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Article: Japanese Make Working Relationships Work in Piano Bars
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 29, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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It is a place few Americans ever see, a plush lounge where
Japanese executives spend $100 an evening to sip whiskey, flirt with
pretty hostesses and maybe take a turn singing to the accompaniment
of a baby grand piano.
The piano bar-"pianoba" in Japanese-is the one place where
Japanese executives lower their reserve, speak frankly and
consolidate working relationships with their colleagues and
customers.
"In the office, nothing moves. In the piano bar, everything
moves," a Japanese executive said late into a recent Friday evening
at one club in midtown Manhattan.
Americans other than ethnic Japanese generally are not welcome
at a piano bar unless they are in the company of Japanese. ...