tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66220653394626855242024-02-22T11:25:42.539-08:00Living in JapanHaving spent 8 years in Japan before returning home, I have decided to come back. This blog will introduce you to things you probably didn't know, especially if you are a newbie to this strange and wonderful country, like I once was. This will also include some daily blogging stuff. Most will be sent by my iphone.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-60658111616459277612011-02-19T22:53:00.000-08:002011-02-19T23:09:27.096-08:00Getting a driver's licence in Japan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVv3IrcWvmwKq_Cl-F8z8132EjqJmjTyBrRG9RJELwE2AEdsR9HtJVJju83C6tmW6vsThUUyHsAVOhRBExz2CF2cWyBuaZdh9RKtRxyBsd8DrRVBH2_t0XuLnXXHJV0i-cF9JT8aMcP0X/s1600/japcops.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVv3IrcWvmwKq_Cl-F8z8132EjqJmjTyBrRG9RJELwE2AEdsR9HtJVJju83C6tmW6vsThUUyHsAVOhRBExz2CF2cWyBuaZdh9RKtRxyBsd8DrRVBH2_t0XuLnXXHJV0i-cF9JT8aMcP0X/s1600/japcops.png" /></a></div>There are different rules depending on where you come from. I'm from one of the lucky countries, which means I don't need to pass a driving test. back in the old days when I got my first Japanese driver's licence, all I did was show my Kiwi one and fill out a form, take an eye and color test and pay money.<br />
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Things are different. Now we have to:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>1. Get our licence translated by either the Japanese Automobile Federation or from the Embassy. The Embassy charges 9,990 yen for this service. JAF charges 3,000 yen. I went to JAF. On the website it says you need to show them your licence and they will take a photocopy and in about a week to ten working days a translation will be posted to you. So, I was surprised when they asked me to take a seat and wait a few minutes. 15 minutes later I had a translation in my hands. SCORE! they weren't busy. Thank you JAF.<br />
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2. Get a letter from the Embassy that proves you lived in the country for more than 3 months after you got your licence. I got my licence in 1990. This letter was free, but I needed to provide my passport number.<br />
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3. Take all my old passports (you know not to throw them away, right? My wife tossed her old ones!) to show I lived in Japan with a driver's licence for longer than a year. This way you won't be forced to drive for a year with an L plate. Not sure how they worked that one out as passports only have visas.<br />
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4. One tiny photo of 1 cm by 1cm. This will cost you 600 yen.<br />
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5. Someone who speaks fluent Japanese. </blockquote><br />
And that's it for the paperwork (on the most part). The Kobe office is open only from 0930-1030 for foreign licence holders. During this time, you take a number and wait <b>A VERY LONG TIME</b> before you can enter the office and start clearing the paperwork.<br />
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You show the police officer all the paperwork and your licence, then you fill out another form and take that to window number 1, pay 2400 yen and they will put a stamp on it. Take that back to the officer. He gives you an eye test and a color test. In Japan green is blue, so say blue. In reality it is a bluish-green color but traffic lights are green (as in actual green but you will hear people on the street call them blue--this is only for traffic lights, every other green is green). <br />
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I passed those tests and then had to take a lecture and get a photo taken for the licence with around 250 other people. (Note: in Japan you can get a 50cc licence at the age of fifteen). I listened to the lecture (i.e. I did my best to keep my eyes open).<br />
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Next was the photo. I was last. They have a list on the board of all numbers (we all had numbers) and you stood in the line in the numerical order. One the board they had "gai" written on the bottom of the board meaning all foreign licence holders. There was only me. haha. So I waited and when it was time to get my photo, they questioned me on my name. It was spelt wrong in the Kana part. The lady who was checking noticed it and said, "Is your name plrerezusuzu?" I said, "No." She said, "I thought so, is it Pl RE SU A ZU?" "Yep." They changed it and that took another 10 minutes.<br />
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I got to the licence place at 0900. I left with my licence at 15.00<br />
It's a full day with a lot of waiting involved. In the old days it took 45 minutes. In three years when I need to renew it will take about 45 minutes to renew and I won't need any forms. <br />
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Oh, and if you have a drivers' licence with a motorcycle licence or truck licence (like me) you will only get a car licence. if you want your truck and/or motorcycle licence, you MUST attend driving school and use their motorbikes. PS: If you can't lift the bike that's lying on the ground, then you can't get a licence for that size motor. Motorcycle licences are given according to a CC rating.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-58409443114361863452011-01-28T00:59:00.000-08:002011-01-28T00:59:27.667-08:00DVDs and region codes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>DVDs. I have lots of them, well over a hundred, one day I will get around to cataloguing them but that is a post for my private <a href="http://kobefiction.we.bs/">anything goes blog</a>, not this one. So, with all these DVDs I thought I would have a great time in Japan once my computer arrived. Why once my computer arrived? Because we all know that DVDs and DVD players are encoded with a region code (I think there are 6), plus they are also PAL encoded or NTSC encoded. My computer's DVD player is region free and as such it plays anything. <br />
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I know there are region hacks for DVD players but I've never tried them, there are also internal hacks, and there's no way in Hell, I'd try that. And then there are DVD rippers and burners where you can change the code. Bugger that. Talk about time consuming. I have a fast computer and fast software where I have backed up some of my DVD collection. A high quality burn takes a few hours, a low video quality takes 40 minutes (why would you want low quality of you are buying DVDs?), that's writing time I don't want to waste (you shouldn't use your computer if you are burning a DVD). <br />
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My TV over here has a built-in Bluray DVD player. I am not a Bluray fan but they won the DVD war and in Japan it is very hard to find non-Bluray players. And when you do they are all region 2. Most of my DVDs are PAL region 4 or NTSC region 1. NTSC is the standard Japan uses but the region for DVDs is 2. So I know all my DVDs don't play. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniI7Bs9Fn48gTUB9GkTkDqcUKI0YUHbbWEeIT6zw_v60uc_NzDCvAkLctq75UQoi2sdCPUSVQzfwCShPF7n53hYVU8yUdPpCxkS3dCtU17_v-kfA7hgkkh8iRvw_fdNdMkdyVLa_NmnRG/s1600/dvd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniI7Bs9Fn48gTUB9GkTkDqcUKI0YUHbbWEeIT6zw_v60uc_NzDCvAkLctq75UQoi2sdCPUSVQzfwCShPF7n53hYVU8yUdPpCxkS3dCtU17_v-kfA7hgkkh8iRvw_fdNdMkdyVLa_NmnRG/s200/dvd.JPG" width="200" /></a>Then I remembered when I was first in Japan I was looking in a video store for a cheap region free DVD player. I found a stack of DVDs for sale at a cheap price $60 (this was like 9 years ago). I enquired of the clerk if they were region free. He said no. In Japan only region 2 (he was very blunt about it). But this DVD player was made in China, and my thinking at the time was that cheap products are built en mass and most likely these DVD players just have a sticker saying what region it was. So, I bought it. The wife was against the purchase. We plugged it in and I rocked while watching region 1 DVDs I had bought online.<br />
