March 17th, 2008
Well, if by everywhere you mean Japan. Yes, I just got my Japanese visa in the mail from UPS. They put a big ol’ sticker in my passport that takes up an entire page. It’s pretty similar to the layout of the United States passport page that has your photo and information - except on this one it has a super grainy rendition of the photo I submitted on my visa application. I suppose that’s for the custom’s guy to hold out at arm’s length next to your face while inspecting you for entry. Wow, thinking about it like that makes me feel like cattle to be herded through a fence. But what I’ve read and heard from people about entering Japan it doesn’t seem like it will be too much of a hassle (well, as far as customs go).
Today I also went out and bought yen for my intial trip over. Hirosaki recommended having about $1000 worth of yen on hand, so that’s what I got. I won’t actually have the money until Wednesday, but you can be sure I will let you know what 91,000円 looks like. I’m also going to be seeing about getting power of attorney for my parents, which will come in quite handy I imagine since tax season is upon us and my taxes won’t be done before I leave.
December 30th, 2007
After my last post, I figured I’d lighten the mood a bit with an article I found over at Gadling via digg entitled, “Big in Japan: How to rent an apartment in Tokyo.” Author Matthew Firestone decided to move into his own place with a roommate and discovered firsthand the craziness that is renting an apartment in Japan. The place cost $1500 a month, not bad for two people in downtown Toyko. But, not only do you have to pay a down payment and security deposit, you must also pay something called “reikin,” which is two months worth of rent as a gift to the landlord, non-refundable. It doesn’t stop there. You must then pay a “finder’s fee,” costing another month’s rent, non-refundable. Why do these practices exist? According to the article, it is because of feudal laws still on the books mandating that things like apartments be suitably expensive such as to maintain the gap between rich and poor.
I must say, I was shocked to read this article. The cost of living in Japan must be insane, but somehow people manage, otherwise Japan wouldn’t be one of the leaders in the global economy. Go give the article a read, and discover what it means to be “hikoshi-bimbo,” also known as “moving poor.”
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