Category Archives: Life in Japan

Some Experiences While Living in Japan

Tools for Teachers

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A friend of mine created a site that teachers can use in the classroom, it’s basically web-based quizzes and surveys for students. Looks like it’s great for iPhones. It’s called MOARS (Mobile Audience Response System).

moars is designed to be used with students. This is not an iPhone app — the students use mobile web-based browsers to take quizzes and surveys. Even though the system is designed to be used with Safari on iPod Touch or iPhone, students have accessed the system from other mobile browsers.

Click here to check out MOARS (Mobile Audience Response System)

Another site teachers might find helpful is “captur.me” which is more low tech.

PaddleCaptur is a simple tool that teachers can use in their classrooms to help them capture the class’ understanding or opinions in an instant. Each students has a paddle-shaped flash card. When the teacher asks a question, she also provides up to four options for the answers. Students all use their Captur paddle to give their answers…

Check out the Captur website here.

Hanami, Sakura, and Kyoto

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For those that don’t know, “sakura” are the cherry blossoms that grace Japan every year. “Hanami” is a “flower viewing” which can be romantic but usually turns into a huge drunken party under the cherry blossoms far into the evening. And “Kyoto” is just some city in Japan. Alright, alright, Kyoto is a beautiful city full of culture that used to be Japan’s capital before Tokyo! But we’ll get to Kyoto later on…

Being an American, what amazes me about hanami is how people can reserve a spot in public place and people usually respect the reservation. Somebody will go to the park early and block off a section for their group with string and a note saying “reserved [this date] at [this time]“… and there usually isn’t any problem. Talk about courtesy! That’s like having nosebleed seats at a football game and not moving to the already reserved front row seats that are empty. In the U.S. after a while we’d move down to those awesome seats until the person who reserved those seats showed up, if ever.

Each person usually bring something to the party such as drinks, snacks, food, bento, and last year I made pizza at home and brought that . I always have fun at hanami parties because brings a mixture of friends together. Here’s a photo of a sakura tree in full bloom. For more pictures of the beautiful cherry blossoms and hanami action, check out Ben Does Japan where he goes to Kyoto to check things out.

Friend's Chihuahua Loving the Sakura

A Friend's Chihuahua Loving the Sakura

Getting an accurate weather forecast

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I’ve been using U.S. based (I think) services on my Google homepage to check the weather in Japan for over a year and the results have been just ok. Sometimes the Fukuoka weather forecast is accurate, but a lot of times it’s off. For example WeatherUnderground or Google’s weather widget will say it’s going to be a warm sunny day, but my wife tells me it’s going to rain. Sure enough, it rains and the temps drop, and that’s when widgets on my home page change their forecast. I know that I’m getting some bad information when I’m walking around with an umbrella and 99% of the people I see don’t have one.

Directly on a website like Weather.com the weather forecast seem accurate, but I want to see weather on my Google homepage without having to click around. I think the main issue is there’s not enough information about the day displayed. For example, here’s today’s Google widget. It shows today as partly cloudy and tomorrow as a rainy day, but it’s probably going to rain between 11pm-3am.

Google Weather Japan

Last week I found a Japanese widget in English that shows weather from Yahoo Japan. So far it’s been awesome! It shows the weather changes through out the day for today and tomorrow and then gives an extended forecast. Here’s a screen shot so you can compare it to the Google widget weather. I like the 3-hour window of information.

Pinpoint Weather Forecast in Japan

It has a lot of locations and options to choose from and can display Celcius or Farenheit. It also reads the language you’re using for Google and automatically choose English or Japanese for you. If you use Google as your homepage, I recommend this widget. You can find it by searching “pinpoint weather japan” or by visiting this site for more info.

9 things to bring when traveling Japan

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Are you visiting Japan for just a short time? Here’s a quick list of things that I think are important to bring to make your stay less worrisome and more enjoyable. If you have any suggestions that I didn’t mention, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

