultural aspects. It was interesting hearing her talk about the McDonald's as a business, its product, its presence in Japan, and how the fast-food industry in turn is influencing the Japanese culture. The questions I asked were intended to get Asuka's opinion as an individual. I wanted her to respond from a Japanese perspective. She was was very helpful and cooperative during the interview. Thank you Asuka for your input!

S: What is your point of view of McDonald's as a fast-food chain?
A: I fell like I see it everywhere, including in Japan. It's all over the place. It's nice because it's convenient. You can get the same food any place you go, but then again, no. In Japan, its cheap. I usually go with my friends. For example, over the summer, when its hot, we hang out there, get drinks...We can stay there as long as we want without being bugged, unlike other restaurants where if you are through, they want you to leave.

S: Does McDonald's have many competitors?
A: Yes...They usually sell more ethnic burgers, like teriyaki or chicken fried in the japanese way. There are more similiar burger shops like it that are more expensive, and they sell special burgers, like rice burgers, teriyaki burgers, things like that...There is Mos Burger and First Kitchen...As a matter of fact, Mos Burger came out shortly after they brought McDonald's over. Their logo is also an arch, but with different color. They really are straight-forward about the competion thing...

S: Can you comment on the quality of the food?
A: I think its the same quality, just in smaller portions, smaller amount of fries, smaller drinks. The drinks are tiny, and there are no refills.

S: What can you say about their menu?
A: I think they are not "unique" (talking about the standard menu). They do have teriayki, tatsuta chicken...oh, and they also have a "seasonal menu", which are short-term menus available only once a year. They do this to play with the Japanese mindset, since the Japanese always want to have things that are "in"...

S: Are the McDonald's locations like the ones in the US, where they are establishments with a playground where kids can play, etc....What are their locations like?
A: No, their locations are definitely much smaller. Maybe out on the highways you can find a McDonald's with a playground and that sort of thing, But in the city, no. Its too crowded to have something like that. There is a McDonald's in Kyoto that looks a lot like the one in Milan (where its decorated in black). Oh, and that's another thing, in Kyoto you are not allowed to have flashy signs (its not by law, but it does have to do with preserving the historical parts of the city), so there are McDonald's signs that instead of being bright red and yellow, they are reddish-brown and yellow.
In Kyoto you can also find a five-story McDonald's. Its called McCafe, and each story has a different ambience. It's located on the main street in Kyoto, called Shijodori Street.

S: What about the marketing of McDonald's? How do they do this? Do they use a lot of celebrity endorsement of do they rely heavily on their name brand?
A: Yeah, the do use a lot celebrity endorsement. I cannot remember a specific commercial to give you an example, but they do use them. They also use their name to market themselves. It was different with the "I'm lovin' it" theme they have. In Germany, for example, they translated it to "Ich liebe es". It is hard to translate those words in Japanese, there is no way you can say it, so they decided to keep in English.

S: What type of people make up the majority of McDonald' s customers? Is it targeted mostly to the younger generations?
A: Younger people. Definitely.

S: Are children included in that? Are they big fans of McDonald's?
A: Yeah, kids do like going there. They have the Happy Meals for them with the toys, but mostly its young people that like going to McDonald's.

S: Would you say that the fast-food industry, such as the one that McDonald's is competing in, will eventually change the Japanese culture in terms of its cuisine? In the US, for example, people need the convenience of fast-food, especially during lunch time when you cannot have a home-cooked meal. Is it similar in Japan? Do they like the convenience of fast-food, or would they prefer home-cooked meals?
A: I think fast-food is changing the culture. Ready-to-go meals are every where now, but at the same time, its a different type of food. Its not simply burgers. People can buy in supermarkets premade food. You can buy "Bento", which is a packaged lunch. Its a fast and easy meal you take for lunch at school. There are restaurants that sell these also. All you have to do is pick out what meal you want and you aready to go. The convenience of ready-to-go meals like these is that they are good to eat hot or cold, unlike McDonalds, where after an hour, it's cold and it just tastes nasty.

2005-09-28T16:26:00.000+02:00

Did you know that Ronald McDonald is called "Donald McDonald" in Japan? Makes sense...Asians have a problem pronouncing "R"s...

Did you know McDonalds Japan was the first country to introduce the McHotties? The good ol' clown Ronald was just not working on the Japanese market...The McHotties & McDuds appealed more to this "open-minded" culture.

