This is definitely true, but I've been hard-pressed to find a similar environment in the States, even in labs and hackathons. There's an almost oppressive socia

This is definitely true, but I've been hard-pressed to find a similar environment in the States, even in labs and hackathons. There's an almost oppressive social pressure to getting the job done in Japan, because you _must_ work as hard as your boss, who is working as hard as their boss, etc. A lot of people fight back against the sort of no-frills culture I saw (Google perks, work-at-home attitudes, etc.), so it surprised me that it was so efficient. A part of me expected cubicles and quiet work environments to force an Office Space result.