  1. Debit Card and $100 - Many people say bring cash because many places don’t accept credit cards. This is only kind of true. I say bring $100 and your debit card instead. At the airport you can minimize  exchange rate fees by changing only $100 into Yen. This way you’ll have cash on hand and can buy some things from the vending machines and pay for transportation when you arrive. Major stores will take a debit card if it has the Visa or Mastercard logo on it. To get money, you can withdrawal using your Visa or Mastercard from almost any Japan Post Office (no ATM fee) or 7-11 (~250 Yen ATM fee). Very fair exchange rates are set each day by Visa or MasterCard, and depending where you bank you’ll be charged 1% from Visa or Mastercard, and 1% or more from your bank. And you’ll have a withdrawal limit of $500 USD per day most likely. And many major stores will accept credit cards as payment.
  2. Deodorant – It gets hot and humid during the summer, and sometimes public transportation cranks up the heat in the winter. To stay dry, you should bring some antiperspirant/deodorant. I haven’t seen it for sale that frequently in Japan. When I did buy it in Japan I had to go to a few pharmacies until I found a Ban Rollon for about 500 Yen. It’s small and lasts maybe 3-4 weeks. Costco sells Speed Stick deodorant (non antiperspirant) but I don’t think it works very well. I really recommend taking at least 1 bottle of Certain Dri Roll-On Anti-Perspirant which almost stops you from sweating.
  3. Hand Sanitizer – I haven’t seen this for sale in Japan. You’ll be touching a lot of things including doorways, bus or subway handles, money, and then it’ll be time to eat! Sometimes it’s hard to find places to wash your hands. Many bathrooms are missing two things… soap and paper towels. When you go to a restaurant they’ll usually give you a wet towel, but I think bringing a small bottle of hand sanitizer will help you stay healthy and give you a piece of mind.
  4. Handkerchief – There’s usually no towel or air dryer in the public bathrooms, and you might need it to wipe sweat from your face in the summer. Something cheap is fine. When you’re in Japan you can hit the shops and find a nice one for 500 yen or a Burberry or Calvin Klein for 1000 yen or less.
  5. Digital Camera – Sure, Japan is known for electronics and gadgets, but they’re not cheap. I find that many things in Japan cost the same or more than in the US. And all Sony products have only Japanese language menus. When you’re capturing memories, it’s better safe than sorry.
  6. 3 Prong Travel Outlet Adapter – Almost all outlets are 2 prong only. So if you have any 3 prong electronics like your laptop, bring an adapter. You could buy one here, but you’re exploring Japan so why waste time looking for one?
  7. Over the counter allergy meds – Seasonal allergies? Allergic to dust, or anything else? You should bring some Clariton or Zyrtec. It’s not sold OTC here, and the OTC meds are expensive and cause drowsiness.
  8. Aspirin – You should bring a small bottle of aspirin or Tylenol. It costs maybe $1-2 in the US for a travel size. If you need to buy it in Japan it’ll cost you around 700 Yen for 20 aspirin pills. If you need to buy some here, look for “Bufferin” or ask for it by the brand name.
  9. Earplugs and Sleep Mask – I recommend this because walls are thin in most buildings, so it might be hard to sleep at times.

Cheap calls from Japan to America

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When you’re living abroad, keeping in touch with your friends and family doesn’t have to be expensive. Instead of using calling cards, I recommend Skype for calling international from Japan, it’s a life saver! It’s cheap, light weight, and works on any PC with a mic and headphones or headset. This is a great service for Expats and people traveling abroad.

How much does it cost?

$60 a year is what I pay ($5/mo!) for “Unlimited Country“. You can also choose to pay monthly for $5.95.

Photo courtesy of {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/theshadowknows/2995004692/}lamont_cranston{/link}

Photo courtesy of {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/theshadowknows/2995004692/}lamont_cranston{/link}

What do I get for $60 a year?

  • 1 US phone number (add additional numbers for a fee, great for separating personal life and business)
  • Unlimited calls to USA and Canada landlines and mobiles
  • Voicemail – works even if I’m offline
  • Send SMS – but I can’t receive them
  • Call Forwarding – I can forward calls to my mobile or other phone for a small fee
  • Caller ID – I can control what displays on other people’s phones when I call them
  • Skype to Go – This is great! I get 1 land-line number in Japan that I can call. This number connects to 1 contact which can be changed weekly. Great for doing business on the go, using it as an emergency number, or calling anybody. I use it to call my brother in American when I’m traveling.
  • Free Skype to Skype – This is basically calling and chatting with another PC user.

I use my notebook PC, headphones I already own, and a microphone I bought for 1000 yen at Bic Camera.

And now, the story of how I discovered Skype…

When I first moved to Japan it was a huge deal because I was going to be doing business in America while living abroad, so I brought my Vonage router and phone with me on the plane to keep in touch with clients, friends, and family. It was pretty bulky, and I’d rate the sound quality a 6/10. It was great for a while because I had a working US phone number in Japan with unlimited calling which seemed insanely cool, but it came a price… roughly $40 a month. Then one day something terrible happened, my Vonage router stopped working! I freaked out and needed to find a fast solution. I remember my wife used Skype for free Skype-to-Skype chatting from the US to Japan, and I saw how cheap the phone service was. For the cost of 6 weeks of Vonage, I could have an entire year of Skype? It seemed to good to be true, but I need a phone fast so I signed up. Then I logged into Vonage and redirect the phone numbers to my new Skype number.

