Ayako's Comments of Architecture and Interior Design in the United States vs. Japan.

There are two big differences. In the architecture provided in the United States you don't have land limitations like you do in Japan. You can design almost anything without thinking of land limitations. There are so many flat and huge buildings, like grocery stores with big parking lots. This is unusual in Tokyo.

The second difference I noticed was, the structure of the buildings is different. The columns are thicker in Japan. Most of the buildings outside are flat and two stories. I was afraid when the office building had been shaking constantly because the building next to The Marks Design Group was having construction done. The first time it shook I thought it was an earthquake. In Japan, the buildings almost never shake except when there is an earthquake. When this happens everybody suddenly becomes tense. I was also surprised that nobody at the office was afraid when the building was shaking - the employees were even relaxed.

Interior design is also different from Japan, from residence to shopping malls. In Japan they don't use carpet everywhere, especially at the office. The floors are made of wood or vinyl tile, when carpet is used the yarn is shorter.