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So remembering this, I thought I would look in some video stores again and see if I can find the same type of cheap DVD player. No luck in the local stores, I needed to visit a big chain store but in my town there aren't any lol.<br />
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Yesterday the wife and I had just got off the train and were walking through the shopping street and we saw a lady selling all sorts of things, cd, dvds, radio players. I went to look at the DVDs as I want to get Resident Evil 4 (haven't seen it yet). The set up was a couple of tables covered with a sheet and heaps of stuff on them. including a made in China DVD player for $20.00. It was tiny. We bought it on the off chance it played region free like the last one. And it does.<br />
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Last night the wife and I and Wolf enjoyed Rise of the Lycans (again). Tonight we will enjoy Finding Forrester. <br />
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So if you are bringing a collection of DVDs over to Japan with you or you want to buy cheap DVDs online (like I do), then get yourself one of these players. They work a charm. Large video stores have them, I think.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-3065201772187891292011-01-24T22:02:00.000-08:002011-01-24T22:04:05.087-08:00Love lock<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa4ou9T0Mz2J6IzTRxz3sOTBfTFZ-0uXJwdqWMDOHmH_v1DMLUnV4g_DJaD9jKbLci4nj0Fk9LAx6_pT2jx-4KZXDQpVWhmYNlwngZ_TqZD31RfM_Xh7fxDqqLY7AfWaexE9cTtrY7Y0b/s1600/lovelock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa4ou9T0Mz2J6IzTRxz3sOTBfTFZ-0uXJwdqWMDOHmH_v1DMLUnV4g_DJaD9jKbLci4nj0Fk9LAx6_pT2jx-4KZXDQpVWhmYNlwngZ_TqZD31RfM_Xh7fxDqqLY7AfWaexE9cTtrY7Y0b/s200/lovelock.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>Koibito Maskai (AKA Lover's Cape) is about a ten minute bike ride from us. It is at the far side of a large grassed park where dogs (like Wolf) chase soccer balls and it faces the ocean. It is roped off by a chain link fence. On the fence are hundreds of padlocks and on those padlocks is a declaration of love.<br />
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A Google search didn't point me to any reason why they put padlocks on the fence but I suspect it is to lock their love to the beautiful ocean view. Apparently many couples would go there and watch the sun sizzle out in the ocean.<br />
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I did have other photos of the padlocks but they are unnamed and somewhere in my HD of 130GB of photos. I searched everywhere for them. If I find them I'll update this post.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-27103765066225102412011-01-12T19:30:00.000-08:002011-01-12T19:30:12.280-08:00At Customs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRr5EIhSf2EV4VX__MMym6s5F1HnmpqMjY1YeJxmUkoLXiSb1mBjZUi1bU5slP9wSvUfygskgHMhOj22cqy4M0nFZTMM2KjzHNgBH_1czQx4DdHL7Pxl0E-719B0Khe7HrtxkFRoi8fjJ/s1600/IMG_0314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRr5EIhSf2EV4VX__MMym6s5F1HnmpqMjY1YeJxmUkoLXiSb1mBjZUi1bU5slP9wSvUfygskgHMhOj22cqy4M0nFZTMM2KjzHNgBH_1czQx4DdHL7Pxl0E-719B0Khe7HrtxkFRoi8fjJ/s200/IMG_0314.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The company that was delivering our stuff to our house told us that once we get our items to customs it then takes an entire day to clear a container of goods. So we wanted to be at the port early and had booked a truck to deliver our goods to Customs House. We arrived and went to see the drivers. No one had been told and everyone was busy. I was getting pissed off but kept my mouth shut. 3 days earlier we were told the container was waiting. Now, we had this office guy telling us it was going to take hours to get the container. They didn't even know where it was. Somebody wasn't doing their job. So the wife called the delivery company and explained to them (they were waiting at customs) that it would probably be around 1pm before the goods arrived at customs. They were not happy and went back to Osaka depo. We were then told of the delivery in advance.<br />
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We then decided to go to customs and explain to them that there was a hold up. It didn't bother them, they were busy. At 9.30am the wife and I decided to get some late breakfast (we were up at 5am).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIr2nMzxWKgdnckIcF4uz7iSxVjVGvuFqGjIUJpEalyyLcggT55f4LXzdEK5law_MYJnyulAu4e6DZd_6BxWqOE0Y3DAapWLgRn3u1Lo2NzpnuTUS8z8qExs9l7LWYRCP0ttRk39j4Za2/s1600/IMG_0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIr2nMzxWKgdnckIcF4uz7iSxVjVGvuFqGjIUJpEalyyLcggT55f4LXzdEK5law_MYJnyulAu4e6DZd_6BxWqOE0Y3DAapWLgRn3u1Lo2NzpnuTUS8z8qExs9l7LWYRCP0ttRk39j4Za2/s200/IMG_0312.JPG" width="200" /></a>At around 10am we get a call from the port, "Hey, your container is on it's way to customs." <b>WTF</b>. We weren't complained. Straight away the wife called the delivery company and turned the truck around. We were still expecting an all day wait for customs but at lest things were getting underway.<br />
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A Customs official handed us a sheet of paper. On it they had drawn circles and triangles around items they wanted to open and scan. Total of 13 boxes out of 64. The delivery guys sorted out the boxes and laid them on the ground while they packed the rest. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNtq_M0xdOIoDjXuhhgOudEWNN800_i_yWUJHzBH9_akOnfWJ4lH66l5Mn_yMcIBjd7_B4H0VZHQlRDQfGvpC3j0ic1BglZ739-d9zeHoe2bdGoFk0OrO170ooBz-nfENSjaMAiiriUyI/s1600/IMG_0315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNtq_M0xdOIoDjXuhhgOudEWNN800_i_yWUJHzBH9_akOnfWJ4lH66l5Mn_yMcIBjd7_B4H0VZHQlRDQfGvpC3j0ic1BglZ739-d9zeHoe2bdGoFk0OrO170ooBz-nfENSjaMAiiriUyI/s320/IMG_0315.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>As soon as we were ready, customs approached us and started doing their thing. They abandoned the agent they were wife to get to us. Our stuff was scanned and that passed. they a lady (we had been dealing with her from the start) started to look though our boxes. <br />
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We had seriously wrapped all the things we consider important seriously well in paper and bubble wrap and tape. After about 20 minutes, the customs officer said, "mo ii wa. Owata. You can go now." <br />
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No papers to sign, nothing. We loaded up the truck and was out of there ASAP.<br />
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<div><embed flashvars="&p=d23d55e837501a61098e36&skin_id=701&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" height="382" name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" salign="LT" scale="noscale" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=d23d55e837501a61098e36" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="408" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<div style="font: 12px/20px verdana,arial,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; text-align: center; width: 408px;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt3" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Make video montages at <span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-46479158577488138872011-01-08T20:21:00.000-08:002011-01-08T20:37:08.052-08:00The hassle of getting your gear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQeoehSdhNKZau2kDlzvILN3cploHYxXEXujjL-mF5Ehvp7SyVVujB8-ktjo_g8GYtltioCNbX4DEj9PtVcG4rWdY0Pt4Yc0IEqBeWJzBMIl-92EMPLEL39sbhEdTdNdONcFUmx7STB6T/s1600/welcometoKobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQeoehSdhNKZau2kDlzvILN3cploHYxXEXujjL-mF5Ehvp7SyVVujB8-ktjo_g8GYtltioCNbX4DEj9PtVcG4rWdY0Pt4Yc0IEqBeWJzBMIl-92EMPLEL39sbhEdTdNdONcFUmx7STB6T/s1600/welcometoKobe.jpg" /></a></div>Point number one: Get an agent -- they cost more than your plane fare but you'll be stress free and just waiting at home for your stuff to arrive.<br />
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Important note: we did not know this!<br />
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We left home at 0800. We got home 1900. <br />