I’ve been using Skype for about 9 months now. I’d rate the Skype sound quality a 9/10. I experience poor sound only when I’ve been using my notebook a lot and things are running slow. A quick reboot fixes the problem. It’s great that I can use it almost anywhere as long as I have an Internet connection. And now they’ve released an iPod Touch / iPhone application so I can use Skype on my iPod Touch anywhere I can get a wifi connection such as my home, or even Seattle’s Best Coffee in Tenjin. It’s not available for the 3G wireless network, but if it was I’d get a  free iPhone in Japan for sure. Or I’d buy an unlocked iPhone because I travel so much.

For a cheap monthly or yearly fee you can call unlimited to the U.S or Canada from Japan, even to Korea from Japan, or your originating country if it’s listed on the Skype website. International calls are pretty affordable too. Skype gets my vote for one of the best tools to make your life abroad easier.

Getting a free iPhone from Softbank

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Monthly fee? About $65 or 6200 Yen.

Free iPhone in Japan

Free iPhone in Japan

Until the end of May, Softbank is running a campaign where you can get a free 8GB iPhone or a cheap 16GB iPhone. The Internet plan has been reduced in price during the campaign too. I thought about getting one. I currently have a Samsung 709SC and I’m spending around 3000 Yen a month for my phone plan with no Internet, so I’d have to more than double if I get a ‘free’ iPhone. Besides, I think it would be more convenient to have an unlocked Apple iPhone. Here’s the price breakdown.

White Plan : 980 Yen
You can call anybody on the Softbank network for free between 1AM and 9PM. If it’s after 9PM, or if you’re calling a non-Softbank phone, the cost is 21 every 30 seconds. (I currently have this.)

White Plan Family Discount : Free
This is an add on of the white plan. You can call family members for free if they have a White Plan and are under your account. (I currently have this, it comes in handy and it’s free.)

S! Basic : 315 Yen
This is like an Internet connection fee. You have to have it if you want to 1) Use the Internet and 2) Want to have an e-mail address for sending MMS/Text. It’s important because you can’t send a normal SMS to non-Softbank users. (I have this too.)

Packet Flat-rate Full : 1029-4410 Yen
I spoke to a guy at Softbank and he said you can use unlimited Internet for up to 4410 a month. If you use less than 4410 Yen a month, you’re charged less. But if you have an iPhone, I bet you’ll be using the packet plan a lot.

Handset Cost : 1280-1760 Yen
This is a monthly fee for 24 months. The 8GB is 1280, the 16GB iPhone is 1760 a month. “But Steve, you said FREE!?” Well, they don’t want you to run off with the iPhone, so to make the iPhone free Softbank applies a discount.

Monthly Discount : 1280 Yen
This is for 24 months. You are actually paying full price for the phone, but this discount cancels out that price, making it free. It brings the 8GB 1280 Yen cost to 0, and it makes the 16GB only 480 Yen per month.

Tricky monthly phone charge and discount.
It’s tricky because even though it’s a 2 year contact, they don’t start billing you for the physical phone until the 3rd month. This makes it 26 months total until you’re done paying off the phone.

The final price estimate
8GB : 2324 – 5705+ Yen per month
16GB : 2804 – 6185+ Yen per month

In the end it costs more than the price estimate because you’ll probably call more than just Softbank users, but this gives you an idea of the price. If you cancel, you are charged a cancel fee of 9975 Yen and you must pay for the remainder of the phone. So if you get the free 8GB iPhone and you cancel on month 12, you owe for the remaining 12 months + 2 months (because they didn’t charge you the first 2 months). So you owe 1280 x 14, or 17920 Yen in addition to the 9975 cancel fee. OUCH!

I thought about getting the iPhone, but I already have a phone which I’d have to pay the remaining 9 months on. Lame. I already have a 16GB iPod Touch. It’s nice, and with all of the Apps available I’ve completely replaced my Palm PDA. I think I’ll just stick with the iPod Touch for now.

For anybody curious, here are some Softbank iPhone commercials.

Why I stopped blogging

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I started my blog when I first moved to Japan for a number of reasons. I wanted to document my experiences first hand so I could look back on my life, I wanted to share some experiences with some friends and family (especially my brother), and I wanted to prevent boredom or feeling isolated. Things started off pretty good, but even though I’m usually a positive person, I hit a few rough patches and some negativity spilled into my life. I decided to do a recap of what has happened. I’ve broken it down into 6 sections.
Continue reading →

Hiking in Fukuoka Japan

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I went hiking with a friend of mine recently. We rode our bikes about an hour to the east side of Fukuoka and hiked to the top of a mountain. I took just a few pictures, but recorded a lot more (which I don’t have online). It’s called Tachibanaiyama or Touchybunny or something, I don’t remember, but the top has an amazing view of city of Fukuoka Japan.

The Map of the Mountain

The Map of the Mountain

The Trail

The Trail

Looking Up

Looking Up

A View of Fukuoka City

A View of Fukuoka City

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