In an on-line article entitled ''Ronald McDonald Gets a Makeover'' by Stephen Brook, he summarizes: "In the Japanese TV commercial the foxy female version, with shoulder-length straight auburn hair in place of Ronald's frizzy mop, smoulders at the camera in a flowing yellow dress, and later a red and white striped bikini with thigh-length leggings and red high heels. ''

A female Ronald in a bikini??? I could never imagine such a dramatic change for the world-known icon. This highlights the difference in cultural values between Japan and the US. As a matter of fact, I don't think the rest of the world would have appreciated sex-appeal in a family-oriented personality. Gender plays a big role in society values in some cultures. Take the Middle-East, for example. Would such commercial be aired on their networks? Being from a Latin country, I know men in Honduras would be gawking over the female and not on the product. Is the rest of McDonald's in the world ready to change the image of its company?

This was my first reaction when reading that part of the article. However, as , the man in charge of the campaign states:
"We devised the costume and took the red and white stripes and the yellow, which were recognised and converted them into a stylish dress...We were assuming that even if we didn't include the McDonald's logo and even if the model was a beautiful caucasian just those colours of the mnemonic design would wake up people's association with McDonald's...The important point is we didn't change Ronald himself - we played around with his costume.... In its favour was the strong Japanese culture of costume play, an underground scene of adults dressing up as cartoon characters...The commercial was popular and in particular the costume...''

-Hidekazu Sato (a.k.a. Kazoo), Associate Director at Beacon Communications, from ''Ronald McDonald Gets a Makeover''

McDonalds USA followed McD Japan's idea and contracted Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum to be the US McHottie.

2005-09-28T15:07:00.000+02:00

Selling Beef when there is a Scare...
In 2003, when the SARS outbreak was at its peak, McD's Japan saw the effects that the outbreak was causing on its business activity. There was a decrease in consumer confidence on the consumption of its products, not only because of the mad cow disease, but also the casualites caused by bird flu. This affected McDonald's Japan's business activity since the consumers avoided public places in fear of catching any of these deadly diseases.

The Response...
McDonald's Japan took measures to boost consumer confidence in their products. Aside from implementing strict sanitary regulations, they went head-on to publish the good quality of their Australian meat along with making changes in menu...McDonalds had a late start in adjusting its products to satisfy customers. Most of their other competitors had already added alternative foods to their menus that met consumers' wants. McD's implemented the McTokyo Menu, which consisted of
salads, soups, and bakery products. It was around this period that they also expanded their with other products such as coffee and adding Internet cafés at their locations.

2005-09-25T12:28:00.000+02:00

Important Dates that made history in the Life of McDonald's:

1955- Ray Kroc, brothers Dick & Mac McDonald's open the first establishment in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA.
1963- A "Clown" is Born...Birth of Ronald McDonald
1965-McDonalds is open to sell shares to the common stock market
1968-The introduction of the Big Mac (wow...so many years ago, and the Big Mac still appeals to consumer taste...36 yrs & counting..)
1973-Guess what? The Egg McMuffin Breakfast sandwich was introduced then...
1979-The creation of Happy Meals (bringing food, toys, and smiles to many children of my generation...I still have the Little Miss Piggy Christmas edition that I got in a Happy Meal box)

What is McDonald's today?

It's renowned worldwide in the fast-food industry
Over 30,000 Restaurants Worldwide: Establishments are corporate-owned restaurants or franchised locations
Other company initiatives: McDonald's take part in social service organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House. It also jump-started a hotel chain in Switzerland (named the Golden Arches), but it was sold off to Park Inn International in 2003.

McDonald's in Japan

1971- McDonald’s Company Japan Ltd. was founded by Den Fujita. Corporate McDonald's owned 50% of the shares
1978 -the world’s 5000th McDonald’s restaurant was opened in Enoshima, Japan
1996-Established “Hamburger Day” to commemorate the opening of the first Japanese McDonald’s
2001-Opened first Donald McDonald House, called “Setayaga House”. This is Japan's version of Ronald McDonald House.

(For more detail on the timeline of McDonald's in Japan, click here.)

2005-09-23T12:59:00.000+02:00

So, I have narrowed down my research topic for this Japan Travel. Guess what my topic has to do with? Yep, you guessed right guys... McDonalds! Honestly, did you expect anything different?
I'm a Big Mac fan... Anything having to do with the Golden Arches I am attracted to...Hence, my goal for this travel will be to take note of the presence of Mickey D's in Japanese culture. What type of acceptance does the fast-food industry have in such culture? Because the Japanese cuisine is so different and unique, what are the challenges that this burger restaurant faces? Does McDonalds seem to live up to the same standards as they do in its home country, good ol' USA? How succesful has McDonalds been since it was first brought to Japan by Den Fujita? With almost 3,774 restaurants, how strong is the presence of this global corporation in Japan?

This blog spot will be fully dedicated to how McDonalds is marketed in Japan and its effects on its culture. I hope to get the chance to show you all through facts and figures how a global company like McDonalds has been redesigned to sell itself to the Japanese market.

2005-09-14T16:14:00.000+02:00

Travel mtg..today...