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You see, shipping companies ALL think you are using an agent so they are unhelpful and fucking rude in most cases. The wife was stressing, we were sent to the wrong locations. And we were doing this on foot from the nearest train station. The first place took us an hour to walk there, then another 30 minutes to get to the next place. Kobe port is massive and we are not slow walkers. <br />
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We had a bill to pay for landing with was around $300 and we finally found the place to pay this and we paid, got the receipt and left for the next place. Short walk this time, only 20 minutes. At this place we were meant to get the location of our container with our household goods inside. They couldn't find it and told us we needed another paper. What paper? They weren't sure. <br />
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The wife made several phone calls and someone suggested we go to the Customs house and check with them. <br />
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Everyone is used to dealing with agents and they probably thought the wife was the agent helping out the foreigner to get his goods and she was a beginner so they decided to fuck around. Maybe, maybe not. I have no idea. But we ended up at customs. <br />
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We were sent to the wrong customs building -- but they were professional and helpful, especially once the wife explained we had no agent and was doing this ourselves. At first they told us not to worry about it, our agent will take care of all these details. <br />
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It was now 1630 and the place we needed to go closed at 1700. We called a taxi but it never showed up so we decided to go home and go to the next customs office the next morning. <br />
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The next morning we showed up at the right customs house and they were overly helpful. The other customs house we visited yesterday had called and informed them of our situation, so they were armed and ready when we arrived first thing in the morning. They saw our receipt and called the shipping companies -- who ALL bowed before customs. Especially when they took our money and didn't tell us about the delivery notice we were supposed to get. Turns out the delivery notice was already completed. So we were on step 3 of 5. <br />
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We were sent to the original Customs office to get a letter of permission to move the items from the shipping port to the customs building for checking none of the seals are broken. That will happen this Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday. <br />
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Also on Tuesday our stuff will arrive at the other customs office for scanning while we are filling out forms. The people we arranged for delivery will be helping us as customs can't touch a single item. This will clear step 4 and 5 and then the stuff gets delivered to our house.<br />
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Here's the steps you need to follow:<br />
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1. When Bill of Lading arrives pay the Lading fee this can be done directly into the bank. The bank and account number will be on the Bill of Lading. <br />
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2. Get the delivery note if one exists. If you are bringing a full container there will be no delivery note. Anything less than a full container you will get a delivery note. We used a half container, but our stuff is the only thing in the container so it is considered full. <br />
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3. Get permission from Customs House for inspection of seals.<br />
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4. Get driver to take the container to Customs (this will cost you a hundred bucks as only one company can do this container delivery without hassles or hold ups). <br />
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5. Customs inspects and x-rays items. <br />
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6. Hopefully you don't have to pay anything. Customs gives you the cleared items forms. You sign.<br />
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7. Driver takes your stuff to your home.<br />
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8. You spend HOURS setting up your house. <br />
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Done.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Gcdg6_Py7c8HbKZDzkl8BEuWXXD-QpKyGvKQbfmRG4rF2syeFsTvO-euWzMzcU6HPPBO-aBdv5Lj_VYO9BP3CWySBtX6cxdLGMJMg_r-39oHTsbGqUF9CkyigKoWe-sMPoZ2CMs-tK87/s1600/welcomekobe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Gcdg6_Py7c8HbKZDzkl8BEuWXXD-QpKyGvKQbfmRG4rF2syeFsTvO-euWzMzcU6HPPBO-aBdv5Lj_VYO9BP3CWySBtX6cxdLGMJMg_r-39oHTsbGqUF9CkyigKoWe-sMPoZ2CMs-tK87/s400/welcomekobe.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-55705438480783264362011-01-01T00:44:00.000-08:002011-01-01T00:50:14.529-08:00Akemashite OmedetougozaimasuLast night was New Years Eve and we celebrated at home with Wolf. So, this morning Ami and I visited two local shrines. The first one was Nagata Shrine and it's purpose is good business and good luck in your work. It was crowded.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9h5F37TSgQwazHokSQ2ulkOuvM4aVgKxMJURoSegJAfXl74EiD97QQNvECopM6AufsLRpaaEJsNI84YcpC_pm25RL0DnahswKrbrRr3SPrfXb6_KykbNf-MVoZl3zxe2CPZdbB5t1f51/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9h5F37TSgQwazHokSQ2ulkOuvM4aVgKxMJURoSegJAfXl74EiD97QQNvECopM6AufsLRpaaEJsNI84YcpC_pm25RL0DnahswKrbrRr3SPrfXb6_KykbNf-MVoZl3zxe2CPZdbB5t1f51/s200/IMG_0181.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>This was the entrance once we go off the train. The streets were closed to traffic and both side of the streets were lined with shops selling food, usually hot food.<br />
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It was a bit of a walk to the shrine itself and the streets were crowded. We jostled for space and made it past the entrance gate and into the shrine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgrgU0I6btMcalP59i0-hb0FXpvClMzorvlJWX5Sq-elmVOEJA2v-2hk5busXADS0K_LfCIkItu50ZbxULbg9nmVD1e2onO20QHqYCvfykqQ0N768Ydwr39UXAjf3-PPFjaG0bfVGm6EH/s1600/IMG_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgrgU0I6btMcalP59i0-hb0FXpvClMzorvlJWX5Sq-elmVOEJA2v-2hk5busXADS0K_LfCIkItu50ZbxULbg9nmVD1e2onO20QHqYCvfykqQ0N768Ydwr39UXAjf3-PPFjaG0bfVGm6EH/s200/IMG_0183.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Nagata Shrine is home to several gods: business, work, and the seven gods of luck and happiness. You need to pray to each one in turn, usually throwing in a five or ten yen coin.<br />
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But before you can do that, you have to wash your hands at the entrance, so you are not throwing dirty money (!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNYQ_RPdKm0xcZ_Itqb3gY66jBA6wAGfpelxXKliFTD5t2KZyHRxxjqiNHhyphenhyphenzpuPSDxw_boArmYtHLvTidT2zw3lUaimZhujr0rR6V2MR42PuBLpGUbumCnTYY4IghCpLLo0wXGYOtBKn/s1600/IMG_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNYQ_RPdKm0xcZ_Itqb3gY66jBA6wAGfpelxXKliFTD5t2KZyHRxxjqiNHhyphenhyphenzpuPSDxw_boArmYtHLvTidT2zw3lUaimZhujr0rR6V2MR42PuBLpGUbumCnTYY4IghCpLLo0wXGYOtBKn/s200/IMG_0185.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBCijlW7iGRabXcjHeQ9X-gUQ-5_hYieYpwGm3qBOnl8Xjru5PGfhNZr7ig6VZc0Lc48avq6r5rnPLf-npTwAcnpltRsRRs5cZXzlucF-WT-O9nCs114krTotCyXpfG6ls-ZKsMYXb5wU/s1600/IMG_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBCijlW7iGRabXcjHeQ9X-gUQ-5_hYieYpwGm3qBOnl8Xjru5PGfhNZr7ig6VZc0Lc48avq6r5rnPLf-npTwAcnpltRsRRs5cZXzlucF-WT-O9nCs114krTotCyXpfG6ls-ZKsMYXb5wU/s200/IMG_0184.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
The cold water flows from bamboo sticks and the water falls into a concrete bowl and is recycled. You need to catch the water as it falls and wash your hands. Then you get to dry your hands on your jeans as there is no towel for this purpose. :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T91gsbdUuRgOoMdWVO7QJ-6ZpYKosM6tbzgik8WI9VsBONYK11AFBfTeAtKwBkD7tqorngmyMIlZPP4GgHwJ7dutshijwOJEJkFxYpisCc0VEJgtPFdbqWEtQxlDUNMY2fVlSQPrqIaA/s1600/IMG_0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T91gsbdUuRgOoMdWVO7QJ-6ZpYKosM6tbzgik8WI9VsBONYK11AFBfTeAtKwBkD7tqorngmyMIlZPP4GgHwJ7dutshijwOJEJkFxYpisCc0VEJgtPFdbqWEtQxlDUNMY2fVlSQPrqIaA/s200/IMG_0186.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>It didn't long to get to the main temple and toss in 10 yen, clap my hands twice and request luck this year in business and employment. <br />
