Trading places, Honda style
Bradley Fay When the 12- to 14-hour days at the Tochigi plant near Tokyo begin to wear on him, Fay dons his leather, hops on his Honda motorcycle and cruises across the crowded Japanese countryside, a world away from the comparative vastness of the Mount Victory-area farm where he grew up. Traffic is crazy, but Fay uses the berm to weave through.
“In the U.S., I’d get a ticket; here it’s legal, and I ride up beside the police cars and wave.” Practically a lifer with Honda — he was hired for the Marysville plant’s assembly line in 1983 — Fay arrived in 2006 for a second stint in Japan. He likes it so much that he extended his stay until 2011. At 43, Fay, who’s divorced, says the toughest part is being away from his daughter, a cheerleader at the University of Cincinnati.
After transferring to Japan in 2000 to support development of the 2003 Accord, Fay said returning was easier, mostly because he understands the language better.