[9] The need for Japanese expatriate middle-managers to refer plans back to headquarters in Japan, in addition to the emphasis on collective responsibility for the results of plans agreed to by consensus, means that decision-making in Japanese companies proceeds more slowly than in Dutch companies.

Nevertheless, Dutch employees in Japanese companies perceive the decision-making process as achieving better and more thorough results despite its slow pace.

Dutch employees feel that their Japanese superiors and colleagues put in such long hours because they use their time inefficiently; furthermore, they feel little pressure to adopt those same working hours, asserting that the Japanese managers simply receive more benefits and salary in line with their increased responsibility.

[14] They also cook Japanese food at home, though in a pattern different from that in Japan; they consumed less fish and more meat dishes (especially nikujaga), and often have to find substitutes for preferred vegetables which are unavailable locally.

For the community in Maastricht, fewer such options were available; many crossed the border to Germany to do their shopping in Düsseldorf and took advantage of the many specialised grocery shops which have popped up to serve the city's significant Japanese community, or banded together and order groceries—especially fish prepared in the Japanese style—to be shipped down from Amsterdam.

[3] Another common option was to grow herb seasonings, especially garland chrysanthemum, perilla, and cryptotaenia, in one's own back garden.