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On the way out, we stopped at the seven gods of happiness and prayed. I said, happy new year (Akemashite Omedetougozaimasu) and wished the wife a good and happy life together.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwPUf3O5tJv2O3fSQnRKwPgnBGDa59er3Gdxh7Mz0VnpWTjEXk4zRSUOmhUstN9F1WnTxA4NHWkihS3mlPrOpVkqwIkPMkba17tHN5700RtYYnVlE3gbub9lH49tXpt7eRVfdrJogtgnn/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwPUf3O5tJv2O3fSQnRKwPgnBGDa59er3Gdxh7Mz0VnpWTjEXk4zRSUOmhUstN9F1WnTxA4NHWkihS3mlPrOpVkqwIkPMkba17tHN5700RtYYnVlE3gbub9lH49tXpt7eRVfdrJogtgnn/s200/IMG_0189.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Then we saw this statue with money on it --><br />
I think the idea is to balance a coin on the statue and then make a wish. I think this is just giving money away (shrines make a lot of cash in times of financial hardship).<br />
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Ami wanted to buy a good luck charm there (omamori), but I didn't feel anything for that shrine so I said no. And then we decided to go home. On the way to the station, I bought a hot dog on a stick and the wife bought Takoyaki (Octopus balls):<br />
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At the station the wife said she wanted to go to the other shine as well. This shrine is called Minatogawa, and it's god is one that grants wishes. Now, I thought the other place was packed but Minatogawa was chocka:<br />
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Talk about packed. <br />
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It's usually like this at midnight on New Years Eve. <br />
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It took ages to get through the entrance, and past the food stalls (that weren't doing much business). When we got there, we beat the rush -- apparently -- as when we left there was a long line several people wide around the block.<br />
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After we reached the front and tossed in a 50 yen coin and made a wish, we walked over to the omamori stand and bought a good luck charm. It's a small bag with a picture on it, usually of an insect. You are not supposed to open it and look at the picture, but 13 years ago I wanted to see if anything WAS inside and I opened it up, unwrapped the paper and yep, there was an insect drawn. What kind it was I don't know plus it looked like a sketch that was rushed or done by a kid. So I know not to open them now. It's meant to be bad luck if you open it. You should also return the omamori to the shrine you got it from one year later and then buy a new one. I kept mine for 8 years. Worked well. Now, I have a new one. (sorry no photo)Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-15213041053916607322010-12-31T06:47:00.000-08:002010-12-31T06:47:27.107-08:00Wolfies first time outsideI know this blog is meant to be about Japan and it is intended to be, but having Wolfie with us, little exploring is happening. Tonight is New Years Eve, and most people are at a shrine (for luck and fortune) or a bar (trying to get laid). We have Wolfie with us and he can't travel to a shrine this year, we have decided to stay home and welcome the new year with our hyper dog.<br />
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We did have dinner with a couple of good friends. The meal was fantastic and well priced. We got there at 4pm so we could get a table without a reservation (lol). It's a good place and the staff are very good. They had my favorite beer, Sapporo, and I downed several :)<br />
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Here is Wolfie's first experience of the outside world. We are debating on whether he knows it is the outside or does he think it is just a big-ass room. He is also starting to understand games as well. In the past (yesterday) he would just charge at me, teeth barred and we would play wrestle (ignoring WWE warnings). Tonight, just before I wrote this blog post, we played and he started off by ducking and diving, darting here and there, getting close to me and when I move he darts back. When he was ready: he sprinted at me, teeth barred and ...boom... game on! I wonder who has more fun, him or me.<br />
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<div><embed flashvars="&p=d0c882c2638d23247e2273&skin_id=701&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" height="382" name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" salign="LT" scale="noscale" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=d0c882c2638d23247e2273" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="408" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<div style="font: 12px/20px verdana,arial,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; text-align: center; width: 408px;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt0" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Make photo slide shows at <span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-80325520345135417082010-12-22T04:08:00.001-08:002010-12-22T04:08:04.823-08:00Wolf Kun first bathI expected him to growl and bark and try to escape...<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=cfb072aa7aa7a204eae6ca" quality="high" scale="noscale" width="408" height="382" wmode="transparent" name="FLVPlayer" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=cfb072aa7aa7a204eae6ca&skin_id=701&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><div style="margin:0px;font:12px/13px verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:20px;padding-bottom:15px;width:408px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt2" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;">Photo and video editing at <span style="text-decoration:underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-53516696761866031452010-12-17T07:46:00.000-08:002010-12-17T07:46:27.917-08:00Wolf-kun5 days ago we bought a dog, pretty much on impulse. He is a great puppy but has a massive problem with biting. Mainly he goes for the wife. I think he has learnt not to bite me, I tend to ignore him when he does and I stand up, keeping my hands out of reach. He now jumps up on me and licks my hands, jeans, computer (no! down! lol), but whenever the wife is here, he goes for her feet, hands and sometimes face. She is like a massive play-toy for him and it is driving her insane (she especially hates it when he pumps her leg wahaahahhahaha).<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZceaEk_XcjA/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZceaEk_XcjA?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZceaEk_XcjA?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
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Wolf-kun loves running and jumping and I always leave the cage open for him (unless we are not at home) and even though it is the largest cage they had available I am thinking when he is at home alone and wants to move about he is limited in range. Puppies love running and sleeping, so we have decided to buy another cage and join the two together. He will have room then to mess about.<br />
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He loves squeaky toys. He had a rope toy with a squeaky thing inside. Took him an entire day to destroy it. Tonight we gave him a new squeaky toy in the shape of a rubber chicken wing, and all I have heard for the 20 minutes is that thing. lol. It's fantastic. And with this toy he has stopped biting the wife.<br />
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I figured out that when we are on the floor he thinks it is playtime. To test this theory, I brought down a kitchen chair (this room has only a study chair and foot rest) and the wife is sitting in it and Wolf is paying her little attention. He is sniffing the chair like crazy and is back playing with the squeaky toy. lol.<br />
