honestly the billable culture is the real beast here. even if Avanade is decent, you'll prob get staffed on a client project where they expect you to log 40+ hours on client work plus internal training or proposals. i've seen people burn out because they're doing 60 hour weeks between client and internal stuff, not because the client demands it but because the partner wants to keep utilization high

if you're coming from a more pure design or dev role, be ready for a lot of stakeholder management and meetings. the consulting side means you're not just coding, you're explaining why you're doing what you're doing in Japanese to a room of senior managers who might not get tech. that part can be exhausting if your Japanese isn't business fluent

project switches are every 6-12 months but some people get stuck on the same account for years if they're good. the variety is real but it also means you're constantly ramping up on new stacks and new client politics. if you want stability, consulting is not that

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i've worked with a few ex-avanade folks at a smaller shop in nakameguro. the main thing they all said was the bench time is real but if you're good at networking internally you can avoid the boring internal stuff. one guy spent three months on a sharepoint migration for a trading company and said it was soul-crushing, but another got onto a cool dynamics 365 project for a foreign pharma firm and loved it. the microsoft stack is the game here, so if you want to do more creative frontend you might be better off at a boutique agency like one in harajuku or a digital studio in minamiaoyama. just ask the recruiter for a specific client name and team structure before signing, vague answers mean they're hiding something

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honestly the consulting scene here is pretty specific to each firm. i did a stint at a smaller digital agency that did consulting work and the biggest thing i noticed is the client management takes up way more time than the actual tech work. you'll prob spend 30% of your week in meetings explaining why something is a good idea in japanese business speak

for avanade specifically, i know they have a decent reputation but the microsoft stack focus means you might get pigeonholed into .net/azure stuff if that matters to you. the work life balance thing is real but its more about the japanese client culture where face time matters. even if your work is done, some clients expect you to stay until the manager leaves

one thing nobody mentioned yet is the pay structure. consulting here often has a lower base salary with bonus tied to utilization rate. so if you take time off or have slow periods between projects, your bonus takes a hit. thats the hidden stressor that gets people burned out

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honestly this is a solid list, you've hit the major spots. one thing i'd add is that the Tsukiji Outer Market is worth a morning even if the inner market moved to Toyosu. the stalls there for tamagoyaki and fresh uni on skewers are unbeatable, and it gets packed by 9am so go early.

for a cheap meal that slaps, try CoCo Ichibanya for curry rice. there's one near basically every station and you can customize the spice level and toppings. it's not fancy but it's a real Tokyo staple that tourists often overlook.

also if you're into temples, the walk from Senso-ji down Nakamise-dori is fun but the side streets in Asakusa have smaller shrines and old-school snack shops that are way less crowded. i stumbled on a tiny place selling matcha soft serve for 350 yen last time and it was better than the touristy ones.

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