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Update: the toy lasted an hour. The squeaky chicken wing now only blows air. :)Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-49391874205757060012010-12-11T03:00:00.000-08:002010-12-11T03:00:05.437-08:00Attack of the Man Flu in Japan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9yNyCtIEaI8vyBeEI0OKDhUywGPpuiR9xdBneLDVz5Fr4bg9-lXx9lf5MO_Kw80lFvatBYNXGWav9H0u3EzH4Luh_d_fjMz5Oe7RlOpEqjg94NrwyhY8Uyq3kPAWLMMG7_BiaHAf95oE/s1600/IMG_4757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9yNyCtIEaI8vyBeEI0OKDhUywGPpuiR9xdBneLDVz5Fr4bg9-lXx9lf5MO_Kw80lFvatBYNXGWav9H0u3EzH4Luh_d_fjMz5Oe7RlOpEqjg94NrwyhY8Uyq3kPAWLMMG7_BiaHAf95oE/s200/IMG_4757.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>I'm too sick to write this post so I'll do it tomorrow.<br />
It's now two days later and I'm worse and all because a couple of men on the train (right in front of me) couldn't cover their mouth when coughing. This is a common problem in Japan. It's a lot better than 13 years ago on the Hanshin line. Things have improved. <br />
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A few days back I noticed my throat was feeling a tad scratchy. I didn't think too much about it. Later that night the throat felt worse and my stomach hurt. The next day I went shopping with the wife and the throat was sore, along with the chest. So we popped into a chemist (called drug store with some awesome names like: Power Drug!! Super drug!! Best drug! Ultra drug) and the white coated person suggest some lounges. They did shit. I should have gotten the Vicks lounges as they have flavor.<br />
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The next day (today) I woke up with a blocked nose, sore throat, basically clogged up. Went to the chemist and got some liquid medicine with a picture of a red throat and some power lounges and some pills for something else. I am drugged up to my eyeballs LOL. But at least I have energy. Usually I don't take medicine (not a believer) and let it run its course and then the body builds up a defense against that infection next time; but as we are moving from tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, I can't afford to be laid low.<br />
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Getting sick sucks no matter where you are.<br />
Chemists are many and plentiful over here. One shopping street could have 5 and they are all cose to each other. In Ishibashi, our small shopping street has three. You won't be able to find medicine in the supermarket like we can in NZ. But a bonus is that the pictures on the box usually explain everything that drug does. Just don't spend too much. Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-10967903258266952202010-12-10T02:50:00.000-08:002010-12-10T02:50:29.673-08:00Shopping for stuffBy 'Shopping for stuff' I mean, buying the big and little items needed for comfortable living in Japan. Most people say it is expensive to buy things in Japan and it is expensive, but it is expensive everywhere when we are talking about furniture and 'stuff'. <br />
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There are several places where you can go for your electronics and furniture. The wife and I went all over the place, talking to heaps of salespeople.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi913ap_S7ZRgl3iuqtsSWv9oIt1jwZD7_qN0vRxv85WiIBCQkqgRJoyv5G3YULyEcwHc_ZurtJfJio64I0o5tJ3pNnpXf2kBaaqycTrPjbIO5ahVYqaA0M0VcGr8PMVvUZtRofbj5p4CBB/s1600/250px-Yodobashi_umeda_2007-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi913ap_S7ZRgl3iuqtsSWv9oIt1jwZD7_qN0vRxv85WiIBCQkqgRJoyv5G3YULyEcwHc_ZurtJfJio64I0o5tJ3pNnpXf2kBaaqycTrPjbIO5ahVYqaA0M0VcGr8PMVvUZtRofbj5p4CBB/s200/250px-Yodobashi_umeda_2007-6.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We went to Yodabashi camera in Umeda to check the price of TVs and Stereos, and projectors, and washing machines, fridges, etc. Their prices were good until we discovered the 'catch'. You have to join up with yahooBB to get the 30,000 yen discount off a TV, computer and other stuff. I made notes in a notebook re: their prices. He almost sold me on a 50 inch TV with a built in HD Recorder, but I hate YahooBB, their service a few years ago was shit (according to friends) and that thought is stuck in my head, so anytime anything happened or went slow, I'd instantly blame YahooBB and not be satisfied with my service. I didn't want that. The salesman took me and the wife to speak with a YahooBB rep. We hated this bitch. She was rude, barely gave any info, grouch face and looked tired to speak with us. We complained about her service and the salesman apologized. I think he realized that woman and just cost him a massive sale. I was still willing to go there if we didn't find anything better priced. <br />
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That salesman spent three hours with us. Poor guy. He was very professional.<br />
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The next day we went to two places: Konan and Daiei.These places are well know over here for home goods at (sometimes) okay prices. This is where we found Wolf and purchased him. That took a LONG time. And will be a post itself.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59S5vwz8DOYVeDxUrTAHzGA0GptZ_fL_uVFKO0VObwRuLcxP7GWVm14zPPXaU-smUKyU7MrlY4S91_8JE0lF-SkD8EnRChIdHq9BNzmqMdMylNKu-F8LNvtMc92yvY1lXnMhmBSeJZEK8/s1600/diaei.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59S5vwz8DOYVeDxUrTAHzGA0GptZ_fL_uVFKO0VObwRuLcxP7GWVm14zPPXaU-smUKyU7MrlY4S91_8JE0lF-SkD8EnRChIdHq9BNzmqMdMylNKu-F8LNvtMc92yvY1lXnMhmBSeJZEK8/s200/diaei.gif" width="200" /></a></div>Daiei is an awesome place in Kobe. We were looking at TV prices and found a 46 inch with built in blue ray dvd player / recorder. 50,000 yen less than the same item at Yodobashi Camera. There was a fridge with handles on both sides of the door so we can open it any side we want. It cost, 61,000 yen. Down from 160,000 yen as it was released ten months ago and in Japan that is considered old. Yay, for me. A brand new fridge, never been used, end of the product line. S-C-O-R-E. <br />
The salesman was really nice and put a hold on this fridge as there were only two left in Kansai. We looked around there and found good prices on most of what we wanted.<br />
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The next day the wife went to Don Quixote in Mino, opposite Mister Donuts (YUM). This is a store that has a lot of interesting stuff and electronics, it's part emporium and part clothing store and part electronics. The wife was looking for some lights that Daiei didn't have and in Konan she found some nice lights with attached fans at a price of 13,000 yen. She is glad she waited and hunted around. Today she found the same lights for only 6,000 yen at Don Quixote and they will ship them in two weeks.<br />
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Hunting around is the best way to find bargains. Everything is new, nothing is pre-loved. All shops are in competition with one another. Department stores will have an excellent deal on one item but not another, whereas another store will have that non-discounted item on sale.<br />
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Make a plan of what you want AFTER you find somewhere to live and stick to that plan. Try not to compromise, get what you want or you won't be satisfied, especially in a foreign land. When I first lived here, I didn't know any of this stuff and no one told me either. I didn't know you could rent a house for the same price as an apartment. I compromised on everything. <br />
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And we all know what compromise means right? Yep, a compromise is where both parties miss out. <br />
Don't miss out.<br />
People will tell you that you can't do this. I'm proof that you can.<br />
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Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-26613825825958562962010-12-08T04:09:00.000-08:002010-12-08T04:09:35.667-08:00Real Estate Agents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvcSR6f3jctQ0zkwSAW9TWAHGFqQxrwoAnj5orSmhJ9gg-zyOo3fn7mH9t-FDbCsH-uXCdWF5ShSTSog3SOFkJOdGOTsGc_kdPqvlJGeotxWwjOfHD3tFWV_7ef0PVJVY-22uprOta-es/s1600/IMG_0050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvcSR6f3jctQ0zkwSAW9TWAHGFqQxrwoAnj5orSmhJ9gg-zyOo3fn7mH9t-FDbCsH-uXCdWF5ShSTSog3SOFkJOdGOTsGc_kdPqvlJGeotxWwjOfHD3tFWV_7ef0PVJVY-22uprOta-es/s200/IMG_0050.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Before I write this post, I want to mention a blog I read recently with an attached PDF, titled moving to Japan. It is written by an organization in Kobe. They list some good information and some useless info as well. I worry people will read this and do as they suggest. The only thing I agree with is the need to bring clothes and shoes. The rest of the stuff can be found in Japan and at a good price. And I see no need to bring over 3 years of tax statements.<br />
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If you need stuff, open your eyes, hunt around and look beyond the massive department stores (this will be addressed in another blog about buying life essentials. The link to this pdf is <a href="http://www.chickobe.com/CHIC_KOBE/CHICs_guides_files/Moving_to_Japan.pdf">here</a>. Okay, have seen the start page and I have discovered this is an international organization: <span class="style_5"></span><br />
<blockquote><span class="style_5">Community House & Information Centre (CHIC) is a non-profit community service organization committed to meeting the needs of the international community in Kobe, Japan. CHIC's goal is to serve as a bridge between the international community and the Kobe community at large, to help both newcomers and long-time residents get the most out of their stay in Japan.</span></blockquote>They are wrong and need to update the information on basic living.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP-FetARHj3QwoaqstV1Ft_0d5aC5fTrL722lSXPMuA4Zce4q-JBeKVcM_ANY6e52MZ7yvRte75CZPqygRCS-wGH5doAMb5rszfG-s-5VHoFhdFHAOQa_BMjM9S2EdjAPUBv6B2nerXff/s1600/apartments.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP-FetARHj3QwoaqstV1Ft_0d5aC5fTrL722lSXPMuA4Zce4q-JBeKVcM_ANY6e52MZ7yvRte75CZPqygRCS-wGH5doAMb5rszfG-s-5VHoFhdFHAOQa_BMjM9S2EdjAPUBv6B2nerXff/s320/apartments.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>Now, Real Estate Agents: As mentioned before, we had 3 agents working for us. One was Mini Mini and that was a walk in off the street. (side note: getting an apartment in Japan without a job is near impossible, and getting a job without an address is also near impossible. Catch 22).<br />
<br />
Our first real estate agent didn't try (he showed us two places--that the wife liked), we didn't fill in any forms, he wanted us to sign up for rental insurance (if you don't pay your rent, insurance covers it) and the moment we heard this suspicion iced our spines. To make a long story short, he phoned us after two days to say our application had been declined, and he withdrew his services. "What application?" I asked the wife. She had no idea. We filled out no forms, so we are a bit confused with this 'application'.<br />
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Also note: We do have a guaranteer.<br />
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Next was a small company called 'Change'. Nice people, listened to what we wanted but couldn't see the whole picture of what we were after. I will take the blame for that, I wasn't as clear or precise as I wanted to be. The lady showed us some great places and there was one serious contender but the location was far too countryside, plus it was next to the highway. Can you imagine what we would hear all night long? The wife and I discussed the house on the way home and realized the massive transportation fee and traveling time involved. We also noted there was no Lawson, no shops and no supermarkets for miles. We would need a car. This was not an option any longer.<br />
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This real estate agent called us the next day (while we were with another agent--don't rely on just one) saying she had found another place for us to look at, just behind the one we declined. It was nice to know she was still working for us. She called us several times throughout the day but we ignored the calls as we were with another agent. Then she called at night and we told her we were working on getting a contract with a house. She called AGAIN, saying she found the house online and wanted us to dump our agent and she could deal with this rental. She became almost stalker-like. Plus we don't think she could close a sale. <br />
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Our third estate agent is Kusaku-san from House Pier in Kobe. At first we thought he was an amazing salesman, we discovered he was the head of the company--the boss--with 6 others working under him. He was also very popular and clients wanted to talk only with him. But busy as he was, he never once walked away from us to deal with some else (this happened at mini mini Ishibashi), his entire attention was on us. He knew what we wanted (we had pictures) he tracked the owners down and discovered one was no longer on the market. Another was being sold and he told us about our third choice being way up in the mountains and in winter the bus doesn't always run because of the ice. BUT to our surprise he jumped on the net, went to a special page only for estate agents and found 3 more options for us. One was gone. The second one we both loved (during the ride Kusaka-san got a call; another couple wanted the apartment we had seen 15 minutes ago. As we are the first, they have to wait for us to make a decisions, turns out they didn't have to wait long) and it was in a good location and large enough for an apartment with a tatami room with removable walls. But the third place (as previously mentioned) is a kicker of a place and we jumped at it.<br />
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And got it. Without a job, we managed to get the place. It is a terrace house and massive. I don't know how Kusaka-san did it, but he managed to get the management company and the owner to accept us, jobless as we were.<br />
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<u>The process of the real estate agent</u>: <br />
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(mini mini and other LARGE real estate agents)<br />
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1. meet client (usually walk in off street)<br />
2. Get client a cup of hot tea (this happened everywhere and always served by a lady)<br />
3. Get our details -- address, phone number, job, salary, yearly income including bonus.<br />
4. ask us what we are looking for, including location, size, pets, close to station, convenient, don't mind old buildings or want only new, house or apartment, max rent you are willing to pay and the max key money (deposit--doesn't usually get returned, usually a couple of thousand $$)<br />
5. they get out their lists and show you what they need to get rid of while trying to convince you this is what you want. <br />
6. The photo usually looks better than the place, so always view.<br />
7. Agent drives you to location, while convincing you have good this place is. Clients are in the back seat of the car like a VIP being driven around.<br />
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-- Don't compromise what you want.--<br />
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<u>The process of independent agents</u>:<br />
<br />
1. greet client (usually walk in off street)<br />
2. Get tea, if lucky. Usually small staff numbers. <br />
3. Ask what you want.<br />
4. Shows you want you want (if available) or shows closest hit.<br />
5. Calls owners and management staff for conditions and availability.<br />
6. Shows you the places you chose.<br />
7. You are in back seat, door is opened and closed for you, agent just chats.<br />
8. Asks after viewing: "Do you like it?"<br />
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Independent agents rock.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-76209639577779913312010-12-06T05:11:00.000-08:002010-12-06T05:11:14.328-08:00Rental homes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXntTGJ9Dw_8TBwe3HGVBBhNKQO2bNCRgMPCyGasiCvC6n3YSxTcdybNGexrxsvQFVrOdCIIGR4ZkWNS4OMcUgMh_CG3sR_mGI-KDIUqnAhJiSZsfkCokJ2JygLekyxahCi3CmJLOrnvA/s1600/apartments.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXntTGJ9Dw_8TBwe3HGVBBhNKQO2bNCRgMPCyGasiCvC6n3YSxTcdybNGexrxsvQFVrOdCIIGR4ZkWNS4OMcUgMh_CG3sR_mGI-KDIUqnAhJiSZsfkCokJ2JygLekyxahCi3CmJLOrnvA/s320/apartments.JPG" width="239" /></a>On Friday, we meet up with our last real estate agent. All Thursday the wife was trying to talk me into accepting one of the Ishibasi homes and I didn't want to make any compromise -- if I could, so I kept saying to wait and see what the agent on Friday can deliver. The wife was against it, she wanted to say yes quickly so as not to lose out on a good place.<br />
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Friday came and we went to Kobe to visit and agent out there. The houses we had bookmarked and printed out for viewing were gone or were on top of a hill and no buses ran during winter and the roads were iced and it was dangerous to walk down. So, those options were out.<br />
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The agent go on the internet and found 400 options and did his best to find the better deals and best prices. We ended up with three places for viewing. When asking for a key, he discovered we had been beat by another couple thirty minutes earlier who had already signed the contract and placed a deposit. So we had two places. And guess what...we loved both of them. They were very different but when I saw the second place, it was sold on sight (despite right wing Japanese Nazis next door - fuck ém). There were two apartments available in this terrace house block. 105 and 102. 105 was taken the day before and we were working off the floor plans for 105. Luckily, 102 was bigger and better laid out, opening all the spaces. It is 3 stories and the ground floor is an empty space of 22-jo (huge).<br />
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<blockquote>And there is an extra space behind a half length wall where I plan to set up the home gym. I've been offer a bench press and bars and weights from my brother-in-law as he never uses them. I also plan on getting a blow flex if I can find one. On the other side of the wall, we'll set up the wide screen 50 inch TV and get cable running through for tv and internet, not sure if we will use J:com or Hikari Fiber as they both offer 76 channels. But that stuff is for later consideration. I am think J:com as they offer 160M upload/download speeds.As the space is so large, we are planning to add (later) a projector for movies and as the wall is lumpy white, we will probably get a large screen and hook that up. Wow, I have so many ideas my head my bursting. </blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcBy2RLWWd3ekobDAu0bvZ5hNKfFvzluf3594YNU1-mNBd41N0yiQmc9UuTMrJIOB9yUJd6gLTmSmT4eZmUXZAQ_i4P1cb-CIX3e7ayJz8t_rSse89m5ECMNJYjegVPvM7sZLAGz_PxXp/s1600/mapofhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcBy2RLWWd3ekobDAu0bvZ5hNKfFvzluf3594YNU1-mNBd41N0yiQmc9UuTMrJIOB9yUJd6gLTmSmT4eZmUXZAQ_i4P1cb-CIX3e7ayJz8t_rSse89m5ECMNJYjegVPvM7sZLAGz_PxXp/s320/mapofhouse.jpg" width="320" /></a>The second floor (where the front door opens to) contains the kitch (standard stuff) and the LDK is 15 at least and L shaped and the L shape starts at the far side of the room near the kitchen area. There is room for a huge dining table, another tv and a couple of sofas and ezy-chairs. On the third floor are three rooms. Not super large but big enough for a queen size bed, vanity and some other stuff. The tatami room will be used for guests. And the small 5.5-jo room will be used as a private lesson room. (Yes, I am planning on opening a small school, one on one classes and 5,000 yen a month for 4 lessons. No joining fee.) This is the layout of 105 (not the apartment we chose as there is no map available for that), the rooms are larger and the LDK flip it around sideways into a box shape.<br />
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Excuse the narrowness of the below video of the terrace house we are renting. I should say 'hopefully renting' as we are only 99% clear at the moment. All credit checks are clear and we passed them all. So, I am unsure what is taking so long, but our agent (who turns out to be the boss of that company) reckons all is good. <br />
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Fingers crossed we get this place. <b>UPDATE: We got it. Got the call today. </b><br />
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This post turned out a bit longer than I thought, so I will blog about estate agents tomorrow.<br />
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If you find this blog interesting, please click the follow link to keep up to date.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-26788377756023845212010-12-04T01:35:00.000-08:002010-12-04T04:05:19.070-08:00Getting an apartment in JapanWhen I first came here in 1998, I moved into a small 2dk apartment, like most people. It cost 6 man yen every month. It was cramped. It was inconvenient (the train station was a 20 minute walk away through a graveyard). Did I mention it was cramped? These apartments are nicknamed 'rabbit hatch' over here.<br />
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Last month I told the wife I didn't want to live in one of these places again. I wanted space to stretch my legs, put my computer in the living room and spend time with the wife while writing or doing my own thing on the net. I suggested we rent a house until we had enough cash to buy a house. She said it was impossible, she didn't know anyone who did that and didn't think it could be done, especially in our limited price range.<br />
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I asked her to check the Internet and just see if something was available. It took her a few weeks to get around to doing a web search and she was surprised to get over several thousand hits on one site that listed real estate offers.<br />
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To narrow that down, we added "pet" and a few locations. That knocked the listings down to 700 and from that we searched for places that looked good and found several prime sites. We then contacted the listed real estate agent for that area and had a chat and booked a time to visit these places.<br />
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<a href="http://minimini.jp/common/image/logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://minimini.jp/common/image/logo.gif" /></a>There are many estate agent places, and I mean many but only 4 major ones that I am aware of:<br />
<a href="http://www.century21japan.com/images/logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.century21japan.com/images/logo.gif" /></a>mini mini<br />
apaman<br />
century 21st<br />
Avuru (they mean able) <br />
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There are thousands of independent estate agents and most are a hundred meters away from the other. A few days earlier we booked two agents and on the day we arrived in Ishibashi, we saw mini mini and decide to pop in on the off chance they had something. (Plus we had an hour to kill before meeting our weekly apartment manager--we were early and loaded down with suitcases.)<br />
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We explained our situation to the agent and he showed us some places, most were more than we wanted to pay. We asked for 3LDK but all he showed us were 3DK (side note: any LDK apartment that has the LDK listed under 13 is NOT a real LDK. Don't get fooled with the 9 or 10.5 LDK rooms, also if the kitchen is a counter kitchen, you just lost 5 jo of the LDK). He didn't seem to show us what we wanted but what he wanted to be rid of. Still, we took a look on Thursday (Wednesday we had an appointment with another agency. Many places are closed on Wednesday) and found two very nice places but I didn't want to live in Ishibashi--too city bound. My wife was in love with both places.<br />
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At the independent estate agents we were offered some other places as well as the ones we liked. On Wednesday we visited "Change" and looked at 8 houses in 6 hours. Again two appealed to us, one a mansion (apartment block) with a 9-jo LDK but with a connecting tatami room that had removable doors that opened the entire place up making it nice and wide, which is exactly what we wanted. The other place was a house with a massive kitchen area, LDK of 20 and with a tatami room that also had removable doors. It had a garden, covered car park, large rooms upstairs, a bedroom size 19-jo with an attic above accessed via a pull down ladder.<br />
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Though both places were awesome, they were just too far away. Yes, they contained the lifestlye I was after but transportation to and from work would be over 1,000 yen one way, plus we would need a car to go shopping. Those places were out. And the house option was a no go with the attic, I kept thinking of Jyuon<br />
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</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxjWNp8HqvkWejmlG7WgsBFm7-5bvc3RvnonetxIuLqaXOU8x4YEVrdcSfzGE-0bptVZJ2i9mOCf07VzyQgQnpEjlMmVxVkIMX4fruLIq3N_QDQBgn9w3OBea8N8KqxNQNxBOlI7Ph2Ef/s1600/grudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxjWNp8HqvkWejmlG7WgsBFm7-5bvc3RvnonetxIuLqaXOU8x4YEVrdcSfzGE-0bptVZJ2i9mOCf07VzyQgQnpEjlMmVxVkIMX4fruLIq3N_QDQBgn9w3OBea8N8KqxNQNxBOlI7Ph2Ef/s320/grudge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
so that is seriously a no go. LOL.<br />
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In the next post I will discuss what happened on Friday and Saturday and the process you should expect when getting an apartment in Japan.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-8079357195500931352010-12-03T05:04:00.000-08:002010-12-03T05:04:18.843-08:00Finding a place to stayWhile still in New Zealand, I asked the wife to search for a place to stay as we both did not want to stay with her sister (there's history there) and my searches on Google were only showing expensive stuff and fancy homes for month long stays -- they were all in Tokyo, so wrong city and way out of our price range. We stayed with her brother and family in Kochi when we first got here, but we planned to live in Osaka.<br />
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<a href="http://www.yesicanusechopsticks.com/capsule/tokyo_capsulerow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.yesicanusechopsticks.com/capsule/tokyo_capsulerow.jpg" width="320" /></a>The wife was searching for hotels and trying to find the best deal when I suggested she look for weekly apartments. She didn't think that option existed as most salary men stay in tube hotels overnight.<br />
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After some searching under business listings, the wife discovered a lot of weekly apartments. These were located in Nishinomiya, Kobe, Kyoto and other places visitors to Japan usually stay or want to visit. But the owners are very sly -- most (nearly all) offer nothing in the room but a bare mattress, no cups, blankets, pots, chopsticks, spoons, forks, dishes, etc.You have to rent these and / or buy them and Internet usage is very expensive, like $12 a day and we planned on staying two weeks.<br />
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The wife decided to look for somewhere local to where she used to live. A place most vsitors to Japan don't visit, unless they live here as there is fuck-all to see and do. A lot of businessmen and university students live in Ishibashi and we figured there had to be a weekly apartment around here. Both of us did not want to rent everything if we could help it. She typed in Ishibashi and got one hit. The place we are staying at includes everything and is cheaper than the other places. The manager is very kind and the room is slightly bigger than a standard 6-jo room. This is probably 8-jo. (see video below, excuse the mess.)<br />
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So, if you are planning on coming to Japan, think about getting a weekly apartment, you'll save a few hundred dollars and experience a bit of the real Japan. Plus Ishibashi is a major point for catching trains to Takarazuka, Umeda (Osaka), and other places. Umeda has all the major lines for where you may want to go. Bring a good guidebook with you that has detailed directions, as asking for directions can be difficult.Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622065339462685524.post-85153818241891971032010-12-01T06:03:00.000-08:002010-12-01T06:03:08.793-08:00The land of bicycles, broken Prius and cell phones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.handcellphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/docomo-18-new-phones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.handcellphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/docomo-18-new-phones.jpg" width="66" /></a></div>The day after I landed, I walked into Softbank and bought a phone with the wife.<br />
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whoops--rewind a bit.<br />
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Cell phones in Japan are amazing, you don't SMS, you email, although SMS is available now days. There are hundreds to choose from and this number includes the US phones that are here as well, like iPhone4, and Galaxy S.<br />
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There are three phone companies still alive in Japan: Docomo, Softbank (ex vodafone), and Au. These are the big boys. Each have different phones and different plans. I wasn't sure who I wanted to go with or get a phone from, so the wife and I headed to Yodabashi Camera, as all the companies where set up there and you could play with the phones, and see what you liked.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.osaka-info.jp/db/shopping/5083-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.osaka-info.jp/db/shopping/5083-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I loved the Galaxy S but Docomo were sold out and on back order (the Galaxy seems popular). So I went looking for something else. The options were amazing and I couldn't make a decision. And being on a tight schedule, we decided to get a phone the next day as we had to catch a bus to Kochi--a nice little countryside town. On the bus I decided to go with what I know: iPhone4.<br />
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The next day I was the proud owner of an iPhone (forgetting how inflexible and anal Apple is) and my wife chose a pink phone. We joined a family plan, which has also changed drastically since we were here last, and chose the best package for us. I picked the 5,600 yen plan which as far as we are aware is for unlimited Internet and all contracts are two years now (all companies are the same), they need to lock you in as a customer for their company and their range of phones. They offer a points system that after two years allows you a drastic discount on your next phone. <br />
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So when you choose a phone over here, choose well. Also, if you are only here for one year, I wouldn't suggest you get a phone, the penalty for canceling a phone and breaking the contract is quite high. If you cancel within one year on a two year contract, you have to pay for the unused year in one hit. <br />
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A friend on Facebook said data fees would rape me. I haven't seen that yet. There are some phones I wanted but to access FB and Twitter, Stuff, and email accounts online, would cost me 90,000 a month. That's is shocking. I am interested in seeing my cellphone bill and see if I am right and 5,600 is the only fee or if I am being data fee raped or rocking out on my iPhone4.<br />
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Also forgot, you pay off the phone in the two year contract, you don't have to pay for it outright. If you are lucky and get the phone on a campaign (like I got the iPhone4 -- didn't know it was on campaign), the phone can end up being free.<br />
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(Then you have a added hassle of apples inflexible sign up pages and you need a credit card and the card has to be registered to the country you are living in, or else you can't join itunes like I wanted to do so I could get the FB app and some other free apps. Once it reads you are in Japan all the forms turn to Japanese. So to bypass this, lie and say you are in the country where the credit card is from. Works a charm.)<br />
Lee Pletzershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728789052870459242noreply@